Secret police held in raid

Press, 6 February 1986, Page 8

Secret police held in raid

NZPA-ReuterGuatemala City A crack Guatemalan military unit raided the headquarters of the country’s feared secret police yesterday. Police sources and witnesses said dozens of agents had been arrested. Earlier the police reported the discovery of the mutilated bodies of four men, the latest victims in a wave of death squad-style killings since a civilian Viniclo Cerezo, was inaugurated as President on January 14. The raid on the secret police was seen as Mr Cerezo’s first move to crack down on human rights violations. The secret, or judicial police, called the Department of Technical Investigations (D.1.T.), have been linked by some diplomats, human rights groups, and politicians to the disappearances and killings of thousands of Guatemalans. Witnesses and police sources said soldiers had moved into the D.I.T. headquarters, disarmed the agents, and loaded

them into vehicles. Mr Cerezo told a news conference last week that the police could be behind the recent surge of violence in Guatemala. “There is a thesis that the violence is being provoked by some people who believe their services are indispensible,” he told reporters, apparently referring to the security forces. He promised during his election campaign to clamp down on killings. But he would not prosecute members of the armed forces for alleged past abuses. The four latest victims of the violence were found by the police on Tuesday. Two, clad only in their underwear, were found in a neighbourhood north of the capital. Plastic bags were tied tightly over their heads and both showed signs of torture, the police said. The bullet-punctured bodies of the two others were discoverd on a beach at Puerto San Jose, 120 km south of the capital. They had also been tortured.