United States Drug Enforcement Administration

On October 27, 2026, Donelfert Monterroso Vasquez, 51, a Guatemalan national, pleaded guilty to conspiring to import more than 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. 

According to court documents, Monterroso Vasquez coordinated the movement of multi-hundred-kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia through his location in Guatemala and on to Mexico. A network of associates further transported the cocaine into the United States, where the distribution of the cocaine would generate the highest profit. The defendant and his co-conspirators communicated over an encrypted platform. At one point, Monterroso Vasquez sent an image of a brick of cocaine with “USA” stamped on it, indicating it was destined for the United States. 

Monterroso Vasquez was arrested upon landing at an airport in the United States in June 2026 and has remained in custody since then.

Monterroso Vasquez is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 26, 2027, and faces a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Theophani K. Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Louisville Field Division made the announcement.

DEA Memphis investigated the case, with assistance from DEA’s Special Operations Division; DEA’s offices in Guatemala and Colombia; and the Guatemalan National Police. 

Trial Attorney Claire Galasso of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edgardo J. Rodriguez and Christopher M. Carter for the Eastern District of Viriginia are prosecuting the case.

MNF’s mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

MNF’s Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes sophisticated money laundering schemes involving financial facilitators, gatekeepers, and other individuals and entities laundering criminal proceeds, and litigates complex civil forfeiture cases to recover assets on behalf of victims.