Eugenio Darío Molina López, known by the alias “Don Mario” either “the Boots“, is accused by the US authorities of being one of the main leaders of the cartel The Huistsa drug trafficking organization with operations in Huehuetenango, and links to criminal structures in Mexico. The United States offered a reward of up to US$10 million, about Q77 million, for information that would facilitate his capture.
According to Guatemalan anti-narcotics investigators, Molina López would have assumed full control of the Los Huistas criminal structure, after the capture and subsequent extradition of Aler Baldomero Samayoa Recinos, alias “the Chicharra”.
The United States Department of Justice reported that Molina López was captured in San Diego, California, on April 24, 2026.
“Cartel leaders don’t write the ending to their stories. We do,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon.
“And once again, the final chapter in the story of a man considered one of the most notorious and prolific cocaine traffickers in the world is being written here in the Southern District of California,” he added.
Kevin Murphy, acting special agent in charge of the Homeland Security Investigations section, in San Diego, California, said the operation to capture Molina demonstrates the effectiveness of the Homeland Security Task Force, as well as the collaboration with agencies from the United States and Guatemala.
“The Department of Homeland Security and our law enforcement partners successfully dismantled a major transnational criminal organization responsible for massive cocaine trafficking and threatening the security of both nations. This operation underscores the importance of a whole-of-government approach and the unwavering commitment of the Department of Homeland Security and our partners to protect our communities and uphold the rule of law,” he commented.
The US Department of Justice reported that Molina appeared before a judge and pleaded not guilty during the hearing. “The preliminary hearing and the setting of the trial date are scheduled for May 11, at 9 a.m., before federal judge Dana M. Sabraw,” the US indicated.
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Profile and data of the accused
Molina López was born on June 2, 1964, in Huehuetenango. According to the United States Department of State, he is approximately 1.70 meters tall, has brown eyes and black hair.
An indictment filed in 2019 in the Southern District of California alleges that Molina López supervises the movement of cocaine shipments from South and Central America to Mexico, to then be sent to the United States.
Drug trafficking operations and routes
According to US investigations, Molina, together with Samayoa Recinos, ran a structure that not only facilitated the passage of drugs, but also operated the return of illicit profits from the north of the continent to Guatemala.
It indicates that Molina López is part of a logistics network in the country, mainly in the west, that included warehouses for temporary storage, land transportation routes and properties used to facilitate the discreet transfer of illicit shipments.
According to the United States, this structure operated since 2010, and until 2014 it received nearly 50 tons of cocaine for subsequent distribution.
Seizures linked to the structure
In addition, Molina López used warehouses located in Guatemala City to receive drugs by the ton. From there, its workers moved the shipments to farms owned by Samayoa Recinos, in border areas with Mexico.
In April and July 2018, Molina López’s name was linked to several drug seizures in the Guatemalan Pacific. On those dates, 4,252 kilograms of cocaine were seized in three different operations.
In January 2019, US$687,335 in cash and 50 kilograms of cocaine were seized in Houston. The US authorities attributed these crimes to the structure directed by Molina López. That same year, other operations with money seizures linked to Los Huistas were reported.
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Links with strong Mexican cartels
The organization has been described by United States authorities as a key link in the drug trafficking chain that connects South America with Mexico and the United States.
According to the US, Los Huistas have collaborated with Mexican cartels such as Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación, considered among the most powerful on the continent.
International sanctions and criminal structure
In 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Los Huistas and several of its leaders for international drug trafficking. In that resolution, Molina López, Samayoa Recinos, and other members of the organization were mentioned, including Fredy Salazar Flores, former substitute deputy of the Central American Parliament. Salazar surrendered to North American justice and is awaiting trial against him for drug trafficking.
“In March 2022, the US State Department announced that it was offering a reward of up to US$10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Molina López,” the statement said.
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