A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed on June 13 in San Diego, revealing charges against 13 Guatemalan nationals allegedly involved in a cocaine trafficking organization based in Guatemala. The organization is said to operate from La Mesilla and Democracia, Huehuetenango, located near the Guatemala-Mexico border. This 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, known as “El Teniente Jr.”
On June 13, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in San Diego learned that Calderon-Carrillo had been killed during a shootout with Mexican authorities on June 8. Efforts are ongoing to confirm details surrounding his death. Videos of the incident have surfaced on various news platforms and social media.
In January 2023, Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon, another son of Calderon-Carrillo charged in the same indictment under the alias “Panon,” was arrested in Paris. He was extradited to the United States from France in March 2024 and pleaded guilty in February to charges related to international cocaine distribution conspiracy.
Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon’s plea agreement included an admission of conspiring since at least 2017 to distribute cocaine intended for unlawful importation into the United States. He acknowledged distributing large quantities of cocaine for a drug trafficking organization based in La Mesilla, Huehuetenango. From there, the drugs were moved across borders into Mexico and eventually smuggled into the United States. The conspiracy involved at least 550 kilograms of cocaine. On May 30, he received an 87-month prison sentence.
The other defendants remain fugitives.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mokhtari is prosecuting this case with significant support from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and French authorities for Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon’s arrest and extradition.
