State of emergency not linked to anti-mining activity, Guatemala govt says

A state of emergency declared on Thursday in four municipalities in Guatemala is linked to organized crime and not to anti-mining protests, the government said. President Otto Pérez Molina announced the move following a "series of serious crimes" in recent months including the murder of a police officer, destruction of state property, kidnapping of police and robbery of explosives and weapons in municipalities in the Santa Rosa and Jalapa departments. The violence is not linked to opposition to Vancouver-based Tahoe Resources'' (TSX: THO, NYSE: TAHO) Escobal silver project but rather to "organized crime," according to a statement on the government website, which said that drugs cartel Los Zetas is active in the region. The state of emergency, which will be in place for 30 days and under which protests are not allowed, includes the San Rafael Las Flores municipality, where Escobal is situated. However, a previous statement on the website says the government was considering imposing a state of emergency in San Rafael because of violence linked to Tahoe''s project. The project has been affected by anti-mining sentiment and violence since a mining permit was awarded in April. While many protests have been "peaceful and respectful, violence from outside influences has escalated in the past weeks since we received our operating permit," Tahoe CEO Kevin McArthur said. The project''s security team used tear gas and rubber bullets to repel protesters at the mine gate after a protest involving about 20 people armed with machetes "turned hostile" on Saturday (Apr 27), the company added, with some people needing hospital treatment. Other incidents took place away from the Escobal site, the company said. As a result of the recent incidents, work at the mine has "slowed" with construction and development was expected to return to normal by Thursday (May 2). In recent weeks contract truck drivers have been attackedand one truck set alight and access to the mine was temporarily blocked by protesters last month. Tahoe this week agreed to pay a voluntary 5% royalty from Escobal, which is expected to produce 20Moz silver annually for 10 years from 2017, with commissioning expected in 4Q13.