The Guatemalan Army seized more than 3 tons of cocaine in several counter-drug operations conducted April 19-21. Two of the seizures originated in the Maracaibo region of Venezuela, where small aircraft departed on suspicious flights over the Caribbean Sea that ended up violating Guatemalan airspace.
An April 21 counter-drug operation in Laguna del Tigre National Park, in the municipality of San Andrés, Petén department, resulted in the capture of 10 criminals and the seizure of about 54 bags of cocaine weighing about 1.6 tons, the Guatemalan Ministry of the Interior reported. One of the detainees was injured in a fire exchange with authorities, who also seized a pickup truck, eight motorcycles, six horses, and firearms. In another area close to where the drug was found, security forces also carried out operations where they seized several illicit items, according to the news portal Publinews.
Other seizures
This was the second most recent seizure in Petén, since on April 19, in Las Cruces, military and police forces located the remains of another small aircraft, according to the Guatemalan Office of the Attorney General.
Authorities found two corpses in the area, believed to be crew members of the aircraft, and seized nearly 1.5 tons of cocaine.
During another seizure, personnel of the Caribbean Naval Command intercepted and inspected a suspicious vessel in the Amatique Bay, Izabal department. According to a Guatemalan Army report, divers from the naval special forces found what is called a “parasitic” device, a cylindrical container used to smuggle drugs, with several packages of cocaine weighing about 30 kilos.