The death toll from suspected gangsters’ attacks on Guatemalan police rose to nine Monday, as Guatemalans awoke to heavier security and curtailed rights under a state of siege declared by President Bernardo Arévalo.
The violence started Saturday when inmates took control of three prisons in apparently coordinated riots, taking hostage 43 guards. The gangs were demanding privileges for their members and leaders, according to authorities.
Shortly after police liberated one prison Sunday morning, suspected gang members attacked police across the capital.
On Monday, National Civil Police Director David Custodio Boteo said that a ninth police officer had died early Monday from his injuries.
“There are several wounded who are in critical condition,” Custodio Boteo said. “Some also suffered amputations.”
Police honored the fallen officers in a ceremony Monday.
The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala had instructed U.S. government personnel to shelter in place Sunday. That was lifted later in the day, but they were “advised to maintain a high level of caution when traveling.”
The government gazette published Arévalo’s 30-day state of siege Monday. It justifies the declaration saying that there were “coordinated actions by self-named maras or gangs against state security forces, including armed attacks against civilian authorities.”
The Congress was expected to vote on the declaration Monday, though it went into effect immediately Sunday.
Among the rights that the declaration limits are freedom of action, legal arrest, demonstrations and the carrying of weapons. Security forces could also prohibit the movement of vehicles in certain places or subject them to searches.
In October, the Congress reformed laws to declare members of the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha gangs terrorists. The changes lengthened prison sentences for gang members who commit crimes.
The United States government also declared those gangs foreign terrorist organizations last year.
