The Ministry of the Interior reported this Friday, May 22, that the National Civil Police (PNC) and the Guatemalan Army reinforced security on the border with Honduras, after two armed attacks that occurred in that country that left at least 24 dead, including five police officers.
Marco Antonio Villeda, Minister of the Interior, told journalists that the security forces maintain permanent monitoring at the border points and coordination with Honduran authorities to prevent those responsible for the criminal acts from entering Guatemala.
“We have constantly monitored the situation and we have communicated with authorities from the neighboring country to see how the situation is at the border. We have sent several contingents of the National Civil Police to support the border and prevent these people who attacked the Honduran Police from moving to national territory. We have also had the support of the Guatemalan Army,” said Villeda.
The official added that security actions are concentrated in bordering sectors of Izabal and Chiquimula, where patrols and vehicle controls were increased.
Jorge Aguilar Chinchilla, PNC spokesperson, confirmed that there is coordination with the Honduran National Police and that a surveillance scheme is maintained at the main border points.
“The National Civil Police maintains a citizen security scheme at border points with Honduras, in sectors of Izabal and Chiquimula. There is close communication with the National Police of Honduras, as well as coordination after the criminal events that occurred in that country,” explained Aguilar Chinchilla.
The spokesperson added that this Friday two Honduran citizens wounded by gunshots were detained in a hospital in Puerto Barrios, Izabal, who are being investigated for their alleged connection with the armed attack in which five Honduran police officers died.
“Following the armed attack that occurred in Honduras, police from the 61st police station located two people in a hospital in Puerto Barrios. They were admitted with gunshot wounds and are from the village of Corinto, Honduras,” the PNC published in its official accounts.
The institution added that both remain in custody while investigations and coordination with Honduran authorities are carried out to establish if they are related to the attack.
The detainees were identified as José Guardado Herrera, 21, and Eli Naún Guerra, 44, who remain under police surveillance in Izabal.
According to Guatemalan authorities, the joint deployment seeks to protect border communities and reinforce control at border crossings to prevent the entry of members of criminal structures that operate in the area.
The Guatemalan Army reported, through social networks, that it maintains security and surveillance operations in border sectors as part of Operation Ring of Fire.
The military institution indicated that military units carry out ground patrols, checkpoints and reconnaissance at different points along the border line to prevent illegal activities and strengthen the country’s external security.
The security actions occur after the ambush that occurred in the Corinto sector, Honduras, where five agents of the Anti-Maras Police Directorate and Gangs Against Organized Crime (Dipampco) were deprived of their liberty and later murdered in a mountainous area, when they were trying to capture an alleged drug trafficker.
The attack coincided with another massacre recorded on Thursday in the Honduran department of Colón, in the Caribbean of that country, where armed men in police uniforms murdered at least 20 workers on an African palm farm.
Honduran authorities are investigating both events, which occurred in regions affected by drug trafficking and disputes between criminal structures.
With information from EFE
The Guatemalan Army, in coordination with civil security forces, continues to develop security and surveillance operations in border sectors with the Republic of Honduras, as part of Operation Ring of Fire, with the objective of strengthening security… pic.twitter.com/4GICY79RBX
— Guatemalan Army (@Ejercito_GT) May 22, 2026
#PNC maintains interinstitutional patrols on the border with Honduras
In the village Champas Corrientes II, border line with Guatemala and Honduras, the #PNC and the Guatemalan Army, carry out constant patrols to maintain territorial control. pic.twitter.com/Ds2Q4Y1zwE
— PNC of Guatemala (@PNCdeGuatemala) May 22, 2026
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