4 Guatemalans Extradited On Drug Trafficking Charges

SAN DIEGO, CA — The U.S. Attorney's Office announced the extraditions Thursday of four Guatemalans suspected of trafficking cocaine into the United States.

The defendants are charged in separate indictments alleging their involvement in the distribution of cocaine, with ultimate aims of importing the drugs into the United States. All defendants made their initial appearances in San Diego federal court last week.

Among them are Rafael Orlando Ramirez Barillas, 32, who is accused of operating a conspiracy to distribute cocaine throughout South and Central America, as well as onboard a vessel. Prosecutors allege he was a partner of convicted drug trafficker Luis Carlos Melgar-Morales, who admitted to distributing more than 20,000 pounds of cocaine during a two-year conspiracy.

Ramirez Barillas was arrested last July in Guatemala.

The U.S. Attorney's Office also announced charges against three men resulting from a long-running investigation dubbed Operation Guerrilla Unit, which targeted cocaine traffickers in northwest Guatemala, as well as their suppliers.

Augusto Jean Carlo Castillo-Hernandez, 29; Jorge Alexander Campos- Oliva, 44; and Fabio Josue Campos-Oliva, 46, are charged in separate indictments with coordinating the smuggling of cocaine from South America to Guatemala. All three men were arrested in Guatemala last August.

— City News Service