Guatemalan mayor wanted on US drug charges

GUATEMALA CITY – Guatemalan prosecutors are seeking to remove immunity from a mayor facing drug charges in a U.S. federal court so he can be arrested and extradited.

Julia Barrera, spokeswoman for the Guatemala prosecutor’s office, said Friday the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration requested the capture and extradition of Erick Salvador Súñiga Rodríguez for his alleged participation in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

Súniga is seeking re-election as mayor of Ayutla, a town on the border with Mexico.

In May 2018, an anti-drug unit of the National Civil Police stopped Suñiga and his entourage after receiving an anonymous tip that the vehicles were carrying drugs. After the mayor threatened repercussions and townspeople gathered to defend him, the police pulled back without searching the vehicles.

Suñiga did not immediately respond to requests for comment.