Guatemala prisoners take workers hostages in riots across three facilities

At least 46 workers have been held hostage in riots in three detention centers in Guatemala, according to authorities.

According to officials, the incidents, which started on Saturday, appeared to be coordinated by gang members in response to their leader’s request to move to a different facility for better conditions.

Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda stated at a press conference that neither hostages’ deaths nor injuries had been reported.

The Interior Ministry referred to the unrest as a “direct reaction” to its decision to revoke privileges from gang leaders, while Villeda claimed that the Barrio 18 gang was responsible for the riots.

I won’t enter into any deals with terrorist organizations. Villeda stated, “I will not give in to this blackmail, and I will not grant them any privileges unless they stop doing it,”

A psychologist is among the hostages, according to a prison official, who is primarily a guard.

Police and soldiers built a perimeter around the Renovacion 1 maximum security prison in Escuintla in Guatemala’s south, where ambulances and fire trucks could come in if needed.

From above, perched in the prison’s patrol towers, watched inmates, some wearing jumpsuits, but the majority wearing tank tops and shorts, their faces mask-clad and improvised with clothing.

Behind barbed wire, a masked inmate said they were requesting a move because they were not safe at the prison.

How are they supposed to guarantee ours if they can’t even guarantee their own security? he said, referring to prison guards.

In recent years, Guatemala has struggled to control its prison population because of gang lore that is prevalent. Meanwhile, some inmates have criticized the harsh and dangerous conditions.

After 20 gang members escaped over the course of a few days, President Bernardo Arévalo accepted the resignations of three top security personnel.

Arevalo stated in an interview with The Associated Press news agency earlier this week that “the link between the prison system and the criminality outside must be cut.”