Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo inaugurated a renovated, high-security prison on Tuesday after it was reclaimed from the control of gangs who ordered killings and extortions there, and even had wild animals.”Today begins (…) a new era in the Guatemalan penitentiary system,” said the president of the now Renovation I Maximum Security Detention Center in Escuintla, 70 km south of the capital.
Previously known as ‘El Infiernito’, this prison was taken over last June by dozens of police and military officers, who found weapons, money, liquor and wild animals such as crocodiles and foxes at the site. “It was a headquarters from which criminals could continue their business, ironically while serving their sentences,” he stated, noting that from “El Infiernito” crimes such as “extortion,” “drug trafficking” and contract killings were committed.
The 225 members of the Barrio 18 gang who were imprisoned were transferred to another prison while restructuring took place, with surveillance and metal detection systems being installed. Arévalo noted that the Renovation I Center will be “a model” in the project that aims to “transform everything” in the penitentiary system.
Interior Secretary Francisco Jiménez compared “El Infiernito‘ to ‘a true crime university’, where control was exercised by the inmates. The prison had become a “holiday center” and “the audacity was so great that the prisoners even had a zoo with collections of exotic animals and even endangered species,” he noted.
Authorities announced that 260 high-risk gang members will soon be transferred to the Renovation I Center. The Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha gangs fight for control of areas to demand extortion payments from citizens, and those who refuse to pay are killed, according to authorities.
Authorities acknowledge that most extortion calls come from prisons. According to official data, there are 25 prisons in Guatemala with room for more than 22,800 people.