SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico -- (AP) -- A former mayor accused of
 helping a pro-government squad massacre 45 Indians in the southern state of
 Chiapas in 1997 was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison.

 Jacinto Arias Cruz, who in 1997 was the mayor of the county where the massacre
 took place, was found guilty of helping paramilitary groups obtain arms and
 vehicles to operate in the area.

 A district court in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the Chiapas state capital, also sentenced 23
 other men. They were convicted of homicide, assault and weapons charges in
 connection with the massacre, the federal Attorney General's Office said in a
 statement.

 On Dec. 22, 1997, men armed with machetes, assault rifles and hunting guns
 slaughtered 45 men, women and children as they prayed for peace in a church.
 The massacre in Acteal -- a village supportive of the leftist Zapatista rebels --
 provoked international outrage and demands for the government to crack down on
 paramilitary groups that back the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.

 The Attorney General's Office said a total of 102 people have been arrested in
 connection with the massacre. Fifty-five have been convicted and sentenced so
 far.

 Support for the Zapatista rebels runs high in Chiapas. In January 1994, the rebels
 staged a brief armed uprising here to demand greater rights and democracy for
 Chiapas' impoverished Indian communities. Peace talks with the government have
 been stalled since mid-1996.

 Tensions have risen in recent weeks, with rebel supporters in remote jungle
 villages complaining of increased military activity and saying they fear impending
 attacks.

 The government has denied it intends to take action against the communities and
 has called for resumption of negotiations with the rebels.

 Zapatista supporters blocked main Chiapas highways Monday to demand the
 military withdraw from pro-Zapatista regions. Men, women and children sat or lay
 on principle roads, blocking hundreds of motorists for up to 16 hours.

 A protest spokeswoman who identified herself as Juana Maria said the action was
 ``the response of the Zapatistas and the civilian society to the federal
 government's open letter to restart the peace process ... (which) does not include
 stopping the Mexican army's advance on indigenous communities.''

                     Copyright 1999 Miami Herald