A former Guatemalan congressman has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for his role in an international drug trafficking conspiracy, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. of the Eastern District of Texas.

Jose Armando Ubico Aguilar, 45, a former senior Republic of Guatemala official, pleaded guilty to ­­­­being involved in an international drug trafficking conspiracy and was sentenced to 216 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale on February 11, 2025.

According to information presented in court, Ubico Aguilar served as an elected member of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala from 2016 to 2024.  He also served as an elected Deputy and was the President of the National Defense Committee of the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala from 2018 to 2023. 

“The sentencing of this corrupt Guatemalan official who brokered and facilitated cocaine shipments into the United States while betraying his country through his partnerships with known drug traffickers and other corrupt officials shows the commitment of the Eastern District of Texas United States Attorney’s Office to identify, disrupt, and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.  “I am grateful to our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to ensure that Ubico Aguilar will no longer be allowed to hide behind his position of power.”

“The sentencing of this corrupt official who brokered and facilitated cocaine shipments into the United States sends a message to Transnational Criminal Organizations across the world that they will be held responsible for the poison they distribute into the United States,” said Dallas DEA Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez.  “This sentence reflects our continued resolve to partner with our international law-enforcement counterparts to fight greed, violence, and public corruption.”

On March 3, 2021, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas indicted Ubico Aguilar charging him with federal drug trafficking violations. In May 2024, Ubico Aguilar arrived in the United States and pleaded guilty. 

During his plea hearing, Ubico Aguilar admitted his role in the conspiracy, including relaying drug-related information and U.S. currency to another Guatemalan official on behalf of an international drug trafficker. These actions resulted in the safe passage of at least 450 kilograms of cocaine through Guatemala for distribution in the United States.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. 

Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by the North Texas Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) Strike Force Group Two; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Division; the DEA’s Guatemala City Country Office and the DEA’s San Jose (Costa Rica) Country Office; the FBI’s Dallas Field Office; the Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas and Guatemala Field Offices; the U.S. Marshals Service’s Dallas Field Office; and Customs and Border Protection’s San Diego Field Office. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division also provided significant assistance in securing the surrender of Ubico Aguilar.  

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Eason.