A Honduran national has been extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking charges in the Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced on Mar. 23.
Baldemar Roque Negrete, also known as Chele Peña, age 52, was extradited from Guatemala on March 20 to answer international drug trafficking charges. He was indicted on August 14, 2019, for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine with knowledge that it would be imported into the United States for distribution.
Roque Negrete is scheduled for an initial appearance in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on March 24.
The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a government partnership focused on eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating both inside and outside the United States. According to officials, HSTF prioritizes investigating crimes involving children and uses all available resources to prosecute violent criminal aliens.
If convicted of these charges, Roque Negrete faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. The investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration Dallas Field Division, FBI, and DEA Guatemala City Country Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Rattan is prosecuting the case.
The Justice Department expressed gratitude to the Government of Guatemala for facilitating this extradition and acknowledged assistance from its Office of International Affairs as well as support from the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassy in Guatemala.
Officials emphasized that a federal indictment does not constitute evidence of guilt; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
