Sawt Falasteen - Guatemalans call for iron fist over surge in gang violence

On Sunday, suspected members of the notorious Barrio 18 gang carried out a wave of attacks on the police after security forces put down a prison mutiny.

Eight officers were killed on Sunday and a ninth died of his injuries on Monday.

President Bernardo Arevalo declared a 30-day emergency on Sunday over the violence, which caused deep shock among Guatemalans.

On Monday, he presided over a memorial ceremony for the slain police officers at the interior ministry.

The streets of the capital Guatemala City were semi-deserted and private schools, courts and universities remained shuttered.

Sitting on a bench in the historic center of Guatemala City, an octogenarian told AFP that he believed the only way to stamp out criminal gangs was by "burning them."

"A criminal caught, a criminal killed, because there's no other way...It's like a tree; if you don't pull out the roots, it will sprout again," the man, who gave only his last name, Espana, said.

He called for Guatemala's government to emulate the iron-fisted policies of President Nayib Bukele of neighboring El Salvador.

Bukele has imprisoned tens of thousands of men without charge, as part of a war on gangs which has led to a sharp drop in El Salvador's murder rate but caused an outcry over human rights abuses.

Alejandra Donis, a 30-year-old shopkeeper, also held Bukele up as an example of leadership.

"There was a point in El Salvador where it was scary to just go out, right? And now it's a place that's quite touristy; you can go there, and it feels peaceful," she said.

- 'The Wolf' -

The unrest in Guatemala began when inmates at three prisons took 45 guards and a psychiatrist hostage on Saturday to demand gang leaders be transferred from a maximum-security prison to more lenient facilities.

On Sunday, the police and army stormed all three penitentiaries and restored control.

After the first prison raid, the interior ministry published a video on X showing officers handcuffing and leading away Barrio 18's alleged leader in Guatemala, whom authorities identified as Aldo Dupie, alias "El Lobo" (The Wolf).

In response to the crackdown, gang members attacked police stations and patrols.

The coffins of the slain police officers were draped in Guatemalan blue-and-white flags at the interior ministry and flanked by colleagues in uniform, standing to attention.

Arevalo, dressed in a black suit, greeted the grieving relatives, hugging some.

- FBI help sought -

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

Washington has declared both to be terrorist organizations.

Arevalo said the declared state of emergency would allow the police and army to act against organized crime but soldiers remained in their barracks on Monday, awaiting orders.

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

In October, 20 leaders of Barrio 18 escaped from prison.

Only six have been recaptured, while another was shot and killed.

The government at the time asked for the help of the FBI to track down the remaining escapees.

Across Latin America, gang members continue to run criminal enterprises, from drug trafficking rings to extortion rackets, from behind bars -- often with the collusion of corrupt prison officials.

V.Said--SF-PST