Guatemalan national extradited to the Eastern District of Texas to face international drug trafficking charges

SHERMAN, Texas - A Guatemalan national has been extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Elmer Antonio Pancan Barrios, aka "Chepio," 42, was extradited from Guatemala to the United States on March 5, 2026, after being charged in a federal indictment in the Eastern District of Texas with drug trafficking violations.

The indictment alleges that Pancan Barrios conspired with and assisted other international drug traffickers to manufacture, distribute, and transport significant quantities of cocaine into the United States for further distribution.

This 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 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. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

If convicted, Pancan Barrios faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

This case is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Dallas Field Division in conjunction with DEA Guatemala City Country Office; DEA Bogota Country Office; DEA Cartagena Resident Office; DEA Panama Country Office and DEA San Jose Country Office.

The Justice Department extends its gratitude to the Government of Guatemala and its prosecutorial and law enforcement authorities for making the extradition possible. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala provided significant assistance in securing the defendant's arrest and extradition from Guatemala.

A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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