The cocaine was found in 43 bags, after the submarine was intercepted overnight Thursday, the attorney general's spokeswoman Julia Barrera told journalists.

The Colombian crew, Adrian Obregon Belalcazar, Jose Wilfrido Mosquera and Deyler Andres Valencia are to be questioned by a judge.

The underwater vessel was taken to a naval base in the Central American country where the seized drugs were to be catalogued.

Guatemala has seized 15.7 tons of cocaine this year, already beating the annual record of 13.6 tons set in 2017, according to official data.

In April, the navy intercepted another mini-submarine carrying 967 kilos of cocaine, and again arrested three Colombians.

Washington estimates that 90 percent of the cocaine that enters the United States is transported in airplanes, boats and mini-submarines from Mexico and Central America.