The Public Ministry, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of National Defense, agencies of the Inter-Institutional Center against Drug Activity in Guatemala –CICNAG–, presented to the Guatemalan citizens the results obtained from work carried out in 2022.
According to Guatemalan authorities, the success of CICNAG is due to the collaborative and strategic inter-institutional work, with results such as the dismantling of 7 criminal organizations of drug trafficking.
The dismantled structures from January to June of 2022 were Primaso, El Profe, and Vía 4; from July to December, the Díaz Escobar, Trazas Ilegales, Galileo, and Los Gálvez. They are accused of illegal trade, trafficking, illicit association, international transit, and criminal associations, among others.
The authorities identified and dismantled 17 clandestine airstrips, 13 in the department of Petén, two in Retalhuleu, and one in Escuintla through the implementation of air and land patrols and the use of drone technology.
Regarding the confiscation of illicit goods, more than USD 64 million were seized between drugs and money. Among them 10698 pounds of cocaine; 2,050,401.37 grams of marijuana; 14,259 grams of crack; 2,543 grams of methamphetamine; 29,476.56 grams of marijuana seeds, and 3 grams of ecstasy.
Furthermore, concerning the detection and eradication of illegal plantations, several fields with marijuana, coca leaf bushes, and poppy plantations were eradicated, including the destruction of seven drug laboratories after the implementation of land and air patrols. Operations took place in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Chiquimula, Guatemala, Huehuetenango, Izabal, Jalapa, Petén, Quetzaltenango, San Marcos, Suchitepéquez, Totonicapán, Zacapa, and Santa Rosa. The estimated value is over USD 294,900,000.
It is estimated that the dismantled criminal organizations’ total economic impact reached more than USD 3.81 million.
