CHARLOTTE — Two men from Honduras were sentenced to federal prison Tuesday for trafficking fentanyl and will be deported after completing their terms, said Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, in a news release.
Olver Anacleto Amador-Calderon, 24, and Alexander Josue Viatoro-Arita, 22, were sentenced in federal court for their roles in a drug distribution conspiracy in North Carolina.
Amador-Calderon was ordered to serve 14 years in prison, and Viatoro-Arita was sentenced to 10 years. Both defendants, who were in the United States illegally, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, Ferguson said. The sentencing follows an investigation that uncovered several kilograms of drugs and stolen firearms.
The investigation began in January 2025 after Viatoro-Arita sold 25 grams of fentanyl to a person cooperating with law enforcement. Following the transaction, investigators searched a hotel room where the two men were staying. Authorities recovered more than 330 grams of fentanyl, approximately $33,000 in cash and two ledgers that documented drug sales.
The seized ledgers detailed drug transactions occurring between December 2024 and January 2025. According to court records, the documents showed the distribution of 11.66 kilograms of fentanyl and nearly 3.3 kilograms of methamphetamine. The transactions documented in the ledgers totaled approximately $159,400.
Investigators also recovered firearms concealed in the waistbands of both defendants. Amador-Calderon had a .380 caliber Titan pistol, and Viatoro-Arita possessed a stolen 9mm Taurus pistol. The serial number on the Taurus pistol had been partially obliterated.
Ferguson announced the sentences following an investigation by the Homeland Security Task Force. Ferguson said the defendants were armed while distributing the drugs.
“These defendants entered our country illegally and fueled the distribution of deadly fentanyl while armed with stolen firearms,” Ferguson said. “They will serve time in an American prison before they are deported, and we will continue our fight to completely eliminate fentanyl from our community.”
The FBI, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and the Gastonia Police Department conducted the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case. Both men are currently in federal custody.
Amador-Calderon and Viatoro-Arita will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons once they are designated to a federal facility. Both men will be deported to Honduras following the completion of their prison sentences.
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