Guatemalan authorities are reporting that inmates are holding several dozen prison guards in three prisonsBy The Associated PressGUATEMALA CITY -- Several dozen Guatemalan prison guards were being held hostage by inmates in three prisons Saturday following apparently coordinated disturbances, authorities said. Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda said he was willing to talk with the inmates, but would not accede to their demands in seeking the release of the 46 guards. “We also don’t allow groups that have sown fear to impose their conditions.”National Police were deployed around the affected prisons. “The link between the prison system and the criminality outside has to be cut,” Arévalo said in an interview with The Associated Press Thursday. “That’s why all this effort to regain control of the prison system is very important.”

Source: ABC News January 18, 2026 02:47 UTC