San Diego, California – Arnoldo Oswaldo Vargas-Samayoa, a Guatemalan national, was sentenced Friday to 14 years in federal prison for leading a major international cocaine trafficking operation that funneled more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine into the United States.
U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo handed down the sentence, calling Vargas-Samayoa a “manager of a very extensive international drug ring” and money laundering network. “This was not a mistake,” Bencivengo said. “This was a choice of lifestyle.”
Vargas-Samayoa pleaded guilty in June 2024 after surrendering to U.S. authorities at Los Angeles International Airport. In January 2020 he was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine…