GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (AP) — Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo said Sunday he has declared a state of emergency in two cities in western Guatemala, a day after militants attacked military posts and police stations, cut off roads and hijacked buses, killing at least five people.
Arevalo said criminal gangs were trying to force security forces to withdraw to take control of the area. He said his government would tighten security.
This is the first state of emergency declared by the country’s government and will last for 15 days in the municipalities of Navarra in the province of Solola and Ixtavacan in the state of Santa Catarina.
“We are at a critical moment for the security of the province of Solola and the country,” Arevalo said, accompanied by Interior Minister Marco Villeda and Acting Defense Minister and Chief of General Staff José Giovanni Martinez Milan.
Arevalo showed videos and photos of Saturday’s events, in which armed men – some dressed in camouflage or military uniforms, helmets and bulletproof vests and carrying high-caliber weapons – could be seen firing or hiding just meters away from a busy main road.
Arevalo said the gangs were linked to extortion and drug trafficking and posed a threat to local communities.
“The community is not alone,” he said.
Interior Minister Marco Villeda said five people had died. On Saturday, National Civil Police Chief David Botero said six people had died, including a soldier.
The incidents are believed to have started last Thursday when armed men attacked a military post, injuring four people.
The two cities have been in dispute for decades over water sources and local roads, which both sides claim as their own. These disputes have resulted in dozens of deaths.
Arevalo said: “In this case, there was no attack between communities. It was an attack on a military post and it was intentional and clear.”
The state of emergency limits the rights to open-air meetings, public demonstrations and events. It allows the dissolution by force of any unauthorized assembly, group or public demonstration, especially one involving weapons or acts of violence.
It also restricts the right to protest that affects free movement or public services (which can be forcibly dispersed), and restricts the right to bear arms.