Guatemala is taking back control of a maximum security prison. Gang members had set up a hotel-like environment there.
In a major operation, Guatemala’s police have regained control of a prison that was previously run by gang members. As reported by The Tico Times, over 200 prisoners were transferred from the facility, which is also known as “El Infiernito” or “the little hell”. Previously, the inmates there had lived a life of luxury.
Around 400 police officers were involved in the operation to get 225 members of the Barrio 18 gang out of prison. “The prison belongs to the country again,” Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez announced on X, formerly Twitter, and vowed that the facility would be completely gutted and rebuilt as a real high-security facility.
Images released by officials of the prison in Escuintla, about 70 kilometers south of the capital Guatemala City, showed that inmates even had access to air conditioning in addition to refrigerators and chicken coops.
The Tico Times further reports that during a previous raid, police uncovered an improvised “call center” through which gang members coordinated extortion and the planning of further crimes. The minister blamed “previous governments” for giving up control of prisons to criminals.
Guatemalan prisons are internationally known for their potentially life-threatening conditions. An investigation published by the US Embassy in Guatemala reveals the massive abuses: overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, lack of medical care, loss of control by the authorities and violence among inmates pose a significant risk to the prison population.
As of September 2023, according to prison authorities, there were about 21,000 male inmates in facilities designed to hold 7,045 people and nearly 2,900 female inmates in detention centers with a capacity of 937. Inadequate ventilation, temperature control and lighting, difficulties in providing drinking water and complaints of inadequate food were commonplace. Illegal drug sales and use were also widespread.
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