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.
48 Articles
48 Articles
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…
US Embassy in Guatemala Issues Security Alert After Gang Violence
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala this week issued an alert warning American citizens to exercise caution while in the Latin American country, noting that it lifted an earlier security order for U.S. officials there. “The U.S. Embassy has lifted the shelter-in-place order for its personnel. However, the situation remains tense, with armed attacks against the National Civil Police in multiple areas of Guatemala City,” it said in a Jan. 18 post on X. …
Associated Press News
Police begin to flex new powers in Guatemala in effort to confront gangs
Days after suspected gang members killed 10 Guatemalan police officers, police and soldiers took their new powers granted under a state of emergency to the Barrio 18 gang’s center of operations in the north of the capital.
As eight police officers were killed, the Guatemalan President declared the state of siege for 30 days in order to restore law and order.
Henry Herald
Corsicana Daily SunGuatemala's state of emergency, in photos
Guatemala President Bernardo Arévalo declared a state of emergency following a surge of gang-related violence that included prison riots and the killing of several police officers over the weekend.
The state of siege, which was ratified by Congress, authorizes arrests and interrogations without a warrant and suspends rights of assembly and demonstration.
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