GUATEMALAN POLICE ARREST TEN NARCOTRAFFICKERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 000298 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2019 TAGS: SNAR KCRM PTER PGOV KJUS KDEM GT SUBJECT: GUATEMALAN POLICE ARREST TEN NARCOTRAFFICKERS AFTER 12-HOUR CHASE REF: A. 08 GUATEMALA 387 ¶B. 08 GUATEMALA 1504 Classified By: Ambassador Stephen McFarland for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) On March 5, the Guatemalan National Civil Police (PNC) arrested ten alleged members, mostly Guatemalans, of the Mexican Zetas (the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel) in response to shootouts that same day between PNC officers and the alleged narcotraffickers. The confrontations between the PNC and the suspected Zetas began with an act of intimidation by approximately 20 Zetas, who detained a patrol car with four agents from the PNC's Criminal Investigation Division (DINC) in Coban, Alta Verapaz. The narcotraffickers confiscated the DINC agents' weapons and patrol car keys and told them "not to mess" with the drug traffickers, according to press reports. Other sources suggest the Zetas may have believed that the police had stolen a drug load from them. We have no corroboration of this account. ¶2. (C) While no agents were injured in this initial confronttion, the event spurred a 12-hour PNC-led manhunt across five Guatemalan departments in search of the narcotraffickers. The manhunt resulted in several shooutouts between PNC agents and the alleged narcotraffickers. When the dust cleared, two PNC agents and two alleged Zetas had been killed, and seven PNC officers were wounded. The Guatemalan army cooperated with the PNC in the operation by passing intelligence and setting up roadblocks. This cooperation contributed to the resulting ten arrests. President Colom told the Ambassador that he was especially pleased that peasants in Solola department had provided information to the authorities that assisted in the arrests. ¶3. (C) Among the ten detainees was a Mexican national believed to be a Zeta commander. The PNC confiscated seven vehicles and an arsenal of weapons, including high-caliber rifles, hand grenades, 2,000 rounds of ammunition and a grenade launcher. According to other police sources, the chase exposed PNC deficiencies in weapons and tactics; the two PNC casualties resulted from a local PNC commander's orders to send a small, lightly armed PNC force to chase the better armed traffickers. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: This most recent incident reminded Guatemalans, once again, of the growing presence of Mexican drug cartels in their national territory and the willingness of narcotraffickers to use violence. In response to the March 5 shooutouts, Embassy's Narcotics Affairs Section persuaded the Guatemalan government to create a task force of vetted personnel from SAIA (anti-drug police),D-2 (military intelligence),and the Public Ministry (Attorney General's Office) to consolidate information on the Zetas and establish a strategy for investigating their presence in Guatemala. Embassy's Drug Enforcement Agency representatives also participate on the task force. The March 5 operation comes in the aftermath of two successful PNC-led operations in February that resulted in the arrest of eleven alleged Zetas. There are reportedly 33 alleged Zetas being held in a prison in Zone 18 of Guatemala City, including eight believed to be Mexican nationals. McFarland