The organization The fleetsthe poster that emerged in Huehuetenangoin the northwestern area of Guatemala, it expanded, as well as other criminal networks within the illegal industry, to stay in the world of drug trafficking, driven by a high drug demand that arose decades ago in USA and other latitudes.
This criminal group is founded by Eugenio Darío Molina Lópezknown as the bootsand ALER BALDOMERO SAMAYOA RECINOSChicharra.
The name fleeing arises from the geographical area that from the municipalities of Concepción Huista, San Antonio Huista, and Santa Ana Huista, this last border with Mexico.
Being a border territory, the clan of fleeing this area into a key point of influence for the smuggling of cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin from its base in Guatemala to North America.
To achieve this, it established connections with Mexican organizations such as the Sinaloa poster and the New Generation Jalisco posterwith which it was involved in the production, distribution and sale of prohibited substances, the US Treasury Department to the sanction the organization in 2022.
By then, the group The fleeing It had already evolved.
Evolution of fleeing
In the beginning, they dedicated themselves to Poppy culture In the valleys and mountains of Huehuetenango, a conducive environment where community members knew the land well.
Subsequently, in the same way they expanded their operations to their nearest territory, San Marcos and, with the growth of drug trafficking, they expanded their illegal activities until the importation of Chemical precursors from China to manufacture methamphetamines.
“Cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroine consumed in the United States are frequently adulterated with fentanyl, which can significantly increase the possibility of overdose and death of its consumers,” said the US in the sanction against the organization.
In addition, they established money laundering networks such as Your financial arm to handle your illicit earnings.
This growth was accompanied by a VERTIX OF VIOLENCEwhich has affected the community members of the municipalities that are tarnished by wearing the name of the clan: San Antonio Huista, Santa Ana Huista and Concepción Huista.
These three villages, which were once peaceful communities, have suffered the devastating consequences of drug trafficking: human costs, loss of security and tranquility due to the activity of this and other groups of organized crime.
A destabilization phenomenon that currently extends along the continent and keeps alerts active in the United States.
The group emerged as a criminal organization in the late 1990s, according to various official reports and Research reports.
The organization Global Financial Integrity (GFI)a study center based in Washington DC, points out that The fleeing They are also dedicated to money laundering, arms and people traffic – known as Coyotaja-, as well as smuggling and various acts of corruption.
The criminal group has also diversified its income with the operation of hotels, resorts and restaurants, according to the GFI report.
Its importance for Mexican posters is that 90 % of drugs that are trafficked between Colombia and the United States pass through Guatemalaaccording to GFI.
According to this source, the organization maintains powerful connections at local and international leveldespite the fact that their bases are found in remote areas of the west of the country.
Who are the fleets
It was until March 2022 that the United States Foreign Assets Control Office (OFAC) said that the clan, with operations in Huehuetenango, collaborated with the posters of Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación In cocaine, methamphetamine and heroine trafficking towards the US.
Among those sanctioned are:
- Eugenio Darío Molina López: One of the main leaders. Supervised cocaine traffic from South and Central America to Mexico. Accused in the US. In 2019. A reward of USD 10 million is offered for its capture.
- ALER BALDOMERO SAMAYOA RECINOS (“Chicharra”): Coordinator of the Cocaine Transport of Huehuetenango to Chiapas and Financial Operator of the group. Accused in the US Union of National Change (UCN). He was arrested on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
- Axel Bladimir Montejo Sáenz: Son -in -law of Molina López, Key lieutenant and coordinator of the transport of narcotics. Accused in the USA in 2017.
- Freddy Arnoldo Salazar Flores: Samayoa Constino samaya, handles cocaine storage and transportation. He is also deputy of Parlacen. Accused in the USA in 2016.
- Werner Darío Molina Montejo: Son of Molina López. Participates in the commercial relations of the organization.
- Ervin René Moreno López: Accountant of a company controlled by Molina López.
- Roger Antulio Samayoa Montejo: Son of Samayoa Recinos, lieutenant and operations coordinator.
Clan network and their connections with political elites
Although a millionaire reward was offered, American justice still seeks to capture Molina López, aka “Don Darío”.
The United States points out that the group became an organized structure whose members have managed to evade the authorities for years, partly thanks to their connections with entrepreneurs, local police and political authorities.
In the case of Samayoa Recinos, aka chicharrahis family maintains links with Guatemalan policy through the They are and the game UCNwhose founder, Mario Estradawas convicted in the US for drug trafficking.
His daughter’s husband, Freddy Salazarhe was deputy to They are and lost its immunity in 2023 due to alleged links with the drug trafficking clan.
THE PERIÓTICO He revealed that Salazar would have financed with US $ 10 million The party campaign Come on. In addition, his family tried to participate in the 2023 elections with Citizen Prosperitybut the game was excluded.
In the case of the deputy Sofía Hernándezrepresentative of Huehuetenango, his links are also familiar to the group The fleeing.
Your nephew, Augusto Jean Carlo Castillo Hernándezknown as “Metal” either “Joker”, It was captured in 2021 and extradited to the US. by drug trafficking.
In March 2024, he declared himself guilty of conspiring to send 2 thousand kilos of cocaine to the posters of Mexico, with knowledge that the drug would arrive in the United States.
The brother of the deputy, Henry Hernández Herrerahe accepted his involvement in the case The fleeing and was sentenced in 2021 for Obstruction of Justice. Although he received a sentence of three years, he was released after an abbreviated procedure.
In January 2022, He was killed during a football match in JacaltenangoHuehuetenango, after a discussion in the field.
Also read: They sentence members of “the fleeing”, who will spend between 6 and 12 years in prison