Guatemala Imposes State of Emergency After Deadly Gang Reprisals

Guatemala’s president has declared a nationwide state of emergency after a violent weekend in which gangs took dozens of hostages across three prisons and killed at least seven police officers in what authorities described as coordinated reprisals.

President Bernardo Arévalo issued a 30-day emergency order on Sunday, granting security forces expanded powers, including the ability to arrest or question individuals without prior court approval. The measures took effect immediately, though they still require approval by Guatemala’s Congress.

“These murders were carried out with the intention of terrorising 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,” Arévalo said in a nationwide address.

He confirmed that all hostages had been freed and announced three days of national mourning for the slain officers.

The crisis began on Saturday after prison authorities moved to curtail the privileges of senior gang leaders, triggering coordinated riots inside multiple facilities. Among those targeted was Aldo Duppie, the imprisoned leader of Guatemala’s Barrio 18 gang, also known as El Lobo.

Barrio 18 and its rival Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, were designated as foreign terrorist organisations by the administration of US President Donald Trump in September, a move later mirrored by Guatemala’s Congress.

In response to the crackdown, gang-affiliated inmates seized 46 prison guards and staff members across three prisons in and around Guatemala City, including the maximum-security facility holding Duppie.

Security forces launched a rapid operation early Sunday to retake control of the prison housing the Barrio 18 leader, followed by raids on two additional facilities later the same day. Images released by police showed Duppie in custody wearing a blood-stained shirt after the operation.

Soon after authorities regained control of the prisons, violence spilled onto the streets. Armed attacks targeting police officers left at least seven dead and 10 wounded, according to official figures, though some local media reported higher casualty numbers.

Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda said the killings appeared to be direct retaliation for the state’s actions against gang leadership.

The army will “remain on the streets” as part of an expanded security operation, Defence Minister Henry Sáenz said, underscoring the government’s intent to maintain pressure on criminal groups.

The scale and coordination of the violence prompted alarm among international partners. The US Embassy in Guatemala City lifted a shelter-in-place order for its staff on Sunday after reporting “coordinated, armed attacks on police in several zones” of the capital over the weekend.