(Image Credit: IMAGN) A prisoner looks out of his cell at the Franklin County Jail in downtown Columbus on Friday, February 17, 2017
San Diego, California – A Panamanian man accused of helping move millions in drug-money across borders has been ordered detained just days after his extradition to the United States, in what federal prosecutors describe as a long-running and highly coordinated international laundering scheme.
Homero Angel Cevallos Velasquez arrived in the U.S. on November 20, 2025, after Panamanian authorities turned him over to face federal charges tied to a sprawling money-moving operation that stretched from Mexico to Colombia to Florida. At a detention hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors argued he posed a high flight risk. Cevallos did not fight the motion, stipulating to detention as his case moves toward trial.
He is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino on December 19 for a motion hearing and trial setting. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
Cevallos is the latest defendant pulled into the government’s dragnet. Seven others have already pled guilty or been charged, painting a picture of a sophisticated network that used bulk cash, cryptocurrency, shell companies, and international couriers to wash tens of millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds.
Among them is Hector Alejandro Paez Garcia, a Mexico City attorney who admitted in May to helping launder more than $52 million. Miguel Angel Encinas Gomez of Mexicali, who prosecutors say led a key cell in the operation, pled guilty to laundering $35 million in bulk drug cash.
Another alleged player, Colombian national Hugo Andres Velasquez Pantza, was arrested in Rome earlier this year after an FBI undercover sting. Investigators say he helped the organization transition into cryptocurrency — a shift that drew federal attention and ultimately exposed the network’s operations. His case remains pending.
Florida man James Harmon Yarbrough, who allegedly partnered with Cevallos to convert $326,000 into crypto, pled guilty in 2023. Several couriers — Victoria Johanna Lopez, Jose Jesus Lopez and Jose Mayorga Martinez — have also admitted to their roles in transporting and depositing cash. A fourth courier, Gerardo Vasquez Jr., is still awaiting trial.
Authorities say another alleged leader, Alberto David Benguait Jimenez, remains at large. Federal agents are urging anyone with information to contact the FBI or DEA.
For now, Cevallos remains behind bars as the government prepares its case — one more link in a chain prosecutors say has funneled drug profits across continents, through airports, into crypto wallets, and finally into federal court.
