MS-13 Storm Funeral of Rival Gang member in Guatemala, killing at least 7

The members of the armed gangs broke into the funeral of a member of a rival gang in Guatemala, killing at least 7 people and hurting another 13, government officials said.

Guatemala is full of the violent rivalry between Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gangs. Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez blamed the attack at the funeral home on Tuesday in the capital, Guatemala City, for his rivalry.

The funeral, Jiménez said in a statement, was that of a member of Barrio 18 who was killed on Monday. While the Estela was carried out, “the members of rival gangs of Mara Salvatrucha broke into the funeral home and shot at the family and friends” of the deceased, he added.

The attackers, who reached the funeral home in motorcycles, fled the scene.

The authorities cordoned off the area when forensic teams recovered the bodies.

Jiménez said the wake had been considered “high risk” due to the “profile of the deceased” and regretted that the police officers assigned to monitor the event had abandoned their positions before the attack.

He called the “unacceptable” situation and said the officers would be investigated by the Internal Affairs Unit.

“If you are considered responsible, they will be taken immediately before the courts,” he said.

The MS-13 gang was formed in Los Angeles in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants who fled the civil war in their country of origin.

Since then, the brutal gang has spread to Guatemala and Honduras, turning the region into one of the most violent in the world. His violent grip in Central America is one of the forces that drive thousands of migrants to flee to the United States.

Earlier this year, the United States appointed MS-13 as a terrorist organization, with President Trump calling him “probably the most bad, worse gang in the world” and “an evil group of people. They are sick and upset.”

The 18 and MS-13 gangs are struggling for territorial control in Guatemala, extorting merchants, transport workers and civilians. Those who refuse to pay are often killed.

Tuesday’s attack “was not directed against common citizens, but the result of cancer that gangs represent for the country,” said Guatemala security chief.

Guatemala finished 2024 with a homicide rate of 16,1 per 100,000 inhabitants, twice the global average, according to the Interior Ministry. However, the figure has fallen from 29.6 in 2014.

The authorities attribute half of violent crimes to the activity of the drug poster and territorial disputes between gangs.

• Guatemala
• MS-13