GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters) – Guatemalan troops and police raided several locations in the north of the Central American country a day after the government suspended constitutional guarantees for 30 days following the weekend massacre of 27 farmers.
Government officials have blamed the killings on the Zetas, a feared Mexican drug cartel known to be growing in strength in northern Guatemala. The gang has a reputation for extreme brutality and has been blamed for several massacres in Mexico.
The decree, published late on Monday, allows police and soldiers in the northern district of Peten near the Mexican border to search any location and arrest suspects without first obtaining a warrant.
“(Security forces) have conducted several searches during the course of the day in search of illegal activity,” military spokesman Rony Urizal told Reuters. “There were between four and 10 raids. We do not have the results but we have to have a little patience to see how events unfold. “
The massacre of 27 farmers in the small town of Caserio La Bomba over the weekend was one of the worst mass killings in the country in a generation. Many of the victims were shot and beheaded.
