According to Marco Antonio Villeda, Minister of the Interior, the Joint Task Force Vulcana specialized unit made up of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), supported between November and December 2025 in locating the leaders of Barrio 18 who escaped from the Fraijanes prison 2.
Villeda pointed out that Vulcano investigators managed to locate several of the fugitives; However, he stated that the unit left the country at the end of that year due to coordination problems with the Public Ministry (MP), led by then-Attorney General María Consuelo Porras.
Although the official did not specify which captures were a direct result of the support of the US unit, he did assure that during his stay in Guatemala the whereabouts of several of the escaped gang members were identified.
The investigations of the National Division against the Criminal Development of Gangs (Dipanda) and the Specialized Division in Criminal Investigation (DEIC), both of the National Civil Police (PNC), also made it possible to locate several of the escaped inmates before and after the arrival of the Vulcano Force to the country.
During the stay of the Vulcano Joint Task Force in Guatemala, between November and December 2025, at least two of the escaped inmates from Fraijanes 2 were captured. They are Ever Jhonatan Sinay Dionisio, known as “Cartoon”, arrested on November 20 in San José Pinula, and Milton Noel Najarro García, known as “Dark”, captured on December 23 in Izabal.
Dates of the captures of the escaped prisoners
- October 13, 2025: Byron Eduardo Fajardo Revolorio, alias “Black Demon”, member of the Latin Family clique of Barrio 18, was arrested in Pueblo Nuevo Viñas, Santa Rosa
- October 18, 2025: Melcin Gabriel De León, alias “Little Strong”, and Marlon Manolo Martínez Sincuir, alias “El Espectro”, were captured in the La Toscana residential area, zone 4 of Huehuetenango
- October 21, 2025: Nicolás Xantes Sis, alias “El Brown”, was captured at kilometer 82 of the route to the Pacific, in the jurisdiction of Escuintla.
- November 20, 2025: Ever Jhonatan Sinay Dionisio, alias “Cartoon”, leader of Barrio 18, was captured in San José Pinula during an operation by the PNC and the Vulcano Joint Task Force
- December 23, 2025: Milton Noel Najarro García, alias “Dark”, leader of the Solo para Locos clique, was arrested in Izabal (Operation with the help of the Vulcano Joint Task Force)
- January 4, 2026: Edwin Roberto González Ortega, alias “Psyco”, member of the Hollywood Gangsters clique, was found dead in San Rafael El Jocotillo, Villa Canales
- January 30, 2026: Carlos Agustín Reyes Popol, alias “Joker”, was recaptured in the Las Maravillas neighborhood, San Pedro Ayampuc
- March 13, 2026: José Carmelo Sinay Ortiz, alias “Inquieto” or “Style”, was recaptured in San Juan Ostuncalco, Quetzaltenango
Of the 20 gang members who escaped from Fraijanes 2, eight have been recaptured, one died and 11 remain at large.
Villeda reported that, after recent meetings with US authorities, the director of the Vulcano Force assured that he would send a specialized team to Guatemala again next July to support the search for the fugitives who still remain at large.
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The gang members who are still at large are:
- Edwin René Ramírez Iboy
- Fernando Muñoz Sinar
- Kevin Amilear Ramos Aguilar
- Rudy Augusto Ortiz Morales
- Wilfredo Alfredo Monzón Paniagua
- Julio Cristóbal Gómez Lic
- Carlos Stuart Boch
- Wilson Stivenson Mereira Aristondo
- Gerson Alexander Osorio Herrera
- Esvin Estuardo Herrera Ardiano
- Carlos Augusto Aguilar Escobar