Guatemala boosts
security ahead of
Putin's visit
Guatemala is to deploy
more than 2,000 police
and troops in a major
security operation to
ensure Russian President
Vladimir Putin's visit
to the country goes
smoothly, police said
Monday.
Putin is due to arrive
in Guatemala to present
the candidacy of Russian
city Sochi for the 2014
Winter Olympics to the
International Olympic
Committee (IOC), which
is holding its 119th
assembly in Guatemala.
Sochi's rivals are the
South Korean city of
Pyeongchang and the
Austrian city of
Salzburg. The IOC is to
meet Wednesday to choose
the site.
Guatemala's Municipal
Transit Police said
starting at 5:00 p.m.
local time (2300 GMT),
authorities will seal
the roads linking the La
Aurora International
Airport to the
southeastern Zona Viva
neighborhood where Putin
will stay.
Guatemala's Civil
Aviation Directorate
said the country's
airspace will be closed
for between 30 and 45
minutes while Putin's
aircraft lands.
According to sources
from the Sochi
delegation, which
arrived in Guatemala a
week ago, Putin's
entourage consists of
more than 400 people.
Sources at the
Guatemalan President
Oscar Berger's office
said Berger will
formally welcome Putin
at the National Palace
of Culture and hold
talks with him Tuesday.
Also flying in to speak
to the IOC are South
Korean President Roh
Moo-Hyun and Austrian
Chancellor Alfred
Gusenbauer.
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