Ex-Guatemalan congressman gets 18 years in U.S. prison in international drug trafficking conspiracy

PLANO (AP) — A former Guatemalan congressman was sentenced in the U.S. to 18 years in federal prison last week after pleading guilty to being involved in an international drug trafficking conspiracy, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

Jose Armando Ubico Aguilar, 45, was sentenced Feb. 11 by U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale in Plano, a suburb of Dallas, federal prosecutors said in a news release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin Jr. of the Eastern District of Texas said in the news release that Ubico Aguilar had “brokered and facilitated” shipments of cocaine into the U.S.

A federal grand jury indicted Ubico Aguilar in March 2021 on charges of federal drug trafficking violations, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said that Aguilar arrived in the U.S. in May 2024 and pleaded guilty, admitting that he relayed drug-related information and U.S. currency to another Guatemalan official on behalf of an international drug trafficker.

Prosecutors said his actions resulted in the safe passage of at least 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of cocaine through Guatemala for distribution in the U.S.