Guatemala’s former minister of governance resigns and leaves the country after the public learns of the escape from prison of twenty Barrio 18 (18th Street) gang members.
Gabriel Labrador and Roman Gressier presented a podcast on El Faro English highlighting recent the prison break from a maximum-security prison.
For almost two months, Guatemalan authorities didn’t make a peep about the escape of 20 gang leaders from the maximum-security prison Fraijanes Two, facilitated by public officials.
The silence was broken on October 11, when former prosecutor Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa posted about it on social media. The Ministry of Governance, which oversees the police and prisons, confirmed the events 48 hours later.
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Guatemalan prisons are at 400 percent capacity, according to 2024 data. Last year, 100 guards were accused of smuggling illegal items. Between June and August 2025, guards were taken hostage in seven riots. One of them was killed.
This year, an extortion center was also discovered in El Infiernito, or “Little Hell,” a prison along the Pacific coast. Following several prisoner transfers, homicides increased for the first time in 16 years.
You can read the full piece, containing a link to the podcast, here, Podcast: Gang Jailbreak in Guatemala Engulfs Arévalo in Security Crisis.
Categories: Audio, Corruption, Guatemala, Human Rights, Impunity, Justice, Solidarity in Action, Solidarity in Action/Guatemala
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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