GUATEMALA CITY (AP):
GUATEMALA'S LONG-RUNNING problem with vigilante justice took an unusual turn this week when police arrested seven armed Christian fundamentalists accused of extortion as they distributed religious leaflets and collected money on a local highway.
Using the slogan 'Social Cleansing of the Town', at least seven men armed with assault rifles had apparently been operating for three months in the town of San Lucas Toliman, 45 miles west of the Guatemalan capital, police said on Wednesday.
"This was a fundamentalist Christian organisation in character that harangued the town's population on religious themes, saying things like 'having two women is against the Bible'," said Victor Soto, the head of the national police force's criminal investigations unit.
ROUGH BRAND OF JUSTICE
Police also say the religious group enforced a rough brand of justice and are investigating the recent deaths of people accused by the organisation of being criminals. The suspects were being held without bail yesterday on suspicion of illegal weapons possession and extortion, while police carried out ballistics tests on their weapons to determine whether the groups was involved in local killings.
The group first allegedly targeted local men accused of being highway robbers, but quickly turned their attention to shaking down local bars, stores and other businesses, demanding money to protect them against thieves.
Meanwhile, the group also claimed to be acting in accordance with biblical precepts, and would harass anyone suspected of "not agreeing with the Bible," Soto said.
Residents suspected of petty theft or being unfaithful to their wives were sent notes containing quotations from the Bible and threats that they would be killed if they failed to mend their ways.
