On Thursday, April 23, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), of the United States Department of the Treasury, sanctioned 23 individuals and entities linked to an international synthetic opioid acquisition network associated with the Sinaloa cartel, a designated terrorist organization. Among those sanctioned are one person and two Guatemalan companies.
According to the US, the measure aims to dismantle the entire supply chain, from obtaining chemical precursors in Asia to the production and distribution of drugs such as fentanyl, considered a threat to US national security. Guatemalans have participated in the transfer of this drug, according to the North American country.
The cases of Guatemalans linked to the fentanyl trafficking towards the United States reveal an increasingly sophisticated structure, in which local operators fulfill key functions in logistics, financing and connection with international cartels, such as that of Sinaloa.
Investigations by US and Guatemalan authorities suggest that these networks not only transport drugs, but also coordinate the purchase of chemical precursors from Asia, the movement of shipments in Mexico and the flow of money in several countries.
The investigations indicate that Wilmer Alexander Hernández Cano, alias “The 7th“, and Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea, alias “Gaby”, show how Guatemalan citizens have integrated into different levels of these criminal structures.
The operator on the fentanyl route
Wilmer Alexander Hernández Cano, alias “El 7”, was captured on March 12 after being required by a court in the District of Rhode Island, in the United States, for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl.
According to the investigations, he was part of an organization that operated in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, and that between 2025 and 2026 he would have acquired and transported several kilograms of this drug from Mexico.
Authorities point out that the fentanyl was transported to United States territory for distribution, while the profits returned to Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia.
In addition, Hernández Cano would have acted as an intermediary in the sale of narcotics and facilitated their distribution within the criminal network.
His capture took place in Mataquescuintla, Jalapa, during an operation by the General Subdirectorate of Analysis of Anti-Narcotics Information (SGAIA), of the National Civil Police (PNC).
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A fentanyl transfer network and the role of Guatemalans
That same day, the authorities carried out other operations against people wanted by the United States for crimes related to drug trafficking.
Jorge Edy Peláez Martínez, 52, was arrested in Ayutla, San Marcos, accused of conspiring to manufacture and distribute drugs, including cocaine and fentanyl.
According to the investigations, Peláez Martínez would be linked to the attempt to send at least five kilograms of cocaine and 400 grams of fentanyl to the United States, in addition to being related to the use of firearms in drug trafficking activities.
In another case, a suspect identified as Escobar Rodríguez was captured for extradition purposes for conspiracy and attempted distribution of cocaine and fentanyl. At the time of his arrest, a firearm with 16 ammunition was seized.
“La Gaby”: the link with Asia and the Sinaloa cartel
Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea, alias “la Gaby,” is a Guatemalan woman linked to the Sinaloa cartel who was convicted in the United States of conspiracy to import fentanyl.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Rubio Zea operated between 2014 and 2023 as an intermediary in the purchase of chemical precursors from China, connecting Asian companies with fentanyl producers in Mexico.
To do this, it used a company based in Guatemala, IGIGI Technologies, which served as a front to manage the import and export of chemical substances.
The investigations detail that the Guatemalan coordinated shipments of precursors, including a 25-kilogram shipment seized in Mexico in 2021, and made transfers of approximately US$100,000 to Chinese companies.
He also allegedly directly negotiated the sale of counterfeit fentanyl pills, offering samples of a thousand pills for US$3,000, according to evidence obtained by undercover DEA agents.
Despite the fact that the prosecution requested between nine and eleven years in prison, Rubio Zea was sentenced to six months, after pleading guilty and collaborating with the US justice system.
From laboratories to markets
According to OFAC, Mexican cartels depend on chemical companies from different countries to obtain precursors and other inputs necessary to produce synthetic opioids.
These suppliers are mainly located in Asia, where they market substances such as 4-piperidone and N-Boc-4-piperidone.
According to the United States Department of Justice, one kilogram of the precursor N-Boc-4-piperidone can produce around 1.83 kilograms of fentanyl, with the potential to generate about 900,000 lethal doses.
OFAC also designated Jaime Augusto Barrientos Camaz, Guatemalan fentanyl precursor broker, who obtains supplies from companies in India, including Agrat Chemicals and SR Chemicals.
According to that office, Barrientos used the company J and C Import, based in Guatemala City, and received 116 kilograms of N-Boc-4-piperidone over two months.
Another company noted is Central Logística de Servicios, based in Guatemala, dedicated to shipping precursors and finished fentanyl.