Guatemala prison gangs kill eight policemen in transfer retaliation

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Guatemalan riot police officers guard the entrance to the men's Preventive Detention Center in Guatemala City on January 18, 2026. — AFP pic

ESCUINTLA (Guatemala), Jan 19 — Authorities in Guatemala accused gangs of killing eight police on Sunday in retaliation for the government’s refusal to transfer gang leaders to a lower-security prison.

The killings occurred in the Guatemalan capital and surrounding areas a day after gang-affiliated inmates took 46 people hostage in three prisons across the country. Police regained control of one of the prisons on Sunday.

In a statement increasing an earlier toll by one, Guatemala’s police said it “regrets the death of eight of its officers in the line of duty at the hands of criminals.”

Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda earlier told a press conference he was deeply saddened by the “cowardly” killing of police officers “by these terrorists, in response to the actions the Guatemalan state is taking against them.”

Ten other police officers were wounded in the retaliatory attacks, and one suspected gang member was killed, he said.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo announced on X he had convened an emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday to make “decisive decisions to maintain security.”

The US Embassy in Guatemala advised its personnel to shelter in place and avoid crowds, while the government suspended schools on Monday.

One prison regained 

Prison system guards receive assistance after being rescued following a riot outside the Renovacion I maximum-security prison in Escuintla, Guatemala, on January 18, 2026. Gang groups held more than 40 guards in several prisons in Guatemala on January 17 as they rioted in protest over the transfer of their leaders to a maximum-security facility, authorities said. — AFP pic

At dawn on Sunday, police supported by the army entered the Renovacion I maximum-security prison in Escuintla, about 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of Guatemala City, using armored vehicles and tear gas.

After 15 minutes, they managed to regain control of the prison and freed guards being held hostage, an AFP photographer witnessed.

“It was an operation that unfolded without casualties on either side, and we managed to rescue the nine hostages that these terrorists had in their power,” Villeda said.

The interior ministry published a video on X showing officers handcuffing and leading away the alleged leader in Guatemala of the Barrio 18 gang, whom authorities identified as Aldo Dupie, alias “El Lobo” (The Wolf). He had bloodstained clothing.

Barrio 18 and its rival gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) are blamed for much of the drug trafficking and criminal violence that plague the Central American country.

Washington has declared both groups to be terrorist organizations.

Criminal violence 

The body of a police officer lies next to evidence markers in the Castanas neighborhood of Villa Nueva, Guatemala, on January 18, 2025. — AFP pic

Since Saturday morning, inmates had been holding 45 guards and a psychiatrist hostage to protest the transfer of gang leaders to a maximum-security prison.

The gang members are still holding hostages at the two other prisons: 28 at Fraijanes II located east of the Guatemalan capital, and nine at the Preventivo prison on the outskirts of city.

Villeda acknowledged that the government was “negotiating” to secure the release of hostages, but insisted that the state “will not bow down to these criminals.”

Defense Minister Henry Saenz said the army “will remain on the streets” to continue “dismantling” criminal groups.

Since mid-2025, gang members have staged uprisings at prisons to demand their leaders be held in less restrictive conditions.

In October, Guatemalan authorities reported that 20 leaders of the Barrio 18 gang had escaped from prison. Only six have been recaptured, while another was shot and killed.

Guatemala’s homicide rate in 2025 was 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double the global average. — AFP