Editing History of Guatemala (section)

===== Franja Transversal del Norte =====
{{Main|Franja Transversal del Norte}}

[[File:Guatemala franja transversal del norte.png|thumb|Location of the [[Franja Transversal del Norte]] (Northern Transversal Strip) in Guatemala]]

The first settler project in the FTN was established in Sebol-Chinajá in [[Alta Verapaz]]. Sebol, then regarded as a strategic point and route through the Cancuén River, communicated with Petén via the Usumacinta River on the border with Mexico. The only road at that time was a dirt track built by President [[Lázaro Chacón]] in 1928. In 1958, during General [[Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes]]'s government, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) financed infrastructure projects in Sebol, which eventually adopted the name "Fray Bartolomé de las Casas," a municipality created in 1983 in Alta Verapaz. In 1960, then Army Captain [[Fernando Romeo Lucas García]] acquired the Saquixquib and Punta de Boloncó farms in northeastern Sebol. In 1963, he purchased the "San Fernando" farm, El Palmar de Sejux, and later acquired the "Sepur" farm near San Fernando. During these years, Lucas, a member of the Guatemalan legislature, lobbied Congress to boost investment in the region.{{sfn|Solano|2012|p=10}}

During this period, the region's importance lay in livestock, the exploitation of precious export wood, and archaeological wealth. Timber contracts were awarded to multinational companies such as Murphy Pacific Corporation from California, which invested US$30 million in the colonization of southern Petén and Alta Verapaz, forming the North Impulsadora Company. Colonization involved granting inhospitable areas of the FTN to native peasants.{{sfn|Solano|2012|p=12}}

In 1962, the DGAA became the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INTA) through Decree 1551, which established the Agrarian Transformation Law. In 1964, INTA defined the FTN's geography as the northern part of the departments of Huehuetenango, Quiché, Alta Verapaz, and Izabal. That same year, priests from the [[Maryknoll]] order and the Order of the Sacred Heart, in collaboration with INTA, began the first colonization process, bringing settlers from Huehuetenango to the Ixcán sector in Quiché.{{sfn|Solano|2012|p=13}}

{{quote box|width=90%|align=center|"It is of public interest and national emergency, the establishment of Agrarian Development Zones in the area included within the municipalities: San Ana Huista, San Antonio Huista, Nentón, Jacaltenango, [[San Mateo Ixcatán]], and Santa Cruz Barillas in [[Huehuetenango (department)|Huehuetenango]]; [[Chajul]] and San Miguel Uspantán in Quiché; Cobán, Chisec, San Pedro Carchá, Lanquín, Senahú, Cahabón and Chahal, in Alta Verapaz and the entire department of Izabal."|Decreto 60–70, artítulo 1o.{{sfn|Solano|2012|p=15}}}}

The Northern Transversal Strip was officially established during General Carlos Arana Osorio's government in 1970, through Decree 60–70 in Congress, aimed at promoting agricultural development.<ref name=wikiguate>{{cite journal|url=http://wikiguate.com.gt/wiki/Franja_Transversal_del_Norte|journal=Wikiguate|title=Franja Transversal del Norte|access-date=30 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414054657/http://wikiguate.com.gt/wiki/Franja_Transversal_del_Norte|archive-date=14 April 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>