Gang Attack on Prisons in Guatemala Leaves Eight Dead
Coordinated strikes linked to the Barrio 18 crime network hit three detention centers and the National Police, leaving seven officers and one alleged gang associate dead with 10 additional casualties, Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda disclosed during a press briefing after the violence erupted.
Prisoners overtook institutional control during Sunday morning raids across three separate locations, holding multiple correctional officers captive, Villeda explained, noting that the facility uprisings occurred simultaneously with six orchestrated assaults on National Police personnel throughout different regions.
After National Police forces mobilized to restore order, authorities successfully reclaimed Renovacion 1—a penitentiary situated near Escuintla—by afternoon hours, with inmates returned to custody, Villeda reported.
Fighting persisted at the remaining two institutions.
Officials identified Aldo Dupie Ochoa, a Barrio 18 commander known by the alias El Lobo, as the orchestrator who directed the synchronized operations, allegedly aiming to establish dominance over prison operations to extract preferential treatment during incarceration and arrange relocation to alternative detention.
Ochoa had previously demanded enhanced amenities, including climate control systems for his quarters and premium catered dining options.
Villeda committed to deploying maximum governmental force against perpetrators while promising decisive measures to eliminate institutional graft and inmate advantages within correctional operations.
"I will not make any deal with any terrorist group. I will not give in to this blackmail, and I will not restore their privileges in exchange for them stopping their actions," vowed the interior minister.
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