Huistas

The Huistas are one of the most powerful drug trafficking groups in Guatemala, controlling critical territory along the border with Mexico. The group’s longstanding ties to businessmen, law enforcement officials, and politicians have enabled it to dominate the underworld in parts of northwestern Guatemala.

What is the story of the Huistas in Guatemala?

The Huistas have been active in the narcotics trade in the border department of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, since the late 1990s, and their members have been targeted by both US and Guatemalan authorities since the late 2010s.

While marijuana and poppy cultivation began in some mountainous areas of Huehuetenango in the 1970s, these were isolated activities driven by demand from independent Mexican traffickers. It was not until the 1990s that groups like the Huistas developed the capacity to manage the storage and transport of drugs into Mexican territory.

Initially, these operations were dominated by Mexicans affiliated with the Sinaloa and Gulf cartels, who had established alliances with local Guatemalan groups and had experience in contraband and migrant smuggling. Over time, these Guatemalan groups built their own logistics networks, allowing them to move drugs from other parts of Guatemala to the border.

Though traditionally linked to Mexican criminal organizations, over time the Huistas have acquired a large degree of autonomy. They have expanded from mere transshipment of drugs to importing precursor chemicals from China and producing methamphetamine, according to US authorities. Additionally, they control poppy cultivation for heroin production in the mountainous regions of western Guatemala.

In addition to their drug trafficking operations, the Huistas have developed a network of legitimate businesses, including hotels, recreation centers, workshops, and construction companies. These ventures—some of which are under international sanctions—allow the group to launder illicit funds and forge connections with businesspeople, officials, and other authorities through intermediaries at both local and national levels.

Who are the leaders of the Huistas?

The Huistas organization operates with a centralized and hierarchical structure, incorporating specialized units for money laundering, as well as smuggling, storing, and producing drugs.

The group’s two main leaders were captured following a period of intense pressure from US and Guatemalan authorities in the mid-2020s. The first to fall was Aler Baldomero Samayoa Recinos, alias “Chicharra,” who was arrested by Mexican security forces in March 2025 after more than six years on the run. Before his detention, Chicharra faced a US indictment and sanctions over his alleged role in coordinating the transportation of cocaine shipments from Huehuetenango, Guatemala, into the Mexican state of Chiapas. He was extradited to the US weeks after his arrest.

Next came Eugenio Darío Molina-López, alias “Don Dario,” who allegedly oversaw all operations of the Huistas until his arrest in San Diego, California, in April 2026. Like Chicharra, Don Dario had spent years as a fugitive after being indicted by US prosecutors in 2019. Washington gradually turned the screw on the Huistas leader by imposing financial sanctions and by offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

Where do the Huistas operate?

The Huistas dominate the department of Huehuetenango, which borders Chiapas, Mexico. This area is a crucial drug trafficking corridor and a vital route for goods, people, and international migration.

The group takes its name from the region it controls; “Huista” refers to San Antonio Huista and Santa Ana Huista, two small municipalities located in the northeast of Huehuetenango. They control other municipalities in the region, such as La Democracia and the capital city of the department, Huehuetenango.

The group’s money laundering operations have enabled the creation of a network of businesses that offer employment opportunities to residents.

Any disclosure of the group’s activities is met with violent retribution. The Huistas also enforce a strict “zero tolerance” policy toward common crime within their territory. They have executed suspected gang members, rapists, and other criminals, effectively preventing the presence of rivals and reinforcing their role as the de facto guarantors of community safety.

Who were the friends and foes of the Huistas?

The Huistas have benefited from the presence of Mexican criminal groups in Central America, a region that is strategically crucial for the production and transportation of drugs to the United States and Europe.

The Huistas primarily serve as transporters in the regional drug trafficking landscape. They are responsible for moving cocaine and other drugs from Guatemala into Mexico, thereby facilitating the operations of both the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel.

Drugs are typically transported from Guatemala’s eastern border, southern coast, or Guatemala City into Huehuetenango. The group utilizes caravans of vehicles with hidden compartments and makeshift runways on roads in northern Huehuetenango for rapid drug plane operations. These road sections are illuminated by torches at night, allowing planes to land under cover of darkness, unload the drugs into waiting pickup trucks, and take off again in a matter of minutes.

The Huistas have infiltrated state institutions in Guatemala across multiple levels of government. Their links with local politicians, law enforcement, and other government officials have provided the group with protection and the ability to operate with relative impunity, allowing them to expand and sustain their illegal businesses.

What is the outlook for the Huistas?

The Huistas maintain a critical role in the cocaine supply chain, serving as the link between major criminal groups and acting as logistical facilitators for larger drug trafficking operations that extend beyond their immediate control. 

The group’s discreet approach, territorial dominance, and political connections helped it weather a series of state crackdowns that took down a host of notorious Guatemala drug rings in the 2010s. Though recent pressure from US and Guatemalan authorities has led to the capture of the group’s two main leaders, the group’s secretive nature makes it difficult to gauge the impact of arrests and sanctions.  There is, however, little to suggest its control of strategic territory or partnerships with major Mexican cartels have been compromised.