Honduran Leader Los Valles DTO Sentenced for Cocaine Smuggling

Alexandria, Va. – Honduran national Erlis Antonio Leon Castellanos was sentenced to four years in prison for his pivotal role in the Los Valles drug trafficking organization’s (Valle DTO) operations. The Valle DTO, a notorious international syndicate, has been transporting multi-metric-ton loads of cocaine from Honduras to Guatemala, Mexico, and ultimately the United States.

Court documents reveal that Castellanos, who owned property near the Honduras-Guatemala border, was instrumental in storing and smuggling large quantities of cocaine. He began with small loads but eventually accepted hundreds of kilograms at a time. Between 2011 and 2014, he personally transported cocaine over the border.

Castellanos’s arrest and extradition were the result of a joint operation by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Guatemalan law enforcement partners. He is the last of fifteen indicted defendants to be captured and sentenced in this case.

The Valle DTO used helicopters and commercial trucks for transportation, with some members importing smaller quantities using human couriers on commercial airlines. The group was dismantled as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide effort to combat illegal immigration, eliminate cartels, and protect communities from violent crime.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristin S. Starr and Philip Alito prosecuted the case, which is part of the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs). The press release for this case can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

For related court documents and information, visit the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or search PACER using Case No. 1:14-cr-135.

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