Leader of Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced for
International Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy
Office of Public Affairs
A leader of the Lorenzana drug trafficking organization was
sentenced last week to 33 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $27 million
for charges related to international drug trafficking.
According to court documents, beginning in or about 2008 and
continuing to at least 2019, Marta Julia Lorenzana-Cordon, 47, from Zacapa,
Guatemala, was a leader of the Lorenzana drug trafficking organization, one of
the largest and most influential drug cartels in Guatemala, which was comprised
primarily of family members. The organization transports tonnage quantities of
cocaine from
Lorenzana-Cordon was extradited in December 2021 to the
Between 1996 continuing through 2019, the organization
coordinated the transportation, storage, and distribution of multi-ton
quantities of cocaine from
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M.
Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and
Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) made
the announcement.
This investigation is part of “Operation Slipknot,” which is
supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). The
DEA’s 959/Bilateral Investigations Unit is investigating the case, with
assistance from the DEA
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs
provided significant assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of the
defendants. The department appreciates the assistance provided by the
government of
Trial Attorneys Imani Hutty and Douglas Meisel of the
Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section prosecuted the case.
Updated