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Guatemalan Cartel Founder Killed in Chiapas Shootout; U.S. Cocaine Indictment Unsealed

The unsealed 2019 grand jury indictment accuses 13 suspects of funneling at least 550 kilograms of cocaine from Guatemala through Mexico into the United States

The Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse, left, and James M. Carter & Judith N. Keep United States Courthouse, right, in San Diego. (Meg McLaughlin / U-T file)

Overview

  • Baldemar Calderon-Carrillo, 67, believed founder of the Chiapas-Guatemala Cartel linked to Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, was fatally shot by Mexican forces on June 8
  • The indictment, returned May 31, 2019, was unsealed June 13 in San Diego and charges 13 Guatemalan nationals with international cocaine distribution and possession conspiracies
  • Edgar Yovani Calderon-Carrillo, son of the deceased leader, pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy charges and received an 87-month prison sentence on May 30
  • Court filings allege the network moved large shipments of cocaine from La Mesilla and Democracia, Huehuetenango, across the Guatemala-Mexico border into the United States
  • The remaining defendants are fugitives as U.S. prosecutors continue working with Mexican and French authorities to pursue the case