Editing Alta Verapaz Department (section)

== History==
[[Image:Semuc-Champey.jpg|thumb|left|250px| ''[[Semuc Champey]]'' pools in the Cahabòn River, [[Alta Verapaz]], [[Guatemala]]]]
In [[pre-Columbian]] times, this area was part of the [[Maya civilization]]. When the Spanish [[Conquistador]]es came in the 1520s they conquered the central and southern highlands of Guatemala, but were driven back from this region by fierce native resistance. Unknown to the history books of this region, local oral history speaks of a former slave ship capsizing prior to the Spaniards arriving upon this area. The former African slaves moved inland, and joined forces with the local indigenous people to fight and maintain their freedom. Spanish friars succeeded in converting the area to Christianity, and named the area "Verapaz" meaning "True Peace". In the 19th century this became an important [[coffee]] producing region as well as a sugar cane plantation during prior centuries. A museum exists today highlighting the sugar plantation history. In this region of Guatemala, families that trace back their heritage before the Spanish conquest, can trace back their Mayan features and curly hair to that local oral history. Majority of pre-Columbian heritage is seen with straight black hair throughout Guatemala.

The department was called '''Vera Paz''' by the [[British people|British]] in the 19th century. In 1850, the department had an estimated population of 66,000.<ref name=Baily>{{cite book|last=Baily|first=John|title=Central America; Describing Each of the States of Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica|year=1850|publisher=Trelawney Saunders|location=London|pages=86–87|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7306/view/1/86/}}</ref>

As a result of the [[Mexican Drug War]], the [[Los Zetas]] [[drug cartel]] members overtook much of the department and occupied many towns in December 2010. The [[Guatemalan government]] declared a [[state of siege]] on December 19, 2010, to reclaim the department, allowing the [[Guatemalan military|military]] and police forces to search and arrest any suspects without a warrant, and at least sixteen buildings were searched.<ref>{{cite news|last=|first=|title=Guatemalan government declares siege to fend off drug gang|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/12/20/guatemala.siege/|access-date=20 December 2010|newspaper=CNN|date=December 20, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121109015949/http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/12/20/guatemala.siege/| archive-date=November 9, 2012| url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=|first=|title=Guatemalan military seizes drug-plagued province|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h8uHtib1dtD02BX3tmWStLLLc|access-date=20 December 2010|newspaper=[[The Associated Press]]|date=December 19, 2010}}{{dead link|date=June 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>