HOUSTON – A ranking member of one of the most serious transnational organized criminal organizations has been sentenced to prison for his role in distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Joaquin Guillermo David-Usuga aka Guillermo, 43, Colombia, pleaded guilty in October 2021 to international cocaine distribution.
Today, U.S. District Judge Gray Miller ordered him to serve 10 years in federal prison.
The court found that David-Usuga distributed 20 kilograms of cocaine on behalf of commanding members of the Clan Del Golfo knowing it would be unlawfully imported into the United States. In handing down the sentence, Judge Miller also found David-Usuga was a supervisor and manager of the cocaine importation scheme.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against David-Usuga and Jose Alfredo-Valencia, 44, and Jhony Fidel Cuello-Petro aka Mocho, 46, in August 2018. Colombian authorities took the three into custody at the request of the United States in November 2018. Each was subsequently extradited to the United States in December 2019.
Valencia and Cuello-Petro were previously sentenced to 31 months and 28 months imprisonment, respectively, in November 2021.
David-Usuga will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration led the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation dubbed “Operation Macondo.”
The operation is part of an OCDETF Strike Force Initiative which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations.
The specific mission of the Houston Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle the drug trafficking organizations that designated Consolidated Priority Organization or Regional Priority Organization Targets head with their affiliates that impact Houston and south Texas. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs was responsible for securing the extraditions in this case. The Justice Department also extends its gratitude to the government of Colombia and the Colombian police and military for its cooperation and assistance.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey N. MacDonald and Anibal Alaniz prosecuted the case.