What do we call yesterday's seizure in the Santa Teresa women's prison?, wrote the owner in his profile on the social network Others.
“I want the blackmailers to know that we are after them!” emphasized the head of the interior department at the end of the text, referring to the operation in the preventive detention center in this capital.
Since taking office on January 14, Jiménez has taken a series of measures to counter allegations of extortion in the country, a scourge that has affected much of the population for several years.
Last Wednesday he announced the creation of a new unit to focus on managing controls in prisons with the aim of preventing the entry of illegal items.
He recalled the prison operations carried out during this period, adding that although telephone equipment, weapons and other items were confiscated, the further situation needed to be addressed.
“We still have staffing constraints, but we are aiming to strengthen all these aspects,” the minister said.
He hosted an event to acquire
The Interior Minister explained the results of a major anti-extortion operation carried out last Tuesday, in which 45 people were arrested, most of them women, who were involved in illegal accusations against the population.
He pointed out that those arrested had links to various cliques of the Mara Salvatrucha and the Barrio 18 gang, while operating in different parts of the country.
One of the biggest challenges for the president of this Central American territory, Bernardo Arévalo, and his government, local analysts warned, is the existing insecurity among citizens in the 22 departments.
The Guatemalan president said Jiménez had shown in his three weeks in power that extortionists can be fought “head-on and without fear.”
Lam/Znc