Armed gang members stormed into the funeral of a rival gang member in Guatemala, killing at least 7 people and wounding 13 others, government officials said.
Guatemala is plagued by the violent rivalry between the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gangs. Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez blamed the attack at the funeral home on Tuesday in the capital, Guatemala City, on their rivalry.
The funeral, Jimenez said in a statement, was that of a Barrio 18 member who was killed Monday. While the wake was taking place, “rival gang members from Mara Salvatrucha stormed the funeral home and fired at the family and friends” of the deceased, he added.
The attackers, who arrived at the funeral home on motorcycles, fled the scene.
Authorities cordoned off the area as forensic teams recovered the bodies.
Jimenez said the wake had been considered “high risk” due to “the profile of the deceased,” and regretted that the police officers assigned to monitor the event had abandoned their posts before the attack.
He called the situation “unacceptable” and said the officers would be investigated by the internal affairs unit.
“If found responsible, they will immediately be brought before the courts,” he said.
The MS-13 gang was formed in Los Angeles in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants who fled the civil war in their home country.
The brutal gang has since spread to Guatemala and Honduras, turning the region into one of the most violent in the world. It’s violent grip in Central America is one of the forces driving thousands of migrants to flee to the United States.
Earlier this year, the U.S. designated MS-13 a terrorist organization, with President Trump calling it “probably the meanest, worst gang in the world” and “an evil group of people. They’re sick and deranged.”
The Barrio 18 and MS-13 gangs are battling for territorial control in Guatemala, extorting shopkeepers, transport workers and civilians. Those who refuse to pay are often killed.
Tuesday’s attack “was not directed against ordinary citizens, but rather the result of the cancer that gangs represent for the country,” Guatemala’s security chief said.
Guatemala ended 2024 with a homicide rate of 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants — twice the global average — according to the interior ministry. However, the figure has dropped from 29.6 in 2014.
Authorities attribute half of violent crimes to drug cartel activity and territorial disputes between gangs.
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