Guatemalan Drug Trafficker Extradited to South Florida

MIAMI, Fla. — An alleged member of a Guatemala-based drug trafficking organization was extradited from Guatemala to the Southern District of Florida to face federal cocaine trafficking charges, federal prosecutors announced.

Read the Justice Department release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/alleged-guatemalan-drug-trafficking-organization-member-extradited-south-florida-0

The Extradition, The Conspiracy, The Five Countries

Mauro Ismael Morales Martinez, 51, also known as “Melito,” is charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it would be unlawfully imported into the United States, the release stated.

According to court records, from 2012 through 2023, Morales Martinez conspired with others to distribute cocaine as part of a drug trafficking organization operating in Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, the release stated. The conspiracy allegedly involved the distribution of five kilograms or more of cocaine intended for unlawful importation into the United States, the release stated.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs secured Morales Martinez’s extradition from Guatemala, the release stated. The Justice Department thanked Guatemala’s Ministerio Público and Policía Nacional Civil for their assistance and coordination, the release stated.

The Charge, The Penalty, The Court Case

If convicted, Morales Martinez faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and up to life in federal prison, the release stated. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, the release stated.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida under case number 25-cr-20339, the release stated.

An indictment is merely an allegation, the release stated. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, the release stated.

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Miles Aley of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division, made the announcement, the release stated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Kirkpatrick is prosecuting the case, the release stated.

The Task Force, The Mission, The Next Steps

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, the release stated. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad, the release stated.

HSTF Miami comprises agents and officers from ICE-Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Diplomatic Security Services, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, among others, the release stated.

Morales Martinez will now face the federal charge in the Southern District of Florida, where his case will proceed in federal court.

Sources

U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, "Alleged Guatemalan Drug Trafficking Organization Member Extradited to South Florida to Face Federal Cocaine Charges as Part of Homeland Security Task Force Initiative," November 6, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/alleged-guatemalan-drug-trafficking-organization-member-extradited-south-florida-0