Suspected gang chief caught in Guatemala

Guatemalan police and state prosecutors detained on 3 April a suspect identified as the chief in Guatemala of the Mara Salvatrucha - the local branch of one of Central America's main criminal gangs - following a joint operation in Iztapa on the Pacific Coast, Europa Press reported citing Guatemalan media. Marco Antonio Sian Chávez - el Bufón - was one of three suspected gang chiefs detained in 30 operations against gangs around the country that day. Police also caught a suspected gunman of the Maras with Sian Chávez - a 21-year-old dubbed el Enano. The gang leader was sought for his suspected role in at least four killings, of a rival and three alleged police informants, Prensa Libre reported on 4 April. The state attributes most extortions in the country to the two main gangs, M-18 and Mara Salvatrucha.