Guatemala takes control of prisons after riots!
Guatemala City, Jan 18 (EFE).-
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León confirmed Sunday that the three prisons in which riots broke out on Saturday and several prison guards were taken hostage, are now under government control.
The president assured that the guards in the three prisons were rescued unharmed, “without a single casualty to regret,” although he did not specify the number of people rescued.
The operations, however, provoked retaliatory attacks by gang members against Guatemalan security forces on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of eight police officers in various parts of the capital.
Due to the riots and the killings of security forces, Arévalo de León decreed a 30-day state of siege, a measure that allows authorities to arrest anyone without a warrant.
He emphasized that the declaration will not alter the daily life of citizens or the “mobility of the population,” beyond the suspension of classes scheduled for Monday in both the private and public sectors.
“I want to say loud and clear that we do not negotiate with criminals nor do we tolerate terrorist actions,” the president said in a message to the nation.
Arévalo specified that the release of hostages took place thanks to “exemplary” operations by security forces at the ‘Renovación 1’ prison (maximum security), the Zone 18 Preventive Detention Center, and Fraijanes II, where the riots occurred on Saturday.
He said the operations were carried out jointly by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of National Defense. EFE
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