A shooting recorded on Wednesday, June 24 in zone 4 of Villa Nueva left one man dead, two injured and a police chase which ended with five captured and the confiscation of weapons, motorcycles reported stolen, bulletproof vests and clothing with insignia similar to those of the Municipal Traffic Police.
The National Civil Police (PNC) identified the victim as Gustavo Adolfo Jiménez Guarcas50 years old, identified by investigators as an alleged operator of The Caraduras in Villa Nueva. The investigations suggest that the attack could be related to the struggle that this structure maintains with the Mara Salvatrucha.
The police report on the case details that Jiménez Guarcas, who according to the investigation was dedicated to lending money, died inside a pickup truck after being shot several times. They were also injured in the attack. Santos Nazario Juarez54 years old, and Juan Alberto Yuman Valenzuela35, both identified by the PNC as lenders.
The investigations indicate that the victims were traveling on 1st street, zone 4 of Villa Nueva, when they were intercepted by armed men traveling on two motorcycles and shot at the vehicle in which Jiménez Guarcas was traveling.
During the processing of the scene, prosecutors from the Public Ministry (MP) and agents from the Specialized Criminal Investigation Division (Deic) located 97 cluesincluding 79 shell casings, projectiles, two firearms, magazines, ammunition and blood samples. The researchers’ main hypothesis points to a settling of scores.
Operation ended with five captured
After the attack, PNC agents began a chase that ended in a home in the Mártires del Pueblo neighborhood, where they were captured. Luis Daniel Toj Chúa21 years old; Abel Estuardo Díaz Galindo36; Juan Carlos Estrada García21; Edgar Rolando Estrada Rodríguez27, and Francisco Alexander Concuán Esquite21.
In the property, the authorities located four pistols, a .223 caliber carbine, three motorcycles reported stolen, bulletproof vests and clothing with insignia similar to those of the Villa Nueva Municipal Transit Police.
The Caraduras and the drop by drop business
According to researchers consulted by Free pressJiménez Guarcas was allegedly one of the operators of The Caraduras in Villa Nueva.
The investigations indicate that this criminal structure, in addition to controlling drug dealing in different sectors of the capital city and nearby municipalities, has extended its activities to the transportation system. loans known as drop by drop.
One of the wounded had already been captured.
During the armed attack he was injured Juan Alberto Yuman Valenzuelawho had already been arrested on May 31, 2025 during an operation in Amatitlán.
On that occasion, the PNC captured eight people accused of setting fire to a motorcycle and threatening a man with firearms. According to the police report, the suspects were intercepted when they were fleeing in two pickup trucks and an agricultural truck, in which firearms were located.
A dispute that adds more violent events
For the Deic, the attack that occurred on Wednesday is not an isolated event. Added to this are two other attacks against operators and “plaza bosses”, considered local ringleaders of The Caraduras.
The researchers pointed out that The Caraduras and the Mara Salvatrucha They maintain a struggle that has been evidenced in violent events that occurred in Villa Nueva and the metropolitan area.
One of those cases occurred on March 3, 2025when an armed group attacked Joseph Estiven Martínez López in the Concepción market, zone 4 of Villa Nueva.
On that occasion, the PNC reported that the alleged attackers belonged to the Mara Salvatrucha and that one of the hypotheses related the attack to the loan and transportation activities of Martínez López. Four alleged gang members were captured after an exchange of gunfire with the businessman’s bodyguards.
Another event occurred on May 4, 2025when police officers chased an armed man who ended up barricaded in a Catholic church from Bárcenas, Villa Nueva. Authorities identified him as Daniel “R.”who was linked to that same criminal dispute.
The origin of the conflict between the MS and Los Caradura
According to research, The Caraduras and the Mara Salvatrucha For several years they maintained an alliance to control illicit activities such as drug dealing, extortion and money laundering through nightclubs in zones 9, 10 and 14 of the capital and nearby municipalities.
However, that relationship broke down after a series of disputes attributed to Carlos Roberto Ortiz Romeroaka “Weevil”identified by the PNC as one of the leaders of the Mara Salvatrucha and who, according to investigations, obeys orders from Jorge Yahir de León Hernándezalias “The Diabolical”.
According to the investigation, this breakup caused a reconfiguration of criminal alliances. The Caraduras They began to work with members of Barrio 18 to maintain control of different territories, while the Mara Salvatrucha sought to recover those spaces.
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