Guatemala on Monday lifted the state of emergency imposed a month ago after a series of armed attacks by the Barrio 18 gang left 11 police officers dead.
Authorities are now preparing a new security deployment in the capital.
President Bernardo Arévalo introduced the emergency powers following prison uprisings in which gang-linked inmates took hostages at three facilities, as violence surged across the capital.
The decree allowed arrests without warrants.
Barrio 18 has been designated a “terrorist organisation” by both Guatemala and the United States.
On Sunday night, Arévalo announced that a less stringent “state of prevention” would take effect on Tuesday, with police and military forces deployed across Guatemala City and nearby municipalities.
“Our government will continue working so that we can walk our streets and neighbourhoods with greater peace of mind,” the president said while ending the emergency measures.
He described the operation as having produced “resounding” results, noting that 83 “highly dangerous” gang members were arrested. He added that extortion cases dropped by 33 percent and homicides fell by 49 percent compared with the same period last year.
According to Arévalo, authorities weakened gang operations by shutting down communication systems used by inmates to contact the outside world.
However, some residents remain sceptical that the violence will ease. Mariela Raxon, a 40-year-old tutor, criticised what she called “weak measures disguised as big decisions,” arguing that deeper issues such as poverty remain unaddressed.
Under the so-called “Sentinel Plan,” police and soldiers will carry out joint patrols in metropolitan areas with high rates of extortion and assault, as well as in surrounding municipalities, the defence ministry said.
Guatemala’s homicide rate in 2025 stood at 16.1 per 100,000 people more than twice the global average.
Since mid-2025, gang members have staged prison protests demanding that their leaders be held under less restrictive conditions.
The violence last month marked a significant escalation, which Arévalo attributed to an alleged attempt to destabilise his government.
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