Mara Salvatrucha ‘takes’ two prisons in Guatemala; kidnaps 9 guards

For the second time in a week, gang members have staged two simultaneous riots in two Guatemalan prisons and held at least nine guards hostage, demanding the return of the group’s leaders to the prisons where they were held until the end of July.

Deputy Security Minister José Portillo told The Associated Press that Mara Salvatrucha gang members are rioting in the prisons of El Boquerón—located in the department of Santa Rosa, about 65 kilometers southeast of the capital—and Pavoncito, in Guatemala City.
The gang members are demanding the return of their leaders, who were transferred to another prison and held in isolation for a feud that has left several dead.

On Tuesday, riots erupted at the Preventivo and Fraijanes prisons, holding 11 guards for approximately 18 hours. An anti-kidnapping command of the National Civil Police said it released the detainees and arrested five gang members, seizing several firearms.

The gang members in prison have been arrested for various crimes, including murder, contract killings, rape, and extortion.

Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump designated the Mara Salvatrucha gang as a terrorist organization, including it on a list of organized crime groups operating in the region and threatening the security and lives of people in the hemisphere.