ESCUINTLA, Guatemala (AP) — Clashes between security forces and gang members in Guatemala’s capital Sunday killed seven officers, authorities said, shortly after police in the country’s southwest regained control of one of three maximum security prisons where inmates had rioted and taken hostages the night before.
The attacks on police in and around Guatemala City came after hundreds of anti-riot police stormed Renovación prison in Escuintla, about 47 miles (76 kilometers) southwest of the capital, to free nine guards who had been taken hostage there. Jailed gang leaders often order members outside the prison walls to carry out retaliatory attacks.
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Evidence markers stand at the scene where police officers were killed in attacks reported after security forces retook control of a prison that houses gang leaders, in Villanueva, on the outskirts of Guatemala City, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Inmates stand atop a guard tower at the Renovation maximum-security prison before security forces entered the facility to free guards taken hostage in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Gunshots rang out as riot squads swept into the facility that houses gang leaders. About 15 minutes later, an Associated Press journalist saw the freed guards being escorted from the prison. They appeared to be unharmed. No injuries or deaths were immediately reported.
But over three dozen guards were still being held Sunday at two other prisons, authorities said, where inmates took control the night before in a coordinated uprising to protest prison administrators’ decision to strip privileges from some incarcerated gang leaders. The inmates took a total of 46 guards hostage across the three prisons.
As security forces tried to assert control, apparent retaliatory attacks took place outside the prison walls. Armed gangs killed seven national police officers in assaults across Guatemala City, Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda said. The clashes wounded another 10 officers, he added, and killed one gang member.
He said that police so far have arrested seven gang members, confiscated two rifles and seized two vehicles, praising the police response as “the result of not negotiating with criminals.”
"The state will not kneel before these criminals,” he said, portraying the attacks on police officers and coordinated prison riots as a response to the government's intensifying crackdown on organized crime.
With tensions high, the Ministry of Education said it would suspend classes across the Central American country for Monday the 19th “to prioritize the safety” of students and teachers.
The police reinforced guards at several prisons and increased joint patrols with the military.
This story has been corrected to show that the last name of the national civil police director is Boteo, not Botero.
Evidence markers stand at the scene where police officers were killed in attacks reported after security forces retook control of a prison that houses gang leaders, in Villanueva, on the outskirts of Guatemala City, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Inmates stand atop a guard tower at the Renovation maximum-security prison before security forces entered the facility to free guards taken hostage in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
