Guatemala declares state of emergency after soldiers killed

MEXICO CITY – The government of Guatemala has declared a state of emergency that temporarily suspends some rights in parts of the country’s north after suspected drug traffickers killed three members of a military patrol.

The state of emergency will be applied in various townships in the provinces of Izabal, Zacapa, El Progreso, Peten and Alta Verapaz.

The decree suspends for 30 days the rights of assembly, transit, the right to carry arms and constitutional guarantees against arrest without a warrant.

Guatemala’s president said Wednesday that drug traffickers were behind the violence. The military unit had been tracking an apparent drug flight from the ground when it was attacked.