For more than two decades, the Lorenzana clan It was one of the drug trafficking groups more powerful from Guatemala. Established links with the Sinaloa cartel and They facilitated the passage of cocaine from Colombia and El Salvador to Mexico and the United States.
The capture of Steven Ovaldino Lorenzana, “Chipi” April 14, 2025 in Hondo River, Zacapahas reactivated international interest in this family structure, historically linked to organized crime in the east region of the country.
Who is “Chipi”?
Steven Ovaldino, 29, is the grandson of Waldemar Lorenzana Lima, known as “El Patriarca”, who for many years directed drug transfer in Guatemala.
According to the Public Ministry (MP), the chipi was in charge of coordinating cocaine air cargoes, Organize your collection and distribution From Guatemala to cartels in Mexico. The United States has requested its extradition.
Here we leave the profiles of the members of the Lorenzana family and what is their current situation before justice.
The Patriarch: Waldemar Lorenzana Lima
Originally from Zacapa, Lorenzana Lima It was for years considered one of the main drug lords in Central America.
Founded its operations base in the municipalities of Huité and Cabañas, and for more than 20 years he coordinated transnational drug cargoes.
He was captured in April 2011, extradited in 2014 to the USA and Condemned to 23 years in prison in 2020. He died in 2021 in an American prison, at 81.
From a farmer, during his youth he was official of the missing Guard of Finance, a police entity of the Ministry of the Interior that fought the smuggling and fraud of taxes.
A witness who declared “El Patriarca”, said that between 1989 and 1990, Lorenzana Lima had links with Arnoldo Vargas Estradathen mayor of Zacapa – when they received between five and six planes loaded with almost a ton of cocaine, describes a report of Insightcime.
The alliance that described with the then mayor chief, remained until the capture of Vargas in December 1990, and its subsequent extradition to the United States in 1992.
This link was fundamental for the formal income of the children of Lorenzana Lima to drug trafficking, since they raised observing these operations.
The legacy: children, daughter and grandchildren
Despite the blows to its structure, the clan continued to operate strongly. Four of the children of “El Patriarca” were prosecuted and condemned in the US
- Eliu Elixander Lorenzana Cordón: condemned to life imprisonment in 2018. According to the Department of Justice, it acted as a key link between South American suppliers and the Sinaloa Cartel.
- Waldemar Lorenzana Cordón: He also received life imprisonment that same year. Investigations detailed that it coordinated land routes and protected shipments that crossed Guatemala.
- Haroldo Jeremiah Lorenzana Cordón: Captured in 2019, sentenced to 33 years. Judicial documents indicate it as a financial and logistics operator that supervised collection and deliveries centers.
- Marta Julia Lorenzana Cordónaka “Julie” or “Morena”: considered a key figure in the logistics of the group, was sentenced in March 2024 to 33 years. He admitted to having trafficked more than 27 thousand kilos of cocaine and generate profits for US $ 27 million, sum that was also confiscated. She is married to drug trafficker Jairo Orellana, extradited in 2015.
The new generation: “Haroldito”, Hans and Chipi
The interest of the United States for the structure persists. The State Department offers up to US $ 5 million for information that leads to the capture of Haroldo Waldemar Lorenzana Terrazaaka “Haroldito”, son of Haroldo Jeremiah.
In 2022, the Ministry of the Interior included it among the 100 most wanted and offered Q50 thousand for data on its whereabouts.
Another grandson, Hans Broiner Lemus Lorenzanason of Marta Julia, He died in an armed attack in March 2022in the center of Huité. He had a history of drug trafficking.
The attack against Lemus Lorenzana and his bodyguards occurred in a sale of liquor in the El Centro neighborhood, in front of the Central Park of Huité.
Supposedly, there would have been an armed confrontation, apparently by the dispute of the Los Lorenzana clan.
Some sources point out that Hans Broiner would have been attacked by his cousin Haroldo Waldemar Lorenzana Terraza.
A disarticulated or mutation clan?
Although its structure was weakened by captures, extraditions and convictions, Lorenzana remains a reference in the history of Guatemalan drug trafficking.
The authorities continue to monitor their possible re -articulation, while the US maintains open investigations against their descendants.
Lorenzana clan chronology
- 2003: USA identifies links with the Sinaloa cartel.
- 2011: capture of Waldemar Lorenzana Lima.
- 2014-2018: extraditions and sentences to their children.
- 2021: “El Patriarca” dies and Marta Julia is captured.
- 2024: They condemn Marta Julia at 33.
- 2025: “Chipi” falls; UU. It offers a reward for “Haroldito”.
Also read: the clues inside an “extermination field” that promise answers, despair and faith