Guatemala City, Feb 5 (IANS/EFE): Guatemala now raises its national flag on a monument that has the tallest flagstaff in Central America, which makes it visible from any part of the capital, Defense Minister Ulises Anzueto said.

The monument, inaugurated over the weekend by President Otto Perez Molina, was erected by the defense ministry on the highest point of the Marshall Zavala Brigade's training camp on the city's mountainous north side.

The flagpole, cast in steel and weighing 25 tonnes, is 54 meters tall, which makes it the tallest in Central America and perhaps even in all of Latin America, Anzueto said.

The national flag measures 36 meters wide and 26 meters high, and weighs some 158 kg, the reason it is raised by remote control.

The flagstaff will be illuminated at night so people can see the patriotic symbol from all around the capital.

The monument is in a mountainous area closed to the public, though the army is planning tours so that students can come and see it.