Two Fugitive Tenderloin Drug Traffickers Sentenced To Prison After Being Extradited From Honduras

SAN FRANCISCO - Two drug dealers who fled to Honduras from the Bay Area while on bond pending federal drug trafficking charges have been extradited to San Francisco and were sentenced to prison terms of 82 months and 34 months, announced U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris.

Victor Viera-Chirinos, 42, was one of 14 defendants indicted in August 2019 for trafficking large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine base, and cocaine in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. Viera-Chirinos was a high-level manager responsible for overseeing portions of the network's drug trafficking activities. On Apr. 28, 2020, he was ordered released on bond. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to possess and distribute controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B). One week prior to his sentencing scheduled for June 2, 2021, Viera-Chirinos fled. The court issued an arrest warrant and federal authorities ultimately found Viera-Chirinos in Honduras. Viera-Chirinos was extradited to the United States and on Sept. 4, 2024, the Hon. Charles R. Breyer, U.S. District Judge, sentenced him, ordering him to serve 82 months in prison.

Mayer Benegas-Medina, 30, was indicted on Dec. 16, 2020, in a separate conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl in the Tenderloin. Benegas-Medina was also ordered released on bond. The terms of his release included electronic monitoring and a curfew. In March 2021, he fled. Federal authorities ultimately found him in Honduras and extradited him to the United States. Benegas-Medina pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and on Sept. 24, 2024, the Hon. William H. Alsup, U.S. District Judge, sentenced him to 34 months in prison.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs worked with Honduran authorities to secure the extradition of Viera-Chirinos and Benegas-Medina to the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sailaja M. Paidipaty and Dan M. Karmel are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Madeline Wachs. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by DEA.