At least five people died and more than a dozen were injured this Saturday after armed clashes broke out between citizens of the Guatemalan towns of Nahualá and Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán in Sololá department, each located on one side of the important Panamericana International highway.
The road itself has been closed for more than eight hours after armed groups clashed over a territorial dispute between the two communities, local authorities confirmed to La Hora newspaper.
Both the National Civil Police (PNC) and members of the Guatemalan Army were deployed to end the episodes of violence and restore traffic on the Pan-American Highway, where caution is still recommended when driving due to the possibility of encountering armed men in the area.
The government led by Bernardo Arévalo condemned the attacks and put the number of soldiers injured during the day at seven. She also denounced the kidnapping of 15 police officers.
“Illegal, highly armed paramilitary groups attacked the military detachment stationed in Nahualá. They also took over the police station and kidnapped 15 agents. They also blocked roads and hijacked buses. The Guatemalan army responded defensively, which has so far resulted in seven officers being injured,” a statement from Guatemalan authorities said.
For the Executive, the violence goes beyond the territorial conflict and it has assured that the situation in the municipalities of Nahualá and Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán “is evidence of a critical change in the nature of a historic conflict that is being exploited by illegal armed groups and endangering the population.”
In this way, this Saturday’s clashes reflect that “organized crime” has penetrated the territory and is “exploiting local structures and tensions for its own criminal purposes,” which has “significantly” increased the risk to “civilians and national security.”
One of the motivations for the attacks, according to the government, was to “create a vacuum of state authority” to facilitate the presence of criminal groups, which in this case were “highly armed.”
“We reiterate that the presence of the Guatemalan Army is neutral and protects both communities from the excesses of organized crime. The presence of the State is for protection and not repression. We warn the population not to listen to false information directed against the forces of the Guatemalan Army,” the Guatemalan government said.
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