A federal grand jury indictment unsealed on June 13 in San Diego charges 13 Guatemalan nationals with being part of a cocaine trafficking organization based in Guatemala. The organization allegedly operated out of La Mesilla and Democracia, Huehuetenango, near the Guatemala-Mexico border. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The indictment, originally returned on May 31, 2019, includes charges against Baldemar Calderon-Carrillo, also known as "Don Valde," and his son Walfre Donaldo Calderon-Calderon, referred to as "El Teniente Jr."
On June 13, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in San Diego received information that Calderon-Carrillo had been killed during a shootout with Mexican authorities on June 8. U.S. agents are working to confirm details surrounding his death. Video footage of the incident has been circulated on news outlets and social media platforms.
In January 2023, Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon, another son of Calderon-Carrillo who is also charged in the indictment, was arrested in Paris, France. He was extradited to the United States from France in March 2024 and pleaded guilty to international cocaine distribution conspiracy charges in February.
As part of his plea agreement, Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon admitted that he conspired with others to distribute cocaine from at least 2017 until May 31, 2019. He acknowledged that he participated in distributing large quantities of cocaine within Guatemala for a drug trafficking organization based in La Mesilla. The cocaine was then transported across the Guatemala-Mexico border into Mexico and eventually smuggled into the United States. The conspiracy involved at least 550 kilograms of cocaine. On May 30, he was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison.
The other defendants named in the indictment remain fugitives.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari with significant assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and French authorities for securing Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon's arrest and extradition.
