Officers of the Anti-Extortion and Terrorist Associations Division (DAET), Honduras’s anti-extortion police division, broke up an active Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) cell operating in Villanueva, Cortés.[1] The tactical operation led to the capture of seven suspected members of the group, including two formally identified ringleaders.[1] The operation took place in aldea Suyapa, barrio El Campo, in Villanueva, Cortés.[2] Among those held was 43-year-old Jorge Alexander Cárcamo Valladares, alias El Clon.[2] Also held was Jesús Enrique Castillo Dubón, alias El Sarco, described as second-in-command of the local structure.[2] Police identified several detained women as caleteras, a term the report explains as people tasked with hiding weapons and drugs for the group.[2] The seven detainees were placed at the disposal of the Public Ministry prosecution.[1] They face formal accusations of drug trafficking, illegal possession of permitted firearms, possession of prohibited ammunition and criminal association.[1]

During the operation officers found more than 2,600 wraps of suspected marijuana.[2] The marijuana included rectangular packages sealed with red grease to evade canine checks as well as individual doses.[1] Officers also seized more than 3,600 plastic tips containing suspected white powder believed to be cocaine.[2] Police valued the seized drugs at three million lempiras.[3] Officers also seized two short firearms, magazines with prohibited-calibre ammunition, several mobile phones and a luxury pickup allegedly used to move the drugs.[1]

Police said the operation was part of actions against structures dedicated to illicit activities in northern Honduras.[2] Judicial authorities must still establish each suspect’s role in the structure and clarify the origin and destination of the seized drugs.[2]