Outraged, fearful and with half-empty streets, Guatemalans lived on Monday the first day of a state of siege decreed by the government after the murder of ten police officers at the hands of gang members, for whom they now demand the maximum punishment.
Fear soared among the inhabitants of the capital and its neighboring towns, where on Sunday several attacks were recorded against police facilities and patrols in retaliation for the retaking of three prisons where gang leaders were holding 46 people hostage.
“It’s worrying because you can’t leave peacefully without anything happening,” Alondra Flores, a 26-year-old university student, told AFP on Monday.
Ten agents, including two women and several recent graduates, died in these attacks.
Authorities claim that the attacks on the police and the riots in three prisons occurred to pressure the transfer of Aldo Dupie alias “El Lobo”, a leader of the feared Barrio 18 gang, to a lower security prison.
Dupie is accused of orchestrating the riots. On Sunday, this ringleader was shown on television surrounded by agents with long weapons, panting, kneeling and with blood stains.
He also “wanted that air conditioning be installed in the pavilion (where he was imprisoned), that a king-size bed be allowed in, that food from certain restaurants would be allowed in,” denounced the Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda.
For teacher Erwin Oliva, those privileges granted in the past by “permissive” governments emboldened criminals.
“We are reaping what has been sown for so many years, by giving privileges to gang members, by keeping them comfortable in prisons,” Oliva laments.
Dupie is convicted of several murders and, according to the local press, has close ties to a political family.
Barrio 18 was declared a terrorist organization last year by US President Donald Trump, along with his enemy the Mara Salvatrucha.
Both also operate in Honduras and El Salvador, where Nayib Bukele’s government has managed to subdue them with a heavy-handed strategy, although criticized by human rights organizations.
Amid heartbreaking scenes, the president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, presided on Monday at the funeral of seven of the police officers shot dead at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior.
He hugged several of the relatives and, visibly distressed, gave a speech next to the coffins of those he called “heroes.”
There is “outrage at the cruelty against those who are willing to kill at point-blank range, in a treacherous manner. “We are not going to rest or spare resources to punish those responsible,” said the president, who denounces that behind the gangs there are powerful political mafias that he promises to defeat.
Arévalo declared a state of siege on Sunday night for 30 days.
The measure, which was ratified this Monday by Congress, authorizes arrests and interrogations without a court order and suspends the rights to assembly and demonstration, although an increase in patrols was not yet observed.
The president also declared three days of national mourning, so the Guatemalan flag was displayed at half-mast in the Governor’s Office and other public buildings. Judiciary employees also did not work by government order.
As preventive measures, the Police also recommended that the population stay at home, while the Ministry of Education suspended classes in private schools (public schools are on vacation) and the United States embassy in Guatemala issued a security alert for its citizens.
Some schools chose to do virtual classes.
It is estimated that security operations will increase in the coming days with the coordination of police and military forces.
Sitting on a bench in the historic center of Guatemala City, an octogenarian says he supports the state of emergency, but calls for more radical measures.
«We have to go back to the old days. Criminal caught, criminal dead because there is no other way. “If this is not stopped, this will continue,” said the man, who out of fear preferred to reserve his identity.
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