Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom has ordered the establishment of the state of siege for 30 days in Petén, the northern province where on Sunday a group of gunmen brutally killed 27 peasants in front of the manor house of the farm where he worked. They had gathered there to collect his weekly salary.
The decision, taken by the Council of Ministers on Monday night, was not without difficulties, since Guatemala is in election campaign-the general election is scheduled on September 11, "and both the Constitution and the Law Electoral require that during that time the state guarantees the fulfillment of civic and political freedoms.
The decree, which must be subject to approval by the legislature but has the consensus of the majority parties, sidestepped the issue with an article that reads: "The declaration of a state of emergency does not suspend the electoral process. It guarantees the observance of the rights and freedoms constitutional requirements for the electoral and political campaigns can be carried out so as not to affect the election or affect its results.
" Restricted, yes, basic rights such as the time a citizen can be detained without being consigned to the courts, freedom of movement and assembly of persons, except the political, religious, sporting or cultural nature. The siege was well received by a population tired of the insecurity and demand utmost firmness in the fight against organized crime.
Colom, as it did yesterday, is from the early hours of Tuesday in Petén to oversee the search and capture of the killers. The president is accompanied by the Ministers of Defense, General Juan José Ruiz, and the Interior, Carlos Menocal. Know nothing of the brutal murder of farmers, police, supported by elite Army units began a vast search operation of those responsible, resulting in armed clashes on Monday that left one officer result Two suspected gunmen dead, one captured and two policemen injured, one seriously.
The detainee, according to an Interior Ministry source, is Hugo Chavez Francisco Méndez, a former air traffic controller. The geographical conditions of Petén, mostly flat land, facilitate the construction of clandestine airstrips used extensively drug traffickers to bring cocaine from the Andean forests.
In earlier operations, the authorities have seized sophisticated equipment to manage air traffic, something which would explain its link is found, the activity of Chávez. Until this afternoon, President Colom, accompanied by his security cabinet, has held meetings with local authorities, considering the best strategy to catch the gunmen, suspected to have not left the territory of Guatemala.
According to an official report until this afternoon have made 10 raids on properties in which the killers could be hidden, but to no avail. Continued, intensified, and tracking operations have been strengthened border posts in the jungle area but the line is quite permeable. Meanwhile, journalists from local media that cover the municipalities of Petén surrounding the place of slaughter realize that the locals still do not overcome the trauma.
Towns such as San Benito and Flores, the capital of the province, it looks empty. Schools are closed and many shops are with the blinds drawn, as people preferred to take shelter in their homes. 
The decision, taken by the Council of Ministers on Monday night, was not without difficulties, since Guatemala is in election campaign-the general election is scheduled on September 11, "and both the Constitution and the Law Electoral require that during that time the state guarantees the fulfillment of civic and political freedoms.
The decree, which must be subject to approval by the legislature but has the consensus of the majority parties, sidestepped the issue with an article that reads: "The declaration of a state of emergency does not suspend the electoral process. It guarantees the observance of the rights and freedoms constitutional requirements for the electoral and political campaigns can be carried out so as not to affect the election or affect its results.
" Restricted, yes, basic rights such as the time a citizen can be detained without being consigned to the courts, freedom of movement and assembly of persons, except the political, religious, sporting or cultural nature. The siege was well received by a population tired of the insecurity and demand utmost firmness in the fight against organized crime.
Colom, as it did yesterday, is from the early hours of Tuesday in Petén to oversee the search and capture of the killers. The president is accompanied by the Ministers of Defense, General Juan José Ruiz, and the Interior, Carlos Menocal. Know nothing of the brutal murder of farmers, police, supported by elite Army units began a vast search operation of those responsible, resulting in armed clashes on Monday that left one officer result Two suspected gunmen dead, one captured and two policemen injured, one seriously.
The detainee, according to an Interior Ministry source, is Hugo Chavez Francisco Méndez, a former air traffic controller. The geographical conditions of Petén, mostly flat land, facilitate the construction of clandestine airstrips used extensively drug traffickers to bring cocaine from the Andean forests.
In earlier operations, the authorities have seized sophisticated equipment to manage air traffic, something which would explain its link is found, the activity of Chávez. Until this afternoon, President Colom, accompanied by his security cabinet, has held meetings with local authorities, considering the best strategy to catch the gunmen, suspected to have not left the territory of Guatemala.
According to an official report until this afternoon have made 10 raids on properties in which the killers could be hidden, but to no avail. Continued, intensified, and tracking operations have been strengthened border posts in the jungle area but the line is quite permeable. Meanwhile, journalists from local media that cover the municipalities of Petén surrounding the place of slaughter realize that the locals still do not overcome the trauma.
Towns such as San Benito and Flores, the capital of the province, it looks empty. Schools are closed and many shops are with the blinds drawn, as people preferred to take shelter in their homes.
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