Guatemala declares seige, fights Mexican drug gangs
Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:19 GMT
* Army, police forces pour into remote state
* Mexican drug gangs have expanded southward
GUATEMALA CITY, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Guatemala suspended civil liberties in a remote state as it sent troops and police into the area to fight Mexican drug gangs that are running rampant.
A government decree published Monday declared a "state of siege" in the state of Alta Verapaz, where a Mexican drug gang called the Zetas operates. Local media have reported a wave of killings and robberies in Alta Verapaz in recent weeks.
The poor Central American nation is struggling to contain rising violence as powerful Mexican cartels expand southward.
For years Central America has been a transit route for cocaine trafficked to the United States from South America, but analysts and officials say Mexican cartels are now buying up land, storing arms and drugs, and hiring members of local criminal networks to help them move and sell drugs.
The decree will limit freedoms of movement and assembly there for a month. Security forces, hundreds of which poured into the state on Sunday when the decree was first announced, will also have expanded powers of arrest and interrogation.
"In recent days, a series of grave events have occurred which put at risk constitutional order, rule of law and security," the decree said.
Human rights activists criticized the decree, saying a suspension of liberties will not help build criminal cases. Activists are also wary of the military because of their involvement in mass executions of civilians during the country's 1960-1996 civil war. (Reporting by Herbert Hernandez; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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