Guatemalan President Declares 30-days State of Emergency After Prison Riot
Guatemalan President Declares 30-days State of Emergency After Prison Riot
Guatemalan President, Bernardo Arévalo has declared a 30-day state of emergency following a series of violent prison riots and hostage situations.
The decree, which awaits legislative approval, suspends certain civil liberties and expands the powers of security forces to conduct arrests and interrogations. This move aims to restore order after coordinated attacks by gangs challenged the government’s authority across the country.
The unrest was triggered on Saturday when Barrio 18 gang members took 46 prison staff and guards hostage across three facilities.
The rioters were reportedly protesting government efforts to revoke the privileges of incarcerated gang leaders, including the notorious Aldo Duppie, known as “El Lobo.”
Authorities characterized the uprising as a direct response to the administration’s refusal to negotiate with groups now classified as terrorists.
In a massive Sunday morning operation, hundreds of police and military personnel raided the Renovación maximum-security prison and two other sites. Security forces successfully liberated all 46 hostages, including guards and medical staff. During the raid, gang leader Aldo Duppie was apprehended and removed from the facility, effectively ending the inmates’ brief control over the prisons.
The violence spilled into the streets as gang members launched coordinated ambushes against law enforcement in Guatemala City.
At least seven police officers were killed and 10 others injured in the resulting clashes, with some reports suggesting an even higher death toll.
President Arévalo described these retaliatory strikes as “armed attacks” intended to terrorize the public and force a government retreat.
In a national address, President Arévalo condemned the killings and declared three days of national mourning for the fallen officers. He vowed that the state would not succumb to criminal pressure or “regimes of terror.”
As a precaution, the military has been deployed to the streets and nationwide school classes were cancelled on Monday while security operations remain ongoing.
This crackdown follows the 2025 designation of Barrio 18 and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations by the Guatemalan Congress. The designation aligns with similar moves by the United States to dismantle the influence of gangs that manage criminal enterprises from within the prison system.
The current state of emergency serves as a pivotal test for Arévalo’s strategy to break the power of organized crime.
