A former Guatemalan congressman has received an 18-year prison sentence for his involvement in an international drug trafficking conspiracy, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. of the Eastern District of Texas.
Jose Armando Ubico Aguilar, a former senior official of the Republic of Guatemala, has admitted his involvement in an international drug trafficking conspiracy. On February 11, 2025, U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale sentenced him to 216 months in federal prison.
Ubico Aguilar, as revealed in court, held a position as an elected member of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala from 2016 to 2024. In addition to this, he served as a Deputy and acted as the President of the National Defense Committee of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala between 2018 and 2023.
Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. expressed the commitment of the Eastern District of Texas United States Attorney’s Office to identify, disrupt, and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations through the sentencing of a corrupt Guatemalan official. This official had facilitated and brokered cocaine shipments into the United States while betraying his own country by collaborating with known drug traffickers and other corrupt officials. McGlothin extended his gratitude to the law enforcement partners who dedicated their efforts to ensure that Ubico Aguilar can no longer hide behind his position of power.
“The conviction of this corrupt official, who orchestrated and facilitated the transportation of cocaine into the United States, serves as a powerful message to Transnational Criminal Organizations worldwide. It demonstrates that they will be held accountable for the dangerous substances they distribute within the United States,” stated Eduardo A. Chávez, the Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas DEA. He further emphasized, “This sentence reaffirms our unwavering determination to collaborate with our international law enforcement partners in combating greed, violence, and public corruption.”
Ubico Aguilar was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas on March 3, 2021, for federal drug trafficking violations. Upon his arrival in the United States in May 2024, Aguilar pleaded guilty. During the plea hearing, he confessed to his involvement in the conspiracy. This included transmitting drug-related information and U.S. currency to another Guatemalan official on behalf of an international drug trafficker. As a result, Aguilar facilitated the successful transport of at least 450 kilograms of cocaine through Guatemala for distribution in the United States.
This operation is a crucial component of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is dedicated to targeting, disrupting, and dismantling the most significant criminal organizations that pose a threat to the United States. It follows a proactive and collaborative approach, led by prosecutors and driven by intelligence, with the involvement of multiple agencies. For more details about the OCDETF Program, visit their official website at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The North Texas Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) Strike Force Group Two, along with the Dallas Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the DEA’s Guatemala City Country Office, and the DEA’s San Jose (Costa Rica) Country Office, actively investigated this case. The Dallas Field Office of the FBI, as well as the Dallas and Guatemala Field Offices of Homeland Security Investigations, the Dallas Field Office of the U.S. Marshals Service, and the San Diego Field Office of Customs and Border Protection, also played a crucial role. The surrender of Ubico Aguilar was made possible with significant assistance from the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.