Roman Gressier, Yuliana Ramazzini and Carlos Barrera write in El Faro English on the startling developments that have overtaken the Government of Bernardo Arévalo at the beginning of his third term. The events started off as a series of gang-related prison riots, followed by their quelling, escalated to the murder of nine police officers by the 18th Street gang.
On Monday, January 19, the Guatemalan Congress ratified by an absolute majority vote a state of siege decreed by President Bernardo Arévalo, after three prison riots and the murder of nine police officers by the 18th Street gang this weekend highlighted the growing insecurity in the country. Arévalo’s state of siege will last 30 days and allow joint police and military patrols to carry out arrests and raids without a warrant. “We do not negotiate with criminals or tolerate terrorist actions,” Arévalo said in a national broadcast on Sunday night, surrounded by his interior and defense ministers.
Arévalo’s state of siege comes in the week marking his second year in power, amid a fierce struggle over Guatemalan prisons. On Sunday morning, members of 18th Street simultaneously seized Renovación I, the Zone 18 Preventive Detention Center, and Fraijanes II, taking dozens of prison guards hostage. Arévalo reported that the authorities regained control without killing any incarcerated people but that, in retaliation, the gang murdered eight National Civil Police officers on the streets of the capital. In the early hours of the morning, a ninth police officer died in the hospital.
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For the government, prisons have been a major focus of confrontation with gangs. Early last year, the government began a series of prisoner transfers in a campaign to fragment gang leaderships across different facilities. In Escuintla, they remodeled the El Infiernito prison and inaugurated it in November 2024 as the Renovación I Maximum Security Detention Center. In July 2025, a dozen leaders of 18th Street and MS-13 were moved to Renovación I. That prison was one of three facilities where 18th Street launched its riots this weekend.
You can read the full piece, with links and photos, here Arévalo Begins Third Year under State of Siege amid Clashes with 18th Street.
Al Jazeera has a piece on the events, by Erin Hale, which you can read here, Guatemala’s president declares 30-day state of emergency after prison riots.
There is more from El Faro English on accusations by Arévalo that 18th Street gang members attempted to assassinate him, here, Arévalo Accuses 18th Street Gang of Assassination Plot during 2023 Campaign.
Categories: Corruption, Criminalisation, Criminalization, Guatemala, Impunity, Justice, Violence
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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