A federal grand jury indictment unsealed in San Diego alleges that 13 Guatemalan nationals are part of a cocaine trafficking organization based in La Mesilla and Democracia, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. The organization is accused of operating near the Guatemala-Mexico border.
The indictment, returned on May 31, 2019, includes charges against Baldemar Calderon-Carrillo, known as "Don Valde," and his son Walfre Donaldo Calderon-Calderon, also known as "El Teniente Jr."
On June 13, 2025, federal agents received information about the death of Calderon-Carrillo during a shootout with Mexican authorities on June 8. U.S. agents are working to confirm details of his death. Video footage showing Mexican law enforcement in a confrontation with members of a drug trafficking organization has been circulated by news outlets and social media.
In January 2023, Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon, another son of Calderon-Carrillo charged in the same indictment, was arrested in Paris and extradited to the United States from France in March 2024. He pleaded guilty to international cocaine distribution conspiracy charges in February 2025.
As part of his plea agreement, Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon admitted to conspiring with others since at least 2017 to distribute cocaine intended for illegal importation into the United States. He acknowledged involvement in distributing large quantities of cocaine on behalf of the organization based in La Mesilla. The conspiracy involved at least 550 kilograms of cocaine transported through Mexico into the United States. On May 30, he was sentenced to 87 months in prison.
The remaining defendants named in the indictment remain fugitives.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari is prosecuting this case with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and French authorities who helped secure Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon's arrest and extradition.
An indictment serves only as an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
