The Guatemalan Army decided this Friday, May 3, to withdraw the 1st White Monja Medal decoration. Class that was awarded in 2022 to former deputy José Armado Ubico Aguilar, who recently pleaded guilty to drug trafficking before the US justice system, where he is imprisoned.
“I want to thank the Ministry of National Defense of Guatemala for granting me such a worthy decoration of the Monja Blanca Medal, first class,” the former deputy wrote on that occasion on his social networks; However, the US justice system reported last Wednesday that the former parliamentarian, who was president of the National Defense Commission of the Congress of the Republic, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking.
Due to the above, the Ministry of Defense decided to withdraw said decoration, as published on its social networks.
“In accordance with the provisions of the Regulations on Military Decorations and Distinctions, it was decided to withdraw the 1st Monja Blanca Medal. Class, granted to Mr. José Armado Ubico Aguilar,” says a message published in the X account of the Ministry of Defense.
Ubico was arrested in the United States, where he pleaded guilty last Wednesday to drug trafficking, authorities reported.
José Armando Ubico Aguilar, 45, arrived in the United States from Central America and was arrested last week, the US Department of Justice detailed in a statement. The Guatemalan Ministry of the Interior reported that Ubico was not extradited.
Ubico served as a congressman until early 2024. He accepted his guilt in an “international drug trafficking conspiracy” before federal judge Kimberly Priest Johnson, in the Eastern District of Texas.
“As a senior leader in the Republic of Guatemala, Ubico was tasked with promoting the fight once morest drug traffickers pushing illegal narcotics into the United States,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Damien M. Diggs.
“Moreover, as President of the National Defense Committee of the Guatemalan Congress, Ubico was responsible, in part, for the national security of his own country. Instead, he betrayed it when he decided to associate with known drug traffickers and other corrupt officials,” he added. .
On March 3, 2021, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas indicted Ubico for drug trafficking.
“During his plea hearing, Ubico Aguilar admitted his role in the conspiracy, including transmitting drug-related information and U.S. money to another Guatemalan official on behalf of an international drug trafficker,” the Justice Department statement said. which did not detail the names of the others involved.
Their actions allowed the safe transit of at least 450 kilograms of cocaine through Guatemala, for distribution in the United States. The former deputy risks from a minimum sentence of 10 years to life imprisonment.
The Guatemalan justice system withdrew Ubico’s parliamentary immunity in June 2023, months following the United States requested him for extradition. The then deputy tried without success to prevent the process from continuing.
According to press reports, the former parliamentarian had already been convicted of drug trafficking in the United States in 2003 and released in 2005.
In accordance with the provisions of the Regulation of Military Decorations and Distinctions, it was decided to withdraw the 1st Monja Blanca Medal. Class, granted to Mr. José Armado Ubico Aguilar.
— Minister of National Defense of Guatemala (@SrMindefGT) May 3, 2024
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