His capacity and courage were recognized when the National Assembly promoted him to general of division and to the position of undersecretary of State in the office of the War.

In 1887, after returning to Guatemala, he assumed the vice presidency of the National Legislative Assembly and later in 1889, he was imprisoned by the government of President Barillas for his alleged participation in the revolutionary movements of Mataquescuintla, until the Superior Council of War decreed his freedom when proven innocent; while he was in prison, his wife Algeria Benton had to ask for help from Minister Antonio Batres Jáuregui so that he could bring food to Reina Barrios.

By 1898, the relationship between Reina Barrios and Algeria Benton was cold and distant and had been for more than a year; But the lady was six months pregnant when the murder occurred.

After the death of her husband, Algeria Benton lost her mind and returned to the United States leaving unresolved issues in Guatemala; the writer and historian Antonio Batres Jáuregui, who was an advisor to President Reina Barrios, indicates that perhaps it was due to remorse, since Algeria Benton had been pregnant with an extramarital affair with General Salvador Toledo, Queen's Chief of Staff, and to whom insistently He was accused of being implicated in the president's murder.

She returned to New Orleans, and began to abuse alcohol and recreational drugs, eventually to be arrested in London and New York, accused of intoxication.