President Bernardo Arévalo of Guatemala says that authorities have regained control of three prison facilities that were taken over by prisoners this weekend in the capital of Guatemala City, but the death toll of police officers killed by assassins as part of a concerted attack launched by one of the nation’s most vicious gangs has now reached nine on Monday.
Assailants affiliated with the Barrio 18 street gang gunned down unsuspecting members of the National Civil Police (PNC), ambushing some law enforcement officials sitting inside their patrol units as the gang’s top brass wages war on the state.
The Arévalo government announced a 30-day state of emergency on Sunday after the gang usurped control over several prisons in the area and taking dozens of guards hostage.
On Monday afternoon, the director of the PNC of Guatemala, David Boteo, confirmed the death of a ninth agent killed in an apparent targeted attack following a slew of other assassinations that took place throughout the city.
Boteo also voiced criticism of the government’s handling of the nation’s gang problem, arguing that the laws are meant to favor criminals.
The Guatemalan Congress held an emergency meeting following President Arévalo’s declaration of a state of emergency in response to this weekend’s attacks. The legislative body of 160 deputies has the option of either approving or rejecting the executive decree, but has since resorted to lobbing verbal assaults on their political opposition.
Members of the UNE (National Unity of Hope) bloc, Guatemala’s conservative opposition party, have clashed with the nation’s ruling government over accusations of criminal collusion, with UNE members condemning the government’s party for conducting negotiations with the gangs over prison conditions.
UNE members have attributed blame for this weekend’s crisis to the ruling SEED party of President Arévalo, who has been criticized by dissenters for a soft-on-crime approach since taking office in January of 2024.
On September 23, 2024, the Trump administration formally designated the criminal Barrio 18 gang as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), allowing the U.S. government additional powers to target suspected members of the group as legitimate foreign combatants.
One month later, the Guatemalan Congress followed suit.
Gangs have posed problems for the relatively new Arévalo government, which has struggled with reducing rampant crime and gang violence fueled by competition over drug territory.
Although the nation’s homicide rate has declined since earlier years, Guatemala’s gang epidemic has also constrained the ruling government from focusing on carrying out Arévalo’s domestic agenda, where the administration is experiencing declining support among voters, and where the national discussion of the state’s crime crisis is one of the top concerns for citizens.
