Four beheaded in Guatemala prison riot

The prison has more than 2 000 inmates.

According to police in Guatemala at least four prisoners have been beheaded during a fight between rival gangs.

Fight between inmates

The fight between inmates from the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs – as well as other gangs linked to the drug trade – took place at the Cantel prison. The prison has more than 2 000 inmates.

According to National Police spokesperson Jorge Aguilar, about 500 police officers were deployed to take control of the prison. “At the moment we know of four dead… The preliminary information that we have is that they were beheaded,” he said.

Police suspect the riot broke out after a member of one of the gangs attacked a rival in retaliation for a recent incident.

According to officials, almost half of the roughly 3 500 violent deaths a year in Guatemala are carried out by gangs.

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