State of Siege in Guatemala
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Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo has instituted a state of emergency in Guatemala following a series of police killings carried out by gang members. The specific state of emergency he has implemented, called a state of siege, implies the suspension of certain constitutional rights. Arévalo declared the state of siege on Sunday, January 18, the same day more than a dozen National Civil Police officers in Guatemala City were shot by gang members in a series of coordinated attacks. Ten police officers died from their wounds and seven others were injured.
The shootings followed the quelling of coordinated riots by gang members in three separate prisons on January 18. The gang members were protesting the transfer of leaders to other prisons and advocating for other privileges. Inmates took dozens of prison staff hostage. Police forces managed to free the hostages. In apparent retaliation, jailed gang members tasked gang members outside the walls of the prison with carrying out the murders of police officers.
The Guatemalan Congress on January 19 approved the state of siege for 30 days, and it will be applied nationwide. Under the state of siege, the military and police are allowed to arrest suspects without a warrant. During the state of siege Guatemalans will maintain some rights that were suspended under such states in prior administrations. Nonetheless, the suspension of basic guarantees puts the general population at significant risk, especially vulnerable sectors, such as social and Indigenous leaders and others who comprise groups that have been falsely accused of crimes.
Write to the Guatemalan Ambassador in Washington.
Ask the Arévalo administration to guarantee the following:
- The use of the state of siege solely to effectively dismantle gang-related criminal networks with the penitentiary system, while respecting the fundamental rights of the prisoners, such as the right to life and physical safety;
- The end of the state of siege after 30 days;
- The safety of the general public;
- The restriction of warrantless arrests to suspects in the attacks on the police officers, exempting the general public from this type of arrest;
- The safety of those in prison, including political prisoners, who in the context of prison violence could be the targets of attack.