On 19 December Guatemala declared a month-long state of siege in the northern province of Alta Verapaz, which is a prime corridor for smuggling drugs from Honduras to Mexico and a bastion of the brutal Zetas drug gang. Residents of Coban say gangs armed with assault rifles have been roaming the streets in armoured vehicles, extorting and kidnapping people.

Under the state of siege 300 soldiers with special powers of arrest have joined police in patrolling the province. Security forces have captured 21 suspected Zetas members and seized 150 weapons since the operation in Alta Verapaz began.