A plane arrived in North Texas on Thursday night carrying Juan Carlos Cruz Ovalle, a suspected drug trafficker from Central America known as "The Iceman" or "El Hielero." Federal authorities had been trying to bring him to the U.S. for over eight years. He was one of four alleged drug traffickers extradited from Guatemala by Jay Combs, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, to face charges in the U.S. The extradition marked the end of a nearly decade-long effort by Combs to bring Cruz Ovalle to justice. "It's an important day," Combs said. "We've been trying to get Mr. Ovalle for about eight years. So today we got him and we're bringing him to justice." Cruz Ovalle has been linked to international drug trafficking by U.S. authorities for years. In December 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department identified him as a key associate of Erik Salvador Suniga Rodriguez, a former Guatemalan mayor known as "El Pocho," and the Suniga Rodriguez drug trafficking organization. Federal authorities said the organization focused on smuggling cocaine into the United States and that Suniga Rodriguez supplied cocaine to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Cruz Ovalle and three other Guatemalan nationals under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act for providing material support to Suniga Rodriguez and his organization. According to the Guatemalan government, Cruz Ovalle was an alleged member of a drug trafficking organization operating across South, Central, and North America. Authorities said he allegedly served as a coordinator who arranged for cocaine shipments to be received in Guatemala and then transported into Mexico. The four men are accused by federal authorities of operating a major criminal drug network that included corrupt mayors and politicians in Guatemala. Combs has been working with the Guatemalan government to dismantle this network. "We're interested not just in going after the drug kingpins," Combs said, "we've gone after a number of kingpins in Guatemala, and elsewhere around the world. We're also going after the corrupt politicians." Combs was on board the extradition flight that ended with the defendants, who have already been indicted in the U.S., facing drug charges that could send them to prison for life. "I would say it's an extremely big deal," Combs said. "Individuals who ship cocaine into the United States have to do it through Guatemala." From here, the four suspected traffickers will be transported by federal agents to a secure detention facility until they make their expected first appearance in front of a judge on Friday morning in a Plano federal courtroom. The extradition represents a significant step in U.S. efforts to combat international drug trafficking and hold those involved accountable, both in the U.S. and abroad.