Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08GUATEMALA592
2008-05-08 22:11:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Guatemala
Cable title:
GANG MEMBERS KILL WARDEN INSIDE GUATEMALAN JAIL
how-toVZCZCXYZ0000 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHGT #0592 1292211 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 082211Z MAY 08 FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5318 INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 4843
UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000592
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM ASEC PGOV SNAR KJUS GT
SUBJECT: GANG MEMBERS KILL WARDEN INSIDE GUATEMALAN JAIL
UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000592
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM ASEC PGOV SNAR KJUS GT
SUBJECT: GANG MEMBERS KILL WARDEN INSIDE GUATEMALAN JAIL
1. On May 1, imprisoned gang members killed Jorge Augusto
Mendoza, Deputy Director of the Preventive Detention Center
in Chimaltenango. Press reports indicate that the prisoners
decapitated Mendoza after holding him hostage. The prison
director and three guards were also taken hostage and
suffered injuries during the riot, which lasted approximately
six hours. Although the Chimaltenango facility is a
pre-trial detention center, not a maximum-security prison, it
reportedly houses 68 gang members, 33 of whom have been
convicted.
2. Carlos Roberto de Leon, the Ministry of Government's
Technical Advisor on Prisons, confirmed that the prisoners
rioted after officials detained two women who attempted to
bring marijuana into the prison for members of the M-18 (18th
Street) Gang. According to de Leon, investigators have been
unable to identify those responsible, and prisoners who may
have witnessed the events refuse to name the guilty parties.
Minister of Government Vinicio Gomez publicly acknowledged
that the country's prisons do not have adequate security
measures and that gang members cause problems wherever they
are incarcerated.
Derham
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM ASEC PGOV SNAR KJUS GT
SUBJECT: GANG MEMBERS KILL WARDEN INSIDE GUATEMALAN JAIL
1. On May 1, imprisoned gang members killed Jorge Augusto
Mendoza, Deputy Director of the Preventive Detention Center
in Chimaltenango. Press reports indicate that the prisoners
decapitated Mendoza after holding him hostage. The prison
director and three guards were also taken hostage and
suffered injuries during the riot, which lasted approximately
six hours. Although the Chimaltenango facility is a
pre-trial detention center, not a maximum-security prison, it
reportedly houses 68 gang members, 33 of whom have been
convicted.
2. Carlos Roberto de Leon, the Ministry of Government's
Technical Advisor on Prisons, confirmed that the prisoners
rioted after officials detained two women who attempted to
bring marijuana into the prison for members of the M-18 (18th
Street) Gang. According to de Leon, investigators have been
unable to identify those responsible, and prisoners who may
have witnessed the events refuse to name the guilty parties.
Minister of Government Vinicio Gomez publicly acknowledged
that the country's prisons do not have adequate security
measures and that gang members cause problems wherever they
are incarcerated.
Derham