US EditionPolice begin to flex new powers in Guatemala in effort to confront gangs
Police and soldiers use new powers to detain suspects and patrol gang areas after coordinated prison riots and attacks killed 10 officers, Guatemala's homicide rate rising to 17.2 per 100,000.
- On Sunday, President Bernardo Arévalo declared a 30-day state of emergency, and Guatemalan Congress overwhelmingly ratified the measure Monday, restricting movement and allowing detentions without a judge's order.
- Prison uprisings began Saturday when inmates at three prisons staged coordinated riots, taking dozens of hostage guards; security forces retook control Sunday after attacks killed nine National Civil Police officers.
- Major gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha were linked to coordinated uprisings, with prison criminal structures demanding privileges and running extortion and contract-killing networks.
- Security forces established checkpoints and conducted searches Tuesday as soldiers and National Civil Police patrolled Zone 18, while the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala urged Americans to use increased caution.
- Observers warned of potential rights abuses as some legislators urged close monitoring to prevent abuses and noted the measure echoes President Nayib Bukele's tactics and last year's anti-gang law.
60 Articles
60 Articles
Barrio 18, the violent gang behind the riot in three prisons and the murder of 10 police officers in Guatemala Atahualpa Amerise-BBC News Mundo Gang violence has once again wreaked havoc in Guatemala.Mara Barrio 18 inmates took control of three prisons, kidnapping some 50 hostages, while their comrades at large carried out a series of attacks last weekend that left ten policemen dead and several injured.After regaining command of the prisons, Gu…
The Secretary of National Defense, Ricardo Trevilla, reported that the Army has strengthened coordination and deployments on the southern border before the state of siege decreed in Guatemala. The General announced that preventive measures are applied to prevent a possible effect of the displacement of criminal groups to national territory. "They are taking many forecasts, mainly with coordination with the Guatemalan armed forces. They are makin…
During a press conference, Villeda said that 135 arrests were made on Sunday, including 23 gang members directly linked to the attacks, and 23 firearms were seized
The day passes calmly in Guatemala City and nothing seems to indicate that, just 48 hours earlier, the Barrio 18 gang murdered 10 police officers in different parts of the country, which led President Bernardo Arévalo to decree a state of siege. On the main street of the capital Alameda colony, a police checkpoint detains two young people who travel on a motorcycle without a helmet. Agents check documents, inspect the vehicle and, after ten minu…
Guatemala’s gang crackdown signals regional security shift
Guatemala became the third Latin American government to declare a state of emergency to combat gang violence, as the region retrenches around security.Guatemala’s move, in response to riots that saw gangs take control of three prisons on Saturday, reflect a regional shift: Colombia’s leftist president, under US pressure, has threatened strikes against guerrillas involved in cocaine trafficking, and Mexico extradited 37 alleged cartel members to …
Tapachula (Mexico), 21 Jan (EFE).- On the Mexican border with Guatemala, citizens, businessmen and activists recognized a climate of concern and concern this Wednesday after the 30-day siege decreed by the Guatemalan government to combat gangs and a risk that criminals will cross.As Walter Orozco, an entrepreneur from Tapachula, said, who called on the Mexican authorities to strengthen the southern border and increase security with patrols in it…
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