HomeNewsBriefGuatemala Authorities Capture Ex-Military Turned Drug Trafficker
BRIEF

Guatemala Authorities Capture Ex-Military Turned Drug Trafficker

EXTRADITION / 2 MAY 2016 BY STEVEN DUDLEY EN

Guatemalan authorities, working with the United States government, captured what some are calling the country's largest drug trafficker, a former military officer turned criminal with a reputation for extreme violence.

Dozens of police on foot and in helicopter surrounded and captured Marlon Francesco Monroy Meoño, alias "El Fantasma" ("The Ghost"), and six other suspects of his group on April 30 at a residence in Antigua, a city 25 kilometers from Guatemala City known for its quaint, colonial streets and hospitable language schools. (See video below ? Soy502.com)

Monroy is accused in the Southern District of Florida of drug trafficking (although his accusation was not yet available on US Justice Department websites). US authorities expect him to be quickly extradited to face those charges, since he is not charged in Guatemala.

InSight Crime Analysis

Part of Monroy's power, it seems, stemmed from his contacts in the military, as well as his penchant for bloodletting.

According to US law enforcement officials consulted by InSight Crime who did not wish to be identified since the investigation is ongoing, Monroy is a former military officer who rose to prominence after his mortal enemy, Jairo Orellana, alias "El Pelón," was captured in May 2014.

Monroy used his contacts in the military to help him move illegal drugs from Colombia and Ecuador to the Pacific Coast of Guatemala, where his organization received, stored, then moved the drugs north to contacts in Mexico.

SEE ALSO: Guatemala News and Profiles

On the same day Monroy was captured, elPeriódico reported that authorities had decommissioned 673 kilograms of cocaine on a go-fast boat in the Pacific, which they said was part of Monroy's operations.

Monroy was also known for his extreme violence towards both his enemies and his allies who he felt had betrayed him.

Monroy was arrested using what is called a Provisional Arrest Warrant (PAW). PAWs are usually issued in cases where the suspect is not wanted for crimes locally. In cases of high-level drug traffickers, this normally indicates there is an agreement between the two governments to not charge the person locally. This facilitates the extradition process, since legislation often requires the person face crimes locally first, before being sent to another country to face charges.

The capture of Monroy leaves another power vacuum. The most likely occupant of that vacuum is someone authorities have identified as Rony Álvarez, alias "Komander." Álvarez was Orellana's second-in-command and has retained his contacts to keep operations going in western Guatemala.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COCAINE / 18 MAY 2022

Early investigations indicate the CJNG is striking partnerships with drug rings in Guatemala that receive shipments of cocaine from Colombia…

ARGENTINA / 12 SEP 2022

Synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, fentanyl, and ecstasy are reshaping Latin America's drug trade.

COCAINE EUROPE / 29 MAY 2023

The impeachment of Paraguayan Congressman Erico Galeano for connections to drug trafficking shows progress against impunity in the country.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…