Authorities Attribute Surge in Cases to Gang Rivalries and Territorial Disputes.
In its latest statistical report, Attorney General’s Office recorded the discovery of 137 bodies abandoned wrapped in plastic, sheets or sacks so far in 2026 and attributed the cases to a criminal practice linked to disputes between Guatemalan gangs.
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“According to investigations and analyses conducted by specialized units, one of the main lines of investigation into the abandoned bodies is related to rivalry and territorial disputes between criminal organizations,” National Civil Police spokesman Cesar Mateo said, noting that only 39 similar cases were discovered in 2025.
The main motivations behind these crimes are “control of areas used for the sale and distribution of drugs, as well as ‘disciplinary actions’ within the gangs themselves,” he added.
Authorities attribute these crimes primarily to violent disputes between the Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs, which were designated terrorist organizations under Guatemalan law in 2025.
Prosecutors’ records show that 68 of the murder victims were found in plastic bags and 53 wrapped in sheets, while 10 were found inside sacks. The remaining bodies were discovered under different circumstances.
The bodies are often abandoned by their killers along desolate stretches of road or in deserted areas, but they are also found in urban areas. One of the most recent cases occurred in September, when authorities found the bodies of two people whose hands and feet were bound.
The discovery took place in the municipality of Chinautla, 3 miles from downtown Guatemala City, where volunteer firefighters rescuers were alerted to two bodies wrapped in plastic bags beside the road.
So far, no information about those responsible is available, while the Attorney General’s Office and the National Civil Police are investigating the case using surveillance cameras.
BERNARDO, ESTAMOS PEOR QUE NUNCA.
Guatemala ya no aguanta más.
Secuestros. Extorsiones. Asaltos todos los días. Cadáveres en bolsas. Balaceras. Muertes.
¿Qué estamos viviendo?
Guatemala está atravesando un COLAPSO DE SEGURIDAD y los guatemaltecos vivimos con miedo.
Ni con… pic.twitter.com/MIvUZlL6iO
— Guatemala Inmortal (@Guate_Inmortal_) August 28, 2026
The text addressing to the Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo reads: “BERNARDO, WE ARE WORSE OFF THAN EVER. Guatemala can take no more. Kidnappings. Extortion. Daily assaults. Bodies in bags. Shootouts. Deaths.
What are we living through? Guatemala is experiencing a SECURITY COLLAPSE, and we Guatemalans are living in fear. Not under Giammattei. Not under Jimmy Morales. Not under the Patriot Party.
In decades, we have never felt this level of abandonment and insecurity. This was not the ‘spring’ that was promised. It is the spring of criminals.
Insecurity has taken root. Gangs are advancing while the State retreats. President Bernardo Arevalo: do something. Because while your government talks, Guatemala lives in fear.”
Identifying the Bodies
The stark statistics contrast with the daily human tragedy, as occurred last August when two young people, ages 18 and 19, were found wrapped in bags in southern Guatemala City. The discovery triggered scenes of grief and helplessness when their relatives arrived at the scene after searching for them for 24 hours following their abduction from a nearby soccer field.
The discoveries have been reported in 14 of the country’s 22 departments, although most of the abandoned bodies have been concentrated in the department of Guatemala, where authorities detected 105 bodies left in the open.
The police spokesman explained that the manner and circumstances in which the victims are abandoned provide key clues that the Video Forensics Unit and investigators analyze through surveillance footage to reconstruct the routes used to transport the bodies and identify those responsible.
As a result of investigations into this pattern, Mateo confirmed that security forces have arrested more than 10 people linked to the abandonment of bodies wrapped in sheets and bags. They include seven suspected Mara Salvatrucha members arrested in September and accused of at least 17 homicides.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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