Since September 4, 2019, 22 municipalities in Eastern Guatemala have been militarized by right-wing president Jimmy Morales after declaring a “state of siege” or martial law in the largely Indigenous region of the country, for a minimum period of 30 days. A state of siege suspends civil rights including freedom of action, freedom of movement, right to assembly and demonstration, carrying of arms, and supports legal detentions and interrogations of detainees and prisoners, putting at risk the freedom, security, life and peace of the inhabitants of the affected areas.
