ICE San Diego case results in indictment of alleged members of major Guatemalan drug trafficking organization

SAN DIEGO – A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed June 13 in San Diego alleging that 13 Guatemalan nationals are part of a Guatemala-based cocaine trafficking organization operating out of La Mesilla and Democracia, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, which is on the Guatemala-Mexico border. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The indictment was returned on May 31, 2019. Among the individuals charged are Baldemar Calderon-Carrillo, aka “Don Valde,” and his son, Walfre Donaldo Calderon-Calderon, aka “El Teniente Jr.”

On June 13, special agents with ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego received information that Calderon-Carrillo, the lead defendant in the indictment, had been killed during a June 8 shootout with Mexican authorities. U.S. agents continue to obtain information confirming the details of Calderon-Carrillo’s death. Video of the incident was posted on various news outlets and on social media showing Mexican law enforcement in a shootout with members of a drug trafficking organization.

In January 2023, one of Calderon-Carrillo’s sons, Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon, aka “Panon,” who is charged in the same indictment, was arrested in Paris, France. Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon was extradited to the United States from France in March 2024 and pleaded guilty in February to international cocaine distribution conspiracy charges.

As part of his plea agreement, Calderon-Calderon admitted that since at least 2017, up to and including May 31, 2019, he conspired with others to distribute cocaine in Guatemala and elsewhere, knowing and having reasonable cause to believe the cocaine would be unlawfully imported into the United States.

Calderon-Calderon admitted that he participated in the distribution of large quantities of cocaine in Guatemala on behalf of a drug trafficking organization based in La Mesilla, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. From Huehuetenango, the cocaine was transported to co-conspirators operating near the Guatemala-Mexico border, into Mexico, and ultimately smuggled into the United States. As part of his plea agreement, Calderon-Calderon admitted that the conspiracy involved at least 550 kilograms of cocaine. On May 30, Calderon-Calderon was sentenced to 87 months in prison.

The remaining defendants charged in the indictment are fugitives.

Defendants

• Baldemar Calderon-Carrillo, aka “Don Valde”, 67, Guatemala
• Amado Calderon-Calderon, aka “Don Juan”, 46, Guatemala
• Walfre Donaldo Calderon-Calderon, aka “El Teniente Jr.”, 43, Guatemala
• Ceidner Ivan Calderon-Villatoro, aka “Chene”, 35, Guatemala
• Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon, aka “Panon”, 45, Guatemala
• Boris Brandon Calderon-Villatoro, aka “Leon”, 31, Guatemala
• Fredy Estuardo Villatoro-Calderon, aka “Nalo”, 31, Guatemala
• Juan Carlos Escobedo-Herrera, aka “Ducati”, 34, Guatemala
• Marvin Waldemar Mendez-Aldana, aka “Don Pelado”, 44, Guatemala
• German Zaldana-Lima, aka “Gorgo”, 50, Guatemala
• Arnoldo Bexsael Morales-Aguilar, aka “Bex”, 57, Guatemala
• Ranferi Godinez-Vasquez, aka “Chilo”, 31, Guatemala
• Maximo Morales-Godinez, aka “Max”, 37, Guatemala

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mokhtari.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and French authorities provided substantial assistance to secure the arrest and extradition of Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon.