Police and army burn 51,308 cannabis plants in Las Cruces
On 20 September 2026 Guatemala's anti-narcotics police and the army destroyed 51,308 marijuana plants in Las Cruces, Petén — 38,400 at caserío La Bacadilla and 12,908 at Cooperativa Ixmucané — valued by the Interior Ministry at about 25.65 million quetzales. No arrests were reported.
On Sunday 20 September 2026, agents of SGAIA, the anti-narcotics analysis unit of Guatemala’s
national civil police, working with army soldiers, eradicated 51,308 marijuana plants in the
municipality of Las Cruces, Petén.[1][2]The Interior Ministry valued the plants at about
25,654,000 quetzales.[1][2]
One site was caserío La Bacadilla, where 38,400 plants were destroyed; another was Cooperativa
Ixmucané, where 12,908 plants were burned.[1][2]The ministry said the plantations were in growth
and harvest stages.[1]
La Hora reported the same totals and said the army put the Ixmucané portion alone at at least
6.45 million quetzales.[2]Neither account named arrests.[1][2]
Photos and video
Uniformed personnel among tall cannabis plants during the Las Cruces eradication.Photo details
Guatemala's anti-narcotics police eradicated and burned 8,820 mature cannabis plants near Ixcoch and Ixmucané in Las Cruces, Petén, on 25 October 2026. The agency valued the plants at Q4,410,000.
Guatemala's anti-narcotics police eradicated and burned 6,915 marijuana plants ready for harvest in the mountains of Momostenango, Totonicapán, on 23 October 2026. The National Civil Police valued the crop at 3,457,500 quetzales. No arrests were reported. The ministry named the site aldea Pamaría; other accounts of the same count call it Paraje Racaná.
Anti-narcotics police destroyed 19,420 cannabis plants near Momostenango, Totonicapán, and 15,143 in Ixmucané, Las Cruces, Petén, the Interior Ministry reported after weekend operations. Prosecutors supported the searches and eradication work. The operations applied the existing cultivation prohibition, which carries five to twenty years in prison plus a fine for unauthorised growing.
Guatemala's National Civil Police and Defense Ministry eradicated 7,920 cannabis plants on a 660-square-metre plot at Cooperativa Ixmucané, Las Cruces, on 3 October 2026. The police valued the crop at Q3,960,000.
