Authorities in Guatemala have resisted efforts by members of a Jewish community to repatriate 160 children rescued from its buildings.
The children were taken into care on Friday when police raided a farm used by the Lev Tahur movement, which is under investigation in several countries for serious sexual crimes.
Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said they were mistreated by a sect member.
But on Sunday, sect members stormed a care center where they were being held in an attempt to reclaim them, leading to clashes with police.
The Lev Tahur sect is known for its extremist practices and the imposition of a strict regime on its followers.
It advocates child marriage, imposes harsh punishments for even minor violations, and requires women and girls as young as three to wear the full jilbab.
The sect accuses the Guatemalan authorities of religious persecution.
The sect settled in Mexico and Guatemala between 2014 and 2017. In 2022, members of the sect were arrested in a police operation in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, but They were later released due to lack of evidence.
The events began when police raided the sect's farm in Oratorio, southeast of Guatemala City, on Friday, and took the children into care.
Prosecutors said there were suspicions of “forced pregnancy, abuse of minors and rape.”
But two days later, about 100 relatives of the children – all members of the sect – gathered outside the center where they were being held to demand their return.
Some members of the sect then forcefully opened the gate and attempted to kidnap the children and teenagers who were sheltering there, the prosecutor's office said.
But local media reported that the children were intercepted by authorities and placed in a white minivan.
The prosecutor's office added that with the help of the police, “the center was able to locate and protect everyone again.”
Officials had previously tried to check on the children's health, but sect members prevented them from entering the farm.
Authorities estimate that the community consists of about 50 families residing in Guatemala, the United States, Canada and other countries.
The Jewish community in Guatemala issued a statement disavowing the sect, describing it as alien to its organization.
It expressed its support for the Guatemalan authorities in conducting the necessary investigations “to protect the lives and safety of minors and other vulnerable groups who may be at risk.”
