Members of Guatemala’s two largest gangs — Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha — rioted in two prisons on Tuesday, demanding the return of 10 leaders who were transferred to another facility and placed in solitary confinement.
Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez told AP that at least six prison guards are being held hostage, including one who was shot, during the unrest at two prisons in Guatemala City.
Jiménez said the rioters want authorities to move their leaders back from Renovación I prison, where they are under strict isolation, to facilities where they previously held influence and “exercised criminal power.”
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“The Guatemalan state will not bow down to you,” Jiménez wrote on social media.
The transfers came just over a month after a funeral home massacre left seven people dead during a wake for an alleged gang member. Authorities blame the gangs for recent violence in the country, which they say is driven by ongoing conflict between the rival groups.
Jiménez vowed the government will not give in to threats, stressing that the imprisoned gang leaders will receive “no privileges, no concessions,” adding, “The security and peace of Guatemalans is far above any threat from these criminals.”
Source: Agency