Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo has enacted a 30-day nationwide state of emergency in response to escalating gang violence that resulted in the deaths of seven police officers and injuries to ten others during a weekend of coordinated attacks. The crisis originated with simultaneous prison riots across three correctional facilities where 46 guards were taken hostage by inmates allegedly affiliated with the Barrio 18 criminal syndicate.
Security forces successfully reclaimed control of the prisons and apprehended the gang’s leader, Aldo Duppie (alias ‘El Lobo’), who was photographed with visible injuries during his transfer. Shortly after his recapture, a series of retaliatory assaults targeted police units throughout Guatemala City and surrounding regions.
President Arévalo characterized these attacks as deliberate attempts by criminal organizations to intimidate state authorities and undermine anti-gang operations. ‘These murders were designed to terrorize both security forces and civilians into abandoning our confrontation against these criminal enterprises and their reign of fear,’ Arévalo stated. ‘Their strategy will ultimately prove unsuccessful.’
The emergency declaration enables heightened security measures including military deployment alongside police forces. Educational institutions nationwide suspended operations on Monday, while the U.S. Embassy issued security advisories for American citizens residing in or traveling to Guatemala.
Barrio 18 and its principal rival MS-13 maintain extensive networks throughout Central America, engaging in systematic extortion, narcotics trafficking, and violence. Guatemala’s Congress officially designated Barrio 18 as a terrorist organization in 2025, aligning with previous classifications by United States authorities. Duppie, the captured leader, is currently serving cumulative prison sentences exceeding 2,000 years for numerous criminal convictions.