The State Department has offered a $10 million reward for reports leading to the arrest of a Guatemalan cocaine trafficker, 57-year-old Eugenio Darío Molina López.
A grand jury in San Diego has indicted cocaine trafficking and conspiracy charges that could face Molina López, alias "El Molis," with a life sentence and a $10 million fine.
According to federal authorities, Molina López is the leader of a Guatemalan drug cartel called Los Huistas.
The suspect operates from Huehuetenango, in northern Guatemala, from where he transports the drug across the Pacific to southern California.
"El Molis" was identified in Operation Guerrilla Unit, an inter-institutional operation to capture Guatemalan drug kingpins.
More than a dozen federal law enforcement and judicial agencies are involved in the operation.
The federal prosecutor's office in San Diego reported that the office of Internal Security Investigations (HSI) had directed the Guerrilla Unit for several years.
For its part, the State Department offers the award through its Drug Trafficking Rewards Program.
The State Department indicated that all information provided in the investigation would remain completely confidential. Therefore, government agents and officials are not eligible to receive the reward.
HSI San Diego Director Chad Plantz said, "the indictment of Molina, the leader of Los Huistas, is a result of HSI's efforts to attack these criminal organizations at their highest levels."
San Diego U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said, "We are working tirelessly to dismantle the cartels by taking down the leaders. This extraordinary case is one of the most significant, comprehensive, and large-scale drug prosecutions in this district.".
