Lorenzana Captured in Guatemala

According to Interior Minister Carlos Menocal (Associated Press, Siglo XXI, Prensa Libre), Waldemar Lorenzana Lima was arrested Tuesday afternoon in El Jicaro, a municipality 65 miles east of Guatemala City in the Department of El Progreso. 


Lorenzana is wanted by the US government for his alleged involvement in trafficking cocaine from Colombia to the US via Guatemala. The U.S. claims that that the Lorenzana family has control of drug trafficking in Zacapa, Chiquimula, Izabal, El Progreso, and Jalapa, and has ties to the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel. The family also owns 15 companies, including construction, transportation lines, fruit exports, and gas stations in the east regions of the country.

Lorenzana is nicknamed "the patriarch" because his sons Eliu, Haroldo and Waldemar, as well as several other family members are alleged to be involved in the business operations. While a son or nephew was arrested along with Waldemar, most of the remaining family members remain at large.

There had been a $500,000 reward for information leading to Waldemar Lorenzna's arrest, but it's not clear whether the police acted on a tip and someone is going to get a nice payday. It's an important arrest for Guatemala and the US, but it's also obviously too early to tell whether it will make much of a difference to the security situation in Guatemala.