With the death of Arnoldo Vargasannounced on October 8, 2025, details of the life of the former mayor of Zacapa, who served a 25-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking, once again come to light.
One of the striking episodes was the one that occurred prior to the Vargas extradition to the United Stateswhen the authorities mentioned a plan, which turned out to be unsuccessful, in which alleged drug traffickers from the Medellín cartel, Colombia, would have implemented a strategy to rescue “Noldo”, as the former official was known.
In a note published by Free press On May 20, 1992, one day after Vargas’ extradition, reference was made to the fact that a special commando, paid by the Medellín cartel, had planned the rescue of the mayor of Zacapa, Arnoldo Vargas Estrada, as confirmed at that time by authorities of the Pavón Penal Farm.
It was mentioned that the Government’s security forces, in coordination with agents of the United States Anti-Drug Department (DEA), carried out an unprecedented deployment in Guatemala to transfer Vargas to the United States, the alleged head of the Zacapa cartel.
“In a few minutes, the security personnel in charge of taking Vargas to the La Aurora military airport changed their strategy to mislead the command of Central American drug traffickers who had planned the rescue of ‘Archi’, as he was allegedly known among drug sellers,” the news article indicated.
It is added that, for this reason, Vargas’ transfer was hasty, after Army and DEA intelligence personnel thwarted, a few days before, the plan to rescue alive the man known as the “strong man of Zacapa.”
According to authorities, the commando that intended to rescue Vargas was made up mainly of Salvadorans.
On a Harrier plane
The authorities at that time reported that the rescue plan included the use of helicopter gunships and a vertical take-off plane (Harrier), with which they intended to transfer Vargas to a secret location in Belize. For this, approximately US$150 million would have been invested.
According to DEA agents, they detected that the command had remained in Guatemala for a month and that it was making contacts with Guatemalan drug traffickers and with figures from the Government and justice of Guatemala, with the aim of obtaining information and, apparently, to “buy” wills.
On May 19, at dawn, the coordinated deployment of intelligence agents from the Government and the DEA began around the Fraijanes Preventive Detention Center (Pavoncito), where security measures never seen before in the country were implemented.
Members of the Hunapú Plan were in charge of the operation and blocked all mobility near the prison.
Vargas was taken from his cell and notified of his extradition. The US Marshalls then placed him in shackles and took him in an armored vehicle to a nearby point, where two DEA helicopter gunships were located. Vargas was transferred by air to La Aurora International Airport.
