Four Belgian tourists were at the end of their one week vacation in southeastern Guatemala when their trip took a dramatic turn and they unwittingly became caught up in a bitter dispute between government and the landless workers movement in the northeastern department of Izabal. On March 14, Eric Stostriss, 62, his wife Jenny, 59, and their friends Gabriel and Mary Paul Van Huyssen, 64 and 62, and their guide were preparing to cross Lake Izabal in order to visit San Felipe Castle in Rio Dulce, when a group of about thirty Mayan Qeqchí campesinos asked if they could share their boat. But then the group took them hostage. They were demanding the immediate release of their leader, Ramiro Choc, who was arrested on February 14 and accused of trespassing and illegal logging. In a previous incident on February 21, a group of over 100 campesinos occupied Livingston police station, a town about 30 kilometers away from Izabal, and took 29 police agents hostage. A campesino leader was killed during the rescue operation to release the Belgian hostages and their guides, and tensions in Izabal remain high.

The Colombian government pushed its war against FARC rebels to a new level earlier this month, shattering diplomatic relations with several neighboring countries in a conflict that dissolved almost as quickly as it began. The entire crisis lasted less than a week, although unresolved tensions between Colombia and its neighbors still loom.

By Asier Andrés Fernández

Translated by Dan Gordon

Members of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) and the Central American System of Integration (SICA) came together in San Salvador on March 20 to pass reforms giving their members broader powers in their quest to unify the region's economies. The meeting included the presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, as well as congressmen from Honduras, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. Costa Rica, although not an official member of the organization, also had representatives present. The meeting resulted in major changes in the group's bylaws, including a measure that would grant its members diplomatic immunity and an agreement to make laws passed by the committee binding in each country represented.

The UDP's probe into a US$10m Venezuelan loan granted to the Bank of Belize has shed some light on the workings of the agreement made between the Belizean and Venezuelan governments. Prime Minister Dean Barrow held a press conference on March 12 to divulge that they have now seen the agreement. He said that it makes clear that the money was to be used for the sports stadium, housing repairs and new home construction. He added that the Venezuelans have said that there was no side agreement that the money could be used for any other purpose, as was claimed by former PM Said Musa, and former Minister of Housing Ralph Fonseca.

The Colombian government recently announced that it will finance three new plants for the production of biofuel in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The US$4.5 million project is set for completion in September. Meanwhile, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has put forward a Biofuel Action Plan for the Guatemalan Ministry of Energy and Mining (MEM). The US$505,000.plan provides technical support and training for the production of biofuel in Guatemala. However, a number of legal changes will be necessary before the plan can go ahead. The initiative has received lukewarm support from the private sector.