On Sunday, at least three people died after a confrontation between inmates of a prison located in the north of Guatemala’s capital.
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According to the Ministry of Interior of Guatemala, the deputy director of the prison, a policeman and a prisoner died due to the incident that occurred in the Preventive Detention Center for Men in zone 18.
The Guatemalan agency indicated that in addition to the three dead, at least three people were injured.
According to official statements, the authorities do not rule out that there are other fatalities from the confrontation between inmates in the penitentiary center.
Several ambulances were sent to the penitentiary after a contingent of police entered the prison to regain control.
���� Fuerzas especiales de la @PNCdeGuatemala ingresan al Centro de Detención Preventiva para Hombres en la zona 18 para retomar el control tras enfrentamiento entre privados de libertad. Preliminarmente se informa del fallecimiento de un guardia del @Dgspg y un recluso. pic.twitter.com/HNFnABEonS
— MinGob (@mingobguate)
July 23, 2023
Official data shows that this is the third incident in a Guatemalan prison in the last week involving Penitentiary System personnel.
The most recent case occurred on July 22 when the director of the Zacapa prison died after being the target of an armed attack.
Guatemala’s prison population totals 24,031 people detained in 22 prisons nationwide, according to data from the Penitentiary System as of June.