Americas

Guatemala's 'most dangerous' job

As attorney general, Claudia Paz y Paz has overseen a falling murder rate and rising convictions for violent crime.
Last Modified: 16 Mar 2013 17:19

Guatemala’s attorney general, Claudia Paz y Paz, is on a mission. Just two years on the job and she has already confronted some of her country’s most powerful and feared men: drug bosses, corrupt officials and a former dictator charged with genocide.

When Paz was appointed in late 2010, murder rates had skyrocketed; gang violence was rampant; and drug cartels were carving up swaths of countryside, leaving bodies in their wake.

Now under Paz, the murder rate is falling, convictions for violent crimes are rising, and government officials, including her own staff, are facing increased scrutiny.

Al Jazeera's David Mercer reports from Guatemala City.

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