Attacks Against Police Result in Permanent Security Council Session

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales confirmed on March 21 that the National Security Council is in permanent session. The announcement follows a series of nine attacks that left three members of the National Police Force (PNC) dead and seven injured on March 20.

Reportedly, Barrio 18, a local street gang, orchestrated the deadly assaults in retaliation for the PNC’s intervention in a riot at Centro Estatal Etapa II, a juvenile prison center in Guatemala City. The imprisoned gang members had mounted a revolt to protest orders by the attorney general that called for a government crackdown on the criminal band in February 2017. The prisoners also demanded better living conditions and the return of more than 250 gang members who had been transferred to another prison.

The National Security Council session convenes the interior and defense ministers, representatives from the military intelligence board, the secretary of the State Strategic Intelligence Unit, and the Directorate of Civil Intelligence.

The assaults and subsequent National Security Council session spark serious concerns about Guatemala’s national security, the internal organization of street gangs like Barrio 18, and the government’s inability to deal with them. Furthermore, they have reignited rumors that gangs control the prisons, using them as operational bases and sources of recruitment.

According to Nery Ramos, head of the PNC, at least 13 suspects—all members of Barrio 18—have been detained in relation to the attacks, and 49 others have been charged for rioting at the prison center.

In the same press conference, Morales re-emphasized his administration’s commitment to national security and child protection. Going forward, he called for the police force to keep “acting with honor, sacrifice, and hope.”

Morales concluded, “We must protect the life and integrity of all Guatemalans.’’