President Bernardo Arévalo called an overhaul of his country’s prison system an “absolute priority” after 20 inmates accused of belonging to the Barrio 18 group were found to have escaped undetected.
President Bernardo Arévalo outlined plans to strengthen Guatemala’s prison system that included American assistance plus the construction of a maximum-security facility.
“I’m not going to deny the reality — there’s no good explanation,” the interior minister said of how the 20 inmates had slipped out, perhaps over a period of time.