Guatemala Farmers Swap
Cops, Talks
Guatemalan farmers from
the department of Izabal
liberated 29 police
officers after the
commitment of the local
government to listen to
their demands.
Hundreds of inhabitants
from communities from
the Caribbean
municipality of
Livingston took the
police officers hostages
Thursday, to demand the
freedom of the their
leader, Ramiro Choc, and
the legalization of the
lands they have occupied
for more then 10 years.
A mediation group was
created, in which
representatives of the
Interior Minister and
the Human Rights
Prosecutor Office
participated, to solve
the conflict.
On Friday night and
after 32 hours of the
start of negotiations,
settlers delivered the
agents, and the
government acceded to
talk about the problems,
and study the
possibility of releasing
Choc.
Popular organizations
said the arrest of Choc
on February 14, broke
the efforts for a
dialogue in the region
between communities and
authorities. |
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