Homicides decreased by 10% and extortions decreased by 38% in Guatemala during the first half of 2026, compared to the same period in 2025, President Bernardo Arévalo de León announced this Monday, July 13.
According to official figures, between January and June there were 1,437 homicides and eight thousand 769 reports of extortionbelow the 1,600 homicides and 14 thousand 108 complaints corresponding to the same period of 2025, respectively.
In a press conference, Arévalo de León also assured that thousand people accused of extortion They were captured by security forces.
The authorities attributed the homicides and extortions mainly to the operations and territorial disputes of the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha gangs.
Likewise, they identified gangs of common criminals known as “imitators”, who pretend to belong to these gangs to make threatening calls to merchants and transporters.
The president recognized the impact of crime on the population and stated that these declining figures during the first half of the year do not eliminate, by themselves, the fear that many families feel.
“The figures are true, but the fear is also real. We know that there is work to be done and we are doing it,” Arévalo de León stressed.
The ruler announced the delivery of a thousand new patrols in September, which he described as the largest operational transportation allocation in seven years. In addition, he recalled that his administration has opened more than 60 police headquarters and aspires to hire 12 thousand agents of the National Civil Police (PNC) before the end of their mandate.
For his part, the Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda, stated that, according to the United Nations, the ideal average is 121 agents per 100 thousand inhabitants. He highlighted that Guatemala has already surpassed that rate and has 133 police officers per 100 thousand inhabitantsthanks to the graduation of six thousand 218 agents from 2024.
However, the minister admitted that Guatemala “is a highly conflictive country,” with a complex criminal phenomenon, which is why he explained that they are working on new recruitment processes and improving infrastructure to strengthen operational capacity.
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