GUATEMALA CITY, Feb 17: Guatemala ended on Monday a state of emergency declared a month ago after several armed attacks by the Barrio 18 gang that left 11 police officers dead, and is now preparing for a new security deployment in the capital.
President Bernardo Arevalo ordered the measure, which allowed arrests without a warrant, after gang-affiliated inmates took hostages at three prisons while a wave of violence was unleashed across the capital.
Barrio 18 has been declared a "terrorist organization" by Guatemala and the United States.
Arevalo announced on Sunday night that a less restrictive "state of prevention" would come into effect on Tuesday, with police and soldiers deployed in Guatemala City and its surrounding municipalities.
"Our government will continue working so that we can walk our streets and neighborhoods with greater peace of mind," the president said as he lifted the state of emergency.
Asserting that the measure had achieved "resounding" results, Arevalo said that 83 "highly dangerous" gang members were arrested, extortion fell by 33 percent, and homicides by 49 percent, compared to the same period last year.
According to the president, gang activity had been controlled by cutting off communication systems that allowed prisoners to contact the outside world.
On the streets, however, there was some doubt about whether the violence would end.
Tutor Mariela Raxon, 40, lamented that Guatemala was implementing "weak measures disguised as big decisions" without attacking the "root" causes of problems such as poverty.
Under the so-called "Sentinel Plan," police and soldiers will conduct joint patrols in metropolitan areas "with high rates of extortion and assault" and in surrounding municipalities, the defense ministry said in a statement.
Guatemala's homicide rate in 2025 was 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, more than double the global average.
Since mid-2025, gang members have staged uprisings at prisons to demand their leaders be held in less restrictive conditions.
The violence a month ago, however, was an escalation, with Arevalo attributing it to an alleged plot to destabilize his government.
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