Guatemalan Illegal Alien Gets Six Years for Gun Trafficking
A Guatemalan illegal alien received a 78-month prison sentence for trafficking firearms from Alabama to Maryland as part of a multi-state operation involving stolen guns and machine guns.
Lester Ramos-Perez, 29, who is illegally present in the United States, participated in a broader conspiracy to traffic firearms across state lines, court records show. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew J. Maddox handed down the sentence, which will be followed by one year of supervised release.
Ramos-Perez pleaded guilty in July 2024 to charges of firearms trafficking conspiracy and possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. As an illegal alien, he is barred from possessing firearms under federal law.
The investigation began when ATF and HSI special agents developed suspicions that Ramos-Perez was moving firearms from Alabama to Baltimore. By September 2024, investigators determined he had relocated to Waldorf, Maryland.
Multi-National Trafficking Ring
In March 2025, Ramos-Perez was indicted alongside four other illegal aliens on multiple federal firearms offenses. His co-defendants include Vielman Cabrera Arevalo, 20, from Guatemala; Erick Lozano Colindrez, 23, from Honduras; Ludwin Fuentes Lopez, 22, from El Salvador; and Milton Leon-Morales from Guatemala.
During the investigation, federal agents documented Ramos-Perez working with co-conspirators to sell firearms through controlled, recorded transactions in both Alabama and Maryland. Investigators monitored as he arranged multiple gun sales transactions while moving weapons across state lines.
Stolen Firearms and Machine Guns
Two of the firearms in Ramos-Perez’s possession were stolen, authorities confirmed. The investigation also revealed that two firearms he sold to undercover law enforcement agents were classified as machine guns under federal law.
In one transaction, undercover investigators explicitly told Ramos-Perez that he was selling firearms to a person with a criminal record who was purchasing them on behalf of someone else. Despite receiving this information, he proceeded with the sale under the watch of HSI special agents.
Whole-of-Government Enforcement
The case was developed by multiple federal law enforcement agencies operating as part of the Homeland Security Task Force, a partnership focused on dismantling criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking networks operating both domestically and abroad.
With information from Breitbart News