In a press conference from the National Palace of Culture, the headquarters of the Executive Branch, the Minister explained that these reforms to the law are operational tools in the Penal Code, in other regulations, and in the creation of conditions in the Penitentiary System.

They will be for the care of these prisoners linked to gangs, a situation in which we are currently unable to work because the current regulations do not authorize us, and we urgently need one, the official added.

A broader discussion on integration and reforms to the Penitentiary Law can take place, but it generates a normal time for discussion and proposals that do not allow us to operate with the ease provided by the proposed reforms, he emphasized.

He urged the legislature to show its political will by taking these reforms proposed last week seriously, and acknowledged that the mass prison escape that occurred brutally demonstrates the urgency.

We can’t continue putting out fires with laws that are three decades old; the country demands a modern, safe, and capable prison system, Jimenez emphasized on the program La Ronda.

He affirmed that they will find the 20 fugitives, currently 19 (due to the arrest of one this morning), and return them to the prison they should never have left. This escape shocked the population and the business sector, among other entities, who described it as a threat to Guatemala’s security.

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