“I have decided to declare a state of emergency throughout the national territory for 30 days, starting today,” Arevalo said in a national address.

Arevalo announced that security forces had retaken control of all three prisons where gang members had been holding dozens of hostages since Saturday.

The state of emergency suspends some provisions of the constitution as Guatemala battles the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gangs.

Both criminal groups are deemed “terrorist” organisations by the United States and Guatemala and accused of contract killings, extortion, and drug trafficking.

Authorities in Guatemala accused gangs of killing eight police on Sunday in retaliation for the government’s refusal to transfer gang leaders to a lower-security prison.

The killings occurred in the Guatemalan capital and surrounding areas a day after gang-affiliated inmates took 46 people hostage in three prisons across the country.