State of emergency imposed after gang violence allows police to arrest suspected criminals without judicial order.

Ten police officers have been killed in a wave of coordinated gangster attacks in Guatemala that began with prison riots in three facilities and fanned out onto the streets of the capital in retribution killings, leading the government to declare a state of emergency.

Officials confirmed late on Monday that a 10th police officer died following the attacks, as the country’s lawmakers approved the 30-day state of emergency that had come into effect the previous day in a near-unanimous vote, according to news agency The Associated Press.

The violence erupted on Saturday when inmates from the notorious Barrio 18 gang took dozens of guards hostage at three prisons, and escalated the following day with attacks on police in and around Guatemala City after security forces regained control of a prison holding the gang’s leader, Aldo “El Lobo” Duppie.

The authorities said the gang, which is reportedly involved in drug trafficking across Central America along with rival group Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), was demanding privileges for its members and leaders.

On Monday, the government gazette published President Bernardo Arevalo’s declaration of the state of emergency, which limits freedom of action and demonstrations and allows police to arrest people without a judicial order if they are suspected gang members.

The declaration, condemning the “coordinated actions” of the gangsters against state forces, which included “armed attacks against civilian authorities”, also gives police powers to prohibit the movement of vehicles in certain places or subject them to searches.

‘Sacrifice’ in line of duty

On Monday, police honoured their fallen colleagues in a ceremony at the Interior Ministry as the country reeled from the violence in an atmosphere of fear and outrage, with heavier security in the streets of the capital.

“Today it pains me to give each one of the families this flag, symbol of the nation that will not forget the sacrifice and commitment of their police fallen in the fulfilment of their duty,” said Arevalo on Monday.

Since mid-2025, gang members have staged several uprisings in Guatemalan prisons to demand their leaders be held in less restrictive conditions. In October, 20 leaders of Barrio 18 escaped from prison. Only six have been recaptured, while another was shot dead.

Gang leader El Lobo – married to the niece of Sandra Torres, the main rival of Arevalo in the 2023 presidential election – is serving sentences totalling approximately 2,000 years.