GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemala declared martial law in three border municipalities Friday after MS-13 fighters overran local police stations, killed 14 officers and installed checkpoints on roads leading into Mexico, in what officials called the most brazen territorial seizure since cartels took over Ciudad Juarez in 2010.
The three towns — Esquipulas Palo Gordo, Ayutla and San Marcos — lie along the Tecun Uman crossing, one of the busiest smuggling corridors on the southern US border. Video posted by residents showed armed men in MS-13 colors manning barricades on the main highway Thursday night. Local authorities fled. Guatemala’s president deploys 1,200 army troops and declares the municipalities off-limits to media.
The MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, has operated in Guatemala for two decades but analysts say this marks the first time the group has openly seized and governed territory. “This is a proto-state scenario,” said Ingrid Williams, a Central America security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “They are collecting taxes, enforcing curfews, running their own courts.” The State Department renewed its El Salvador extradition pact last month, removing a legal barrier to deporting MS-13 leaders.
Guatemala’s defense minister said the army operation would begin at dawn Saturday. The US Southern Command said it was monitoring the situation but had no plans to intervene. Washington has yet to issue a formal statement.
Written by Diego Vargas, Latin America Correspondent