Guatemala City [Guatemala], January 19 (ANI): Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo has declared a 30-day nationwide state of emergency following a surge of violence linked to coordinated prison riots and subsequent gang reprisals over the weekend.
Authorities said unrest erupted in three prisons where inmates took dozens of guards and staff hostage to protest restrictions on privileges for gang leaders, including Aldo Duppie, a prominent figure in the Barrio 18 gang.
Security forces regained control of the facilities after raids by police and military units, and Arevalo said all hostages had been freed. Shortly after the prisons were retaken, at least seven police officers were killed and around 10 others wounded in what authorities described as retaliatory attacks by gang members in and around Guatemala City.
“These murders were carried out with the intention of terrorizing the security forces and the population so that we give up in the fight against gangs and their regime of terror. But they will fail,” Arevalo said in a nationwide address, stressing that the government would not yield to intimidation.
The emergency decree, which allows for expanded powers for security forces and limits certain civil liberties, was issued as part of efforts to curb gang violence that has long plagued the Central American nation. Arevalo also declared three days of national mourning for those killed, and Defense Minister Henry Saenz said the army would remain on the streets to support ongoing operations.
In response to the unrest, the US Embassy in Guatemala City lifted a temporary shelter-in-place order for its staff over the weekend. Schools in some areas were also suspended as authorities bolstered security. (ANI)
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