The National Civil Police (PNC) reported that Guatemalan Jorge Leonel Gaitán Paredes, who was accused of aggravated theft, has been extradited. According to the details, he was handed over to authorities in El Salvador on the Valle Nuevo border, according to a report published by La Hora.
The police indicated that they “supported the extradition process from Guatemala to INTERPOL, in compliance with the ruling of the Third Criminal Sentencing Court, dated March 5 of this year, at the request of authorities in El Salvador who want him for the crime of aggravated theft.”
PNC extradita a El Salvador el empresario Jorge Leonel Gaitán Paredes por hurto agravado
— PNC de Guatemala (@PNCdeGuatemala) September 30, 2025
La Policía Nacional Civil apoyó en el proceso extradición del empresario guatemalteco Jorge Leonel Gaitán Paredes, de 67 años y lo entregó a autoridades de El Salvador. La diligencia estuvo
They also explain that the arrest warrant was issued by the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of El Salvador.
“This person was held in Mariscal Zavala prison for aggravated theft, and after his legal status in Guatemala was resolved, the extradition order was carried out,” they reported.
The defense team for the now extradited man maintains that, in their opinion, he should not have been handed over because an appeal filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against a dismissal issued in his favor in the case in which a phone was allegedly found in the cell where he was being held at Mariscal Zavala was pending.
Mr. Gaitan Paredes appears to be the first indicted executive related to Continental Towers to be extradited, with others likely to follow. According to a report published by Diario El Salvador, his son, Jorge Alberto Gaitán Castro, is already in prison in Guatemala awaiting extradition, while three other Americans – Ryan Lepene, Howard Mandel, and John Ranieri – have been issued arrest warrants and are on the INTERPOL Red Notice. The three American citizens are executives with TPG Peppertree, the private equity firm which is accused of interfering with the criminal investigation in Guatemala.
The same report details that the defendants Gaitán (father and son) have been charged by the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor of a new crime for illegally using cell phones inside the prison where they were being held, the Mariscal Zavala Men’s Detention Center, allegedly in order to communicate with the American executives from TPG Peppertree. If proven to be true, the accusation could represent significant foreign interference in a national criminal proceeding.