The legal proceedings involving Guatemalan businessman Jorge Gaitán Castro, accused of embezzling funds from the telecommunications company Terra Towers S.A., remain ongoing. After his capture on March 7, 2025, at the request of the Salvadoran authorities, Gaitán Castro remains in pretrial detention while the extradition process is formalized.
The Case: Allegations and Legal Process
Jorge Gaitán Castro, along with his father, Jorge Leonel Gaitán Paredes, is accused of embezzling more than one million dollars from Terra Towers S.A. They are charged with authorizing unauthorized payments, bank transactions, and the issuance of checks without the company’s approval, leading to an investigation into their actions.
On March 6, 2025, Gaitán Castro voluntarily surrendered to the Guatemalan authorities after learning that El Salvador had issued an extradition request. However, the extradition process has not progressed as expected due to pending formalities.
The Delay in Extradition
The delay in the extradition process stems from the fact that the authorities in El Salvador have not yet provided all the necessary documentation to proceed. Although Guatemala has given a one-month deadline for this, the Salvadoran authorities have yet to submit the required documents to move the process forward.
The Third Penal Court, which is overseeing Gaitán Castro’s case, decided to maintain his pretrial detention while awaiting the formal submission of the extradition request from El Salvador. Additionally, the court ordered that Gaitán’s health be evaluated by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF), as his defense has argued that his medical condition requires special attention.
What’s Next for Jorge Gaitán Castro?
As the process continues, Jorge Gaitán Castro remains detained in the Matamoros detention center in Guatemala. It is expected that the Salvadoran authorities will present the necessary documents for extradition in the coming weeks.
For now, the future of Jorge Gaitán CastroCastro is in the hands of the judicial authorities of both countries, who must make key decisions in the upcoming weeks. This case continues to be one of the most important in the current judicial landscape of Guatemala and El Salvador.
