Court Bars Special Laws for Two Security Zones
Colombia’s Constitutional Court has stripped military and civilian officials of special powers in two security zones created to increase state control over territory controlled by insurgents.
One area contains 26 towns in Bolivar and Sucre states in northern Colombia. The other encompasses three towns in the eastern state of Arauca.
President Alvaro Uribe established the zones in September to give the military the authority to make arrests, conduct searches and use wiretaps without warrants. The court ruled the provisions illegal.
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