A riot left four people dead in the Zone 18 Preventive Center of the capital city, during the afternoon of Sunday.
In total there were two guards from the penitentiary system and two deprived of liberty the fatalities.
The preliminary report reported the death of a guard and an inmate. This was confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior. It is supposed to have occurred during a confrontation between inmates at the Men’s Preventive Detention Center.
Interior of the Preventive Center for Men zone 18, City.@bomberosmuni They were required by prison system personnel about two guards injured by a firearm projectile, unfortunately both are lifeless. pic.twitter.com/nf5mGdqTCj
— Municipal Firefighters (@bomberosmuni) July 23, 2023
Later, relief bodies confirmed that it was the death of two guards and two prisoners. In addition, three other people were injured.
Inside the Preventive, Zone 18.
An armed attack is recorded where 3 to 4 people are reported dead due to injuries from a firearm projectile, the personnel of @bomberosmuni is at the point. pic.twitter.com/XmCQcbnD30
— Municipal Firefighters (@bomberosmuni) July 23, 2023
The security forces retook control of the center and conducted a review of the sector where the fight took place.
The first thing they found was a firearm that was in the possession of the inmates.
The Guatemalan prison population amounts to 24,031 people detained in 22 prisons nationwide, which only have a capacity for 6,842 inmates, according to data from the Penitentiary System up to June.
This is the environment in which the preventive in zone 18 lives, after the armed attack where two guards died. pic.twitter.com/fUn7H4BFco
— La Red (@Lared1061) July 23, 2023
In 2022, Guatemala closed with an overcrowding rate of 363 percent, the highest in Latin America, according to a report published by the Center for National Economic Research (CIEN).
In the last 20 years, at least 250 inmates have been victims of homicide within the country’s prison system, according to private studies.
