State of emergency imposed after gang violence permits police to arrest suspected criminals with out judicial order.
Printed On 20 Jan 2026
Ten cops have been killed in a wave of coordinated gangster assaults in Guatemala that started with jail riots in three amenities and fanned out onto the streets of the capital in retribution killings, main the federal government to declare a state of emergency.
Officers confirmed late on Monday {that a} tenth police officer died following the assaults, because the nation’s lawmakers permitted the 30-day state of emergency that had come into impact the day before today in a near-unanimous vote, based on information company The Related Press.
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The violence erupted on Saturday when inmates from the infamous Barrio 18 gang took dozens of guards hostage at three prisons, and escalated the next day with assaults on police in and round Guatemala Metropolis after safety forces regained management of a jail holding the gang’s chief, Aldo “El Lobo” Duppie.
The authorities stated the gang, which is reportedly concerned in drug trafficking throughout Central America together with rival group Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), was demanding privileges for its members and leaders.
On Monday, the federal government gazette printed President Bernardo Arevalo’s declaration of the state of emergency, which limits freedom of motion and demonstrations and permits police to arrest folks with no judicial order if they’re suspected gang members.
The declaration, condemning the “coordinated actions” of the gangsters towards state forces, which included “armed assaults towards civilian authorities”, additionally offers police powers to ban the motion of autos in sure locations or topic them to searches.
‘Sacrifice’ in line of obligation
On Monday, police honoured their fallen colleagues in a ceremony on the Inside Ministry because the nation reeled from the violence in an environment of worry and outrage, with heavier safety within the streets of the capital.
“Immediately it pains me to provide every one of many households this flag, image of the nation that won’t neglect the sacrifice and dedication of their police fallen within the fulfilment of their obligation,” stated Arevalo on Monday.
Since mid-2025, gang members have staged a number of uprisings in Guatemalan prisons to demand their leaders be held in much less restrictive circumstances. In October, 20 leaders of Barrio 18 escaped from jail. Solely six have been recaptured, whereas one other was shot lifeless.
Gang chief El Lobo – married to the niece of Sandra Torres, the principle rival of Arevalo within the 2023 presidential election – is serving sentences totalling roughly 2,000 years.
