The mara controls the area completely, collecting "tax", providing "security" and controlling the local "economy". Police and government

The children of the Republic of El Gallito are the next recruits in the hidden civil war that is raging in Guatemala. Marcos, from child protection organisation Casa Alianza, wearily explains why the children in the street are usually never older than 11. After that, they are old enough to join the maras, or organised youth gangs in the area, to be used as foot-soldiers in a war that has become endemic in Guatemala and neighbouring countries.Locals refer to El Gallito, in Zone 3 of Guatemala City, as a republic without a glint of affection or humour. The mara controls the area completely, collecting "tax", providing "security" and controlling the local "economy". Police and government operate there with the mara's consent, and the gang operates there with total impunity.
El Gallito is not a criminal anomaly in this country of 12 million. In the first six months of 2005, 2,782 people were killed with firearms in Guatemala – the only type of crime that increased during that period. But according to research by the Swedish Embassy, only 1% to 3% of all murders are solved.
The attacks are brutal and cold-blooded, and nobody is safe. Local newspaper La Hora reported in March 2006 that "A group of youth got on [a bus] and robbed all the passengers (about 20), then they approached the driver, demanded money from him, and when he refused they shot him. Then they left as if nothing had happened."
Later that month, two gang members on a motorcycle shot three children in a car outside their school with a 9-mm gun. Parents with children in the school said gangs had demanded Q50,000 (£4,000) in exchange for not harming the students – which had not been paid.
Abner Paredes, director of human rights organisation CALDH sees many parallels between the problems facing the country now and those that sparked the civil war: poverty, racism, discrimination and the unequal distribution of land. "Ten years after the peace accords were signed, do we really have peace? No. Why? Because the causes of the conflict … are still not solved."
But turning the tide is not proving easy. Claudia Rivera from Casa Alianza, an organization that works with children in the street, says: "It is very difficult for us to work directly with maras. We had a few experiences where we approached maras, and managed to convince a child to leave the gang. Soon afterwards, the child would appear dead. I think we had about two or three children that were killed after they became too familiar with our workers."She adds: "Once the children join a gang, it becomes very difficult for them to leave. At that point, the only two options for them is jail or death. Being young, [children] are in a way immune to the law, so [maras] make them traffick drugs, they send them to rob, and manipulate them."One alternative to getting involved in a mara is to attend school. That is not always an available option, though. Alejandra Vasquez coordinates a coalition of organisations working with youths. She explains that many children were left orphaned after the war and have had to look after younger siblings from as early as the age of eight. She adds "When they reach 12 or 14, they are already looking for their partner in life, and their opportunity to attend formal education is reduced."
But in the country's second biggest metropolis, Quetzaltenango, maras are a significantly smaller problem than in the capital. Uri Rein, from local organisation CEIPA, which trains street children in basic education and trade skills, suggests that "Perhaps the lower levels of organised crime are due to the fact that we have many educational institutions here." Quetzaltenango has almost the same number of public and private schools here as in the capital despite having one eighth the population, as well as many sports and church groups working with young people.
But unfortunately for the children of El Gallito, there are few signs that things will improve. Most likely, in a few years they will swap the bottles of solvent for rocks of crack, and the handouts of food and clothes from charities for armed robberies. However, for their children there may still be a chance. If the government decides to invest in its children and youth, the vicious culture of crime, violence and impunity that has been endemic in Guatemala for almost half a century may be changed.