Mafia boss's prison escape causes sensation in Guatemala.

Guatemala has launched a large-scale operation to hunt down the female leader of one of the country's most notorious criminal organizations after she escaped from prison for the second time.

News of former gang leader Marixa Lemus's successful prison escape has caused a stir in Guatemala. According to AFP on May 12th, the 47-year-old escaped from a heavily guarded military prison north of Guatemala City. Prior to her escape, Lemus was serving a 94-year sentence for kidnapping and conspiring to murder Mayor Carlos Roberto Marroquin Fuentes of Moyuta, a southern city.

Drug queen Lemus (center) being escorted by police in 2016. Screenshot from CANAL ANTIGUA

Guatemala's National Police Chief, Nery Ramos, said a large force has been deployed to hunt down Lemus, also known as "The Boss." "A nationwide alert has been issued and a manhunt has been launched," AFP quoted Ramos as saying. In addition, the Interior Ministry is offering a reward of 100,000 quetzal (approximately 309 million Vietnamese dong) for initial information leading to the whereabouts of "The Boss."

Authorities are also investigating reports that some prison guards helped Lemus escape, according to El Periodico. The "boss" began serving her sentence in March 2015 after being convicted of a conspiracy to bomb and assassinate the mayor of Fuentes in December 2013. She had previously escaped from a women's prison in Guatemala City in May 2016 but was later recaptured.

Lemus's gang is one of the largest criminal organizations in Guatemala, where drug-related violence and kidnappings are a constant headache for authorities. According to a 2013 report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the homicide rate in Guatemala was 39.9 cases per 100,000 people. A new report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS, based in the UK) also shows that the country ranks among the top in homicide rates in 2016 with 16,000 cases. Some sources indicate that Lemus has also partnered with notorious gangs in Mexico and Colombia to "dominate" the southern Guatemalan underworld.

The "boss" comes from a family with a political tradition in Moyuta. According to El Periodico, her brother served as mayor from 2008 until he died of a heart attack in October 2009. Both her sister and Lemus herself had previously run for office. Investigators believe the initial reason why the mother of two children went from mayoral candidate to leader of a notorious criminal organization was to avenge her family members.

The newspaper El Periodico once quoted Lemus as accusing Fuentes of hiring someone to murder her sister in 2011 to eliminate a political rival. Afterward, many of Lemus's relatives and friends were also killed. Since then, she has disappeared from public view, beginning to use her family's influence and wealth to build a gang.

However, from her initial intention of revenge, Lemus gradually descended into a life of crime and became a notorious and ruthless crime boss. She is accused of masterminding the kidnapping of Amanda Lemus Contreras for ransom in late 2013. Shortly afterward, the victim's body was found in a village near the town of Garrobo. Additionally, police are investigating the suspicion that Lemus murdered her husband to seize his inheritance and collect insurance money.

On the other hand, Lemus never gave up her intention of taking revenge on Mayor Fuentes. El Periodico, citing authorities, added that "the boss" bribed at least five police officers to join her gang. Besides obstructing investigations and supplying weapons, their main task was to report to Lemus on Fuentes' movements. According to court records, she ordered at least two attacks on Fuentes, but the official miraculously escaped unharmed on both occasions.

According to TNO