U.S. Confirms Extradition of ‘Tartajo’ and ‘Chejo’ on Cocaine-Trafficking Charges

Two Guatemalan men accused of helping move cocaine into the United States have been extradited, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. They are Juan José Cordón Salas, known as “Tartajo,” and Sergio Abisaí Chacón Aldana, known as “Chejo.”

Cordón is wanted by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on a charge of conspiring to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine. Guatemalan prosecutors said he belonged to a group that obtained cocaine in Colombia and coordinated its movement to Central America and the United States. Investigators described him as a link between Honduran suppliers and Guatemalan buyers and said he may have carried out multiple cocaine transactions between 2012 and 2018.

Authorities arrested Cordón on June 7, 2024. During the hearing on the extradition request, he voluntarily agreed to be sent to the United States. His transfer had to wait until he dealt with a separate case in Guatemala involving alleged abuse of minors, in which he still had to attend a hearing to accept charges.

Chacón faces a U.S. charge of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance while knowing it would be illegally brought into U.S. territory. Guatemala’s antinarcotics intelligence subdivision arrested him on March 21 during an operation on the road to El Chal in Petén. U.S. authorities said the international extradition process was secured through the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the Drug Enforcement Administration involved.