A federal grand jury in San Diego has unsealed an indictment accusing 13 Guatemalan nationals of being involved in a cocaine trafficking organization based in Guatemala. The organization is alleged to operate from La Mesilla and Democracia, Huehuetenango, near the Guatemala-Mexico border.
The indictment was returned on May 31, 2019. Among those charged are Baldemar Calderon-Carrillo, also known as “Don Valde,” and his son Walfre Donaldo Calderon-Calderon, known as “El Teniente Jr.”
Federal agents reported that on June 8, 2025, Calderon-Carrillo was killed during a shootout with Mexican authorities. U.S. agents are working to confirm details of his death through video evidence circulating on news outlets and social media showing the incident involving Mexican law enforcement.
In January 2023, Edgar Yovani Calderon-Calderon, another son of Calderon-Carrillo who is also charged in the indictment under the alias “Panon,” was arrested in Paris and extradited to the United States in March 2024. He pleaded guilty to international cocaine distribution conspiracy charges in February 2025.
As part of his plea agreement, Edgar Yovani admitted involvement since at least 2017 in distributing cocaine from Guatemala with knowledge it would be smuggled into the United States. The conspiracy reportedly involved at least 550 kilograms of cocaine transported from Huehuetenango across the border into Mexico before reaching the U.S. He received an 87-month prison sentence on May 30, 2025.
The remaining defendants remain fugitives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mokhtari is prosecuting this case with assistance from international agencies including French authorities for securing Edgar Yovani’s arrest and extradition.
An indictment serves as an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
