Guatemala's Congress on Oct. 21 passed a law designating the Barrio 18 and MS-13 gangs as "terrorist organizations." The move came days after 20 Barrio 18 convicts broke out of the maximum-security Fraijanes II prison outside the capital. So far, only four have been recaptured. The new "Ley Anti-pandillas" provides for heavier sentences for gang members convicted of crimes such as extortion or recruitment of minors, and calls for the construction of more-maximum security prisons. 

President Bernardo Arévalo applauded passage of the law, while denying he seeks to emulate the example of Nayib Bukele in neighboring El Salvador, where violent crime has reached an historic low but the government has faced harsh criticism for mass detention of suspects under a long state of emergency. Arévalo is clearly under pressure from the United States, however. In September, the US State Department designated Barrio 18 a "foreign terrorist organization," having already thusly designated Mara Salvatrucha in February.  (TNH, AP)

See our last reports on the maras and the prison crisis in Latin America.