Colombia on Sunday declared a state of emergency to prevent the imminent release of more than 800 imprisoned guerrillas, drug traffickers and other dangerous criminals.
The prisoners, whose pending cases had failed to be resolved within the prescribed time limit, were a day away from freedom when the government stepped in."The government has decided . . . to declare a state of emergency," Justice Minister Andres Gonzalez Diaz told reporters after an extraordinary ministerial meeting with President Cesar Gaviria.
Gonzalez Diaz said the 10-day state of emergency, which went into effect immediately, would allow Colombia's government to suspend for two months the legal guarantees that would have granted the prisoners their conditional freedom.