Authorities initially reported that 46 guards were taken hostage across the three prisons. Police later said 43 were freed and that all hostages had been released; officials did not immediately explain the discrepancy.
Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda said gangs carried out multiple attacks on police in and around Guatemala City after security forces reasserted control, leaving at least seven officers dead and 10 wounded. Police arrested seven suspects and seized two rifles and two vehicles, authorities said. “The state will not kneel before these criminals,” Villeda said.
The government said the crackdown included re-detaining Barrio 18 leader Aldo Duppie, known as “El Lobo,” and deploying joint police and army operations as the order took effect, Reuters reported.
Villeda said officials would not negotiate over gang demands. “I am not going to make any deals with any terrorist group,” he said, according to Reuters’ account of the prison takeover. The Ministry of Education suspended classes nationwide Monday, officials said.
Guatemala state of siege: what it changes
The Guatemala state of siege allows temporary limits on some constitutional rights — including freedom of movement, assembly and protest — while expanding security forces’ authority to respond to organized crime. Arévalo said the measure was meant to protect the public and keep gangs from using prisons to coordinate street-level violence.
The Guatemala state of siege decree still requires congressional approval, but it can take effect before lawmakers vote, officials said.
Prison unrest has been building
Sunday’s decision follows months of turbulence inside Guatemala’s prison system. In August, members of Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha staged riots in two prisons demanding the return of 10 leaders moved into solitary confinement, the Associated Press reported.
In October, Arévalo accepted the resignations of senior security officials after authorities confirmed that 20 Barrio 18 members escaped from a maximum-security prison with alleged inside help, Reuters reported. Days later, Guatemala approved an anti-gang law that designates Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha as terrorist groups, increases prison sentences for gang members convicted of crimes and orders construction of a new prison, the Associated Press reported.
Arévalo’s government says the Guatemala state of siege is aimed at breaking the link between prison leadership and violence outside. Whether the 30-day measure stabilizes prisons without disrupting daily life will likely shape how quickly Congress moves to endorse or amend the order.
