The Reñazcos first came into the public eye when the group was linked to a massacre of four police officers in Bluefields in May 2004. The family was accused of hiring six assassins, including a Colombian and several former police officers, to kill law enforcement agents Juan José Fúnez, Ruth González, Roger Ernesto Villachica and Johnny Dometz. The slain police were mostly likely seen as hindering drug shipments along the Caribbean coast. The Reñazcos have denied these accusations.

The head of the family is Miguel Angel Reñazco, imprisoned on drug trafficking charges until June 2, 2004, when he was apparently released for good behavior. It is believed that he is now based in either Costa Rica or Colombia. Other members of the family include Marcos Reñazco Padilla, José Ángel Padilla y Carlos Alberto Padilla Reñazco, who were captured in 2005 for smuggling drugs along the Rio San Juan, and who were wanted on charges of plotting the police massacre in Bluefields. In 2008, the three detainees were absolved and set free.