Cancun, Q.R. — A pair of prison escapees wanted by Interpol for drug and firearm related offenses have been captured in Cancun. Police said Monday that the two men were arrested in the city after escaping from a Guatemalan prison last year.
Cancun’s SSC (Secretariat of Citizen Security) has identified the pair as being connected to the leadership of a transnational criminal group known as Barrio 18 or Calle 18. Both men have been on the run since 2025 after escaping from prison in Guatemala.
“Two individuals identified as Rudy “N” (alias Minor Aníbal “N”) and Lester “N” (alias Esvin Estuardo “N”) were arrested for their alleged involvement in drug-related offenses and violations of the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives,” the SSC (Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana) reported.
“Both individuals are subject to Interpol Red Notices, having escaped from a Guatemalan prison in October 2025. They are allegedly linked to the leadership of a transnational criminal group known as Barrio 18 (or Calle 18),” authorities in Cancun said Monday.
Officers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security’s (SSC) Investigation Directorate were conducting patrols in Supermanzana 41 when they observed two individuals exchanging several small, clear plastic bags containing dried plant matter resembling marijuana.
A preventive search resulted in the seizure of 379 clear plastic bags containing dried plant matter resembling marijuana, a Taurus Armas G3 9x19mm pistol, two magazines, 18 live rounds, two black backpacks, three cell phones, a regional visitor ID issued by the National Migration Institute, an ordinary passport and a green notebook containing various notes and the word “colors,” they detailed.
The detained individuals and the seized evidence were turned over to the Quintana Roo State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) for further investigation.
