U.S. captures alleged drug kingpin with $10 million bounty on his head

U.S. authorities have detained a suspected Guatemalan drug kingpin with a $10 million bounty on his head, the Central American nation’s U.S. Embassy announced.

Eugenio Molina-Lopez is accused of heading up a gang called Los Huistas, which allegedly trafficked U.S.-bound cocaine from South America to Mexican cartels.

He was arrested in San Diego, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in a statement, which the embassy in Guatemala City shared on X.

The statement did not specify when the arrest took place.

The 61-year-old known as “Don Dario” pleaded not guilty during a federal court appearance on Friday.

Molina-Lopez is charged with conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine, which carries a possible life sentence.

“Once again, the final chapter for a man alleged to be one of the world’s most notorious and prolific cocaine traffickers is here in the Southern District of California,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said.

Los Huistas operate in northwestern Guatemala near the border with Mexico, according to the embassy.

In March 2022, the United States imposed sanctions against Los Huistas, describing it as the “dominant criminal structure in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango (along the border of Guatemala and Mexico).”

In March 2025, the “top leader” of Los Huistas and one of Washington’s top 100 most-wanted fugitives, Aler Baldomero Samayoa — alias “Chicharra” (Cicada) — was captured in Mexico and deported to Guatemala following joint efforts between the two countries and the U.S., officials said at the time.

According to the U.S. Treasury, Los Huistas smuggles cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin from its base in northern Guatemala to the U.S. using Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. 

International cartels, with help from local drug traffickers, traffic drugs and launder money in Guatemala and other Central American countries, fueling regional violence.

Ninety percent of the cocaine that reaches the U.S. passes through Central America and Mexico in trucks, aircraft, boats and submarines, according to U.S. officials.

The arrest was announced just one day after a top Jalisco cartel leader with a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head was captured while hiding in ditch in Mexico.

In March 2025, the “top leader” of Los Huistas and one of Washington’s top 100 most-wanted fugitives, Aler Baldomero Samayoa — alias “Chicharra” (Cicada) — was captured in Mexico and deported to Guatemala following joint efforts between the two countries and the U.S., officials said at the time.