MEXICO CITY, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Guatemalan judicial officials have issued arrest warrants for seven peasants who allegedly kidnapped six people last week, including four Belgian tourists, government sources said Wednesday.
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| Four Belgian tourists (from L: woman with hat, man in dark t-shirt and man in white t-shirt), held hostage by peasant farmers since Friday, get into a vehicle as they are escorted by police after being released by their captors in Puerto Barrios March 16, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
Four Belgian tourists and two Guatemalans were abducted Friday while touring caves in Izabal province, some 250 km northeast of Guatemala City, by members of the peasant group "Encuentro Campesino," demanding the legitimization of land claims and the release of their jailed leader Ramiro Choc.
The Belgian hostages were freed early Sunday following an operation by local security forces, according to the kidnappers.
Police were searching for the abductors, said officials in Guatemala City.
"Encuentro Campesino" kidnapped 29 Guatemalan National Civil Police agents in February to demand the liberation of Choc, who was arrested on Feb. 14 on charges of invasion of private property and robbery among others. But the government has not yielded to the group's demand so far.
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