Gunmen kill 4 Guatemalan prison officials in apparent retaliation for prison crackdown

Gunmen kill 4 prison officials in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemalan police say four prison officials have been shot to death in three separate attacks that authorities believe are retaliation for a jail crackdown.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Nery Morales says a warden, a deputy warden, a prison guard and a driver were killed Monday after officials seized cell phones and moved inmates to different prisons over the weekend to break up an extortion ring.

In Guatemala, inmates belonging to the feared “Salvatrucha” and “18″ gangs use cell phones to extort money from merchants and bus drivers.