The National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) reported that the identification of the three prisoners who died during the incidents that occurred on July 24 in the Puerto Barrios prison, Izabal, it will be carried out through genetic analysis.
The institution explained that, due to the conditions in which the bodies were located, it will be necessary to perform DNA tests to establish their identity.
Although INACIF has not yet confirmed the identity of the three deceased, the Puerto Barrios prison database records that, after the operations carried out on July 27, those deprived of liberty were not located. Luis Joel Guerra Castilloknown as Shuek; Rudy Antonio Trinidad Esquivel, Cartridgeand Abelardo Cub Can, Chub.
According to the authorities of the detention center, these are allegedly the three deceased inmates. Guerra Castillo was in prison for the crimes of illicit association, murder, attempted murder and aggravated robbery.
Trinidad Esquivel was sentenced to 48 years in prison for the crimes of aggravated theft, marketing of vehicles and similar items stolen in the national territory or abroad on a continuous basis, and illicit association; while Cub Can was held for the crime of femicide.
According to the police report, during the riots, prisoners Melvin Oswaldo Flores Sintu, 41, and Marco Tulio Cano, as well as Abner Penitentiary System guard David Morales Gutiérrez, 37, were also injured. All three had gunshot wounds.
The death of the three prisoners and the injuries of the other three people occurred during a series of operations to “regain control” of the detention center. In addition, authorities transferred 56 inmates to other prison centers as part of security measures.
During a press conference on July 27, the general director of the Penitentiary System, Jorge López Dellachiessa, reported that for more than a year a complaint had been filed against a criminal structure led by Roberto Gordillo Coronado, known as the Mingawith an impact inside and outside the prison.
According to intelligence information from the SP, its members coordinated criminal activities such as hitmen, extortion, and human trafficking.
He added that the interventions carried out from Thursday, July 23 to Saturday, July 25 were to dismantle this criminal structure and announced that similar actions will be carried out in five departmental prisons, where security will be reinforced.
“We are not going to bow down to any criminal structure. What happened in Puerto Barrios is a clear example of what we are going to continue doing,” said López.
The director of the SP added that the authorities will maintain a greater presence and intervene more frequently in that detention center as part of the plan to strengthen control of the penitentiary system.
The SP reported that, since actions to restore control and order in detention centers began, prison staff have been constantly threatened.