Got him! Drug-runner wanted in U.S. arrested as DEA agents assist in swoop deep inside Central America



A major drug trafficker wanted in Florida has been captured by agents in a joint U.S. - Guatemala operation.

Soldiers and police in helicopters swooped into Guatemala's second largest city, Quetzaltenango, and arrested Juan Ortiz-Lopez in his home.

He appeared to be only lightly guarded by two men, but the mission represents a major foray by the U.S. into Central American drug crime.

Juan Alberto Ortiz, the alleged boss of one of the main local drug cartels in Guatemala City is arrested after a special operation with the U.S. DEA in Quetzaltenango

Juan Ortiz, also known as El Chamale, nd another suspected drug-runner arrive by helicopter in the capital Guatemala City Ortiz-Lopez, 41, is considered Guatemala's most important drug smuggler by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Heavily armed agents landed at the air force base in Guatemala City with Ortiz-Lopez, handcuffed and wearing a leather jacket, and escorted him and two bodyguards to court.

A3BN31 Satellite Image Of Guatemala With Guatemala Highlighted

Marlon Martinez, gestures at the Torre de Tribunales courthouse in Guatemala City as a number of gang members were sentenced to a total of 47 years for murder

The suspects are accused of smuggling tonnes of cocaine through Guatemala to Mexico and the United States over the past decade.

'This is the capture of a big fish,' Guatemala's Interior Minister Carlos Menocal told a news conference.

He said Ortiz-Lopez and his associates were likely to be extradited to the United States.

Ortiz-Lopez's capture follows the arrest in October of his henchman, Mauro Solomon, in another joint operation as Washington tries to stop Guatemala from being sucked deeper into Mexico's drugs wars.

Guatemala is struggling to prevent Mexican cartels from destabilising parts of the country, a poor but democratic U.S. trading partner and a major coffee and sugar exporter.

Officials worry that Central America's weak governments do not have the capacity to contain the spreading threat of cartels as their armies and police are no match for gangs equipped with rocket launchers and semi-automatic weapons.

President Barack Obama announced $200m in fresh funds for the drug fight in Central America this month during a trip to neighboring El Salvador.



Until now, most U.S. aid is for Mexico, where turf wars between the gangs have killed more than 36,000 people over the past four years.