Key facts
- The decree restricts outdoor gatherings and lets security officials disperse groups by force.
- It also allows arrests and entry into residences without a warrant, effective for 30 days.
- Lawmaker Julio Cesar Portillo was shot in Rio Hondo on November 6 and died of his injuries.
- President Bernardo Arevalo announced that three police officers were also killed in the attack.
- Washington designated several crime groups operating in Zacapa as terrorist organizations during the week.
Guatemalan authorities decreed a state of emergency in the eastern departments of Zacapa and Izabal on Saturday, November 14, banning gatherings as defined by the decree and widening security forces' powers a week after an attack killed a lawmaker and three police officers.
The decree, effective immediately and running for 30 days, limits outdoor gatherings and allows security officials to disperse groups by force, to make arrests and to enter residences without a warrant. The two neighboring departments span an area roughly the size of Qatar, according to the report.
The measure follows a series of armed attacks in Zacapa, including the shooting of lawmaker Julio Cesar Portillo in Rio Hondo on November 6. Portillo was taken to a hospital and later died of his injuries. Three police officers were also killed in the attack, President Bernardo Arevalo later announced.
Authorities did not identify who was responsible, but the attack came during heightened concern over the influence of organized crime. Washington designated several crime groups operating in Zacapa as terrorist organizations during the week and accused them of ties to Mexican drug trafficking cartels.
"The Government of Guatemala remains committed to protecting the lives, safety, and peace of Guatemalan families," the government said in a statement, saying the state of emergency aimed to protect the local population.