HomeNewsBriefGuatemala Extradites Brutal Drug Trafficker to US
BRIEF

Guatemala Extradites Brutal Drug Trafficker to US

EXTRADITION / 27 JUL 2015 BY ARRON DAUGHERTY EN

Guatemalan authorities recently extradited drug trafficker Jairo Orellana, alias "El Pelon," to the United States, ending a criminal career that left a bloody legacy in Guatemala. 

Security forces handed over Orellana to the DEA under heavy guard, including a helicopter escort. Prior to his capture in May 2014, Orellana earned himself the title of "The King of the 'Tumbes'" -- a reference to his tendency to steal drug shipments from criminal groups. 

Unlike most drug trafficking suspects, Orellana sought extradition to the United States to resolve his legal situation "under better security conditions," his lawyer Mauricio Berreondo told press. Orellana has been targeted by assassins in the past and appears willing to accept US sentencing in exchange for better protection against his many enemies.  

Orellana has been linked to multiple Guatemalan, Honduran, and Mexican drug trafficking organizations and was seen as instrumental in facilitating the entrance of hyper-violent criminal group the Zetas into Guatemala around 2011. 

SEE ALSO: The Zetas in Guatemala

He is believed to have operated trafficking routes along the Guatemalan-Honduran border, likely with the complicity of Honduran officials

 

15-07-27-OrellanaMap

A breakdown of Orellana's criminal links by local newspaper Elperiodico

InSight Crime Analysis

Orellana's criminal career was characterized by his tendency to opportunistically form and break alliances with other criminals. He entered the drug trade at a young age, working as a gunman for Guatemalan trafficking clan the Lorenzanas.

SEE ALSO: Lorenzanas Profile

He later helped the Zetas gain a foothold in Guatemala, but then worked as a free agent, selling drugs to rival group the Sinaloa Cartel, once the Zetas' power began to wane. 

With his extradition, other traffickers will likely take over the routes and criminals structures Orellana built during his career. His more lasting impression on Central America's underworld will likely be introducing the Zetas' particular brand of extreme violence. 

Rather than establishing partnerships with other criminal groups or corrupt authorities, Orellana and the Zetas frequently opted to kill off or intimidate rivals through gruesome displays of violence. Orellana's men were linked to a 2011 massacre of 27 people in Northern Guatemala. He is also believed to have ordered the murder of a Guatemalan prosecutor -- who was chopped into pieces and dumped in a town plaza -- that same year. 

SEE ALSO: Guatemala News and Profile

Orellana maintained this level of violence even after parting ways with the Zetas. He is suspected of numerous revenge killings in Honduras, according to Honduran intelligence reports, and is believed to have frequently set up and murdered his own drug suppliers. 

While Orellana's criminal career has likely come to an end, he may continue to impact the underworld depending if he's willing to give information on fellow criminals to US authorities. Given his penchant for opportunistic murder and betrayal, this seems likely. 

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 / 20 JUN 2023

The career of Guatemalan congresswoman Sofía Hernández is a survivor of three different political parties, connections to narcos, and US…

ELITES AND CRIME / 19 JUN 2023

The run-up to Guatemala's 2023 elections has been defined by inconsistencies and corruption. On June 25, the country heads to…

ARGENTINA / 12 SEP 2022

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

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…