Getting your player ready...
ASUNCION, Paraguay — Lawmakers gave Paraguay’s president and army emergency powers resembling martial law Saturday to pursue a guerrilla group known for its kidnappings in the north of the country.
Congress proclaimed constitutional order at risk as it declared a 30-day emergency for a five-state region where the Paraguayan People’s Army has sown fear with kidnappings for ransom in the name of political change to help the rural poor.
Leftist President Fernando Lugo, who had asked for a 60-day suspension of due process, will be able to order arrests and the transfer of suspects without court approval.
