Guardiões do Estado founder arrested in Bolivia

Yago Steferson Alves dos Santos, known as ‘Yago Gordão’, a founder and leader of the criminal faction Guardiões do Estado (GDE), was arrested in Guayaramerín, Bolivia. The arrest was a joint operation involving the Brazilian Federal Police, the Integrated Forces to Combat Organized Crime (FICCO) from Ceará and Rondônia, and the Bolivian Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking (FELCN).

Alves dos Santos was wanted in Brazil for several crimes, including homicide, international drug trafficking, and participation in a criminal organization. The capture is a result of ‘Operação Fim da Linha’, launched in May 2026. Investigations linked him to the April 2025 murder of Francisco Guilherme Menezes de Lima in Fortaleza, where the victim was shot and burned after being suspected of being a police informant.

Authorities are currently managing the legal procedures to repatriate the suspect to the Brazilian prison system.