Fact check: Video shows attack on Guatemalan hospital, not related to Guzmán arrest

Molly Stellino, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: Video shows cartel members kidnapping doctors following arrest of Ovidio Guzmán

The caption of a Jan. 5 Instagram video claims it shows violence related to the recent arrest of a notorious Mexican drug kingpin. The video shows dozens of armed men in black clothing running through what appears to be a hospital.

“Armed groups related to Ovidio Guzmán, son of ‘Chapo’ Guzmán, arrive at hospitals in Culiacán to kidnap doctors and take them to the ranches to treat wounded hitmen,” reads the video’s caption.

The video was liked more than 700 times within a week. Other versions of the claim appeared on Twitter and Facebook.

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Our rating: False

This footage is miscaptioned. The video shows suspected gang members attacking a Guatemalan hospital in 2017. It is unrelated to recent events in Mexico involving Ovidio Guzmán, son of the infamous Sinaloa drug lord known as "El Chapo."

Video shows gang-related attack on Guatemalan hospital

The clip originates from an Aug. 16, 2017, YouTube video shared by the Guatemalan news outlet Prensa Libre. Spanish-language text in the video explains it shows an armed attack on the Roosevelt Hospital in Guatemala City.

Suspected gang members attacked the hospital in an attempt to free a jailed associate, who was at the hospital under police supervision for a checkup, according to a 2017 Reuters report on the incident. At least seven people were killed and 12 were injured during the attack.

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It is believed the suspected gang members were part of Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, according to Reuters.

While the jailed gang member escaped, police arrested five of the seven gang members who stormed the hospital with assault rifles.

The 2017 attack is unrelated to the recent arrest of Guzmán, an event that sparked violence across the Northwestern state of Mexico.

Guzmán is wanted by the U.S. for his involvement in the Sinaloa drug cartel, including its production of the drug fentanyl.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment. The Twitter user who shared the claim could not be reached.

Reuters also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Miscaptioned video falsely claims to show attack in Mexico