A Waldorf man and a Salvadoran national living in the area are facing federal drug trafficking charges after a months-long investigation that included an undercover cocaine purchase last summer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Jamar Rashard Whitaker, 42, of Waldorf, and Pedro Antonio Guardado Rivera, 33, described by federal officials as living in the country illegally, made their initial appearances in federal court this week after a grand jury returned a two-count indictment against them. The case stems from a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maryland State Police, and the sheriff’s offices in Charles and St. Mary’s counties.
Prosecutors allege the two men conspired to distribute at least 500 grams of cocaine beginning in July 2025 and continuing into October. The most significant transaction cited in the indictment took place July 22, 2025, when investigators say the pair sold approximately 594 grams of cocaine — more than a pound — to an undercover officer. Both men are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, as well as a separate distribution count tied to the July sale.
Cocaine trafficking prosecutions are not new to Waldorf, which has repeatedly surfaced in federal and county drug cases over the past decade. In 2020, a Waldorf man was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for his role in a drug distribution ring that moved fentanyl, heroin and cocaine through Charles and St. Mary’s counties, part of a case that also implicated several other local residents as “runners” for a larger organization. More recently, Charles County Sheriff’s Office narcotics detectives in September 2025 arrested a 45-year-old Waldorf man on trafficking charges after seizing cocaine, PCP, fentanyl and multiple firearms during a raid on Bunker Hill Road, underscoring how the area continues to draw the attention of both county and federal narcotics units.
The Whitaker and Guardado Rivera case is being prosecuted as part of the Homeland Security Task Force, or HSTF, an interagency initiative tied to Executive Order 14159, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” which President Donald Trump signed on his first day back in office in January 2025. The order directed the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish Homeland Security Task Forces in every state, combining federal, state and local law enforcement resources to target criminal cartels, transnational gangs and human smuggling networks.
HSTF Baltimore, which is leading the prosecution, draws on agents from the FBI, HSI, the DEA, the ATF, the IRS Criminal Investigation division, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, and several state and local police agencies.
An indictment is an accusation, not evidence of guilt, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. If convicted, Whitaker and Guardado Rivera each face a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison and a maximum of life, based on the quantity of cocaine involved in the case — 500 grams or more triggers the enhanced federal penalty under drug trafficking statutes. Actual sentences in federal cocaine cases typically fall well below the statutory maximum; a district court judge will ultimately determine any sentence after weighing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines alongside other factors, such as a defendant’s criminal history and role in the offense.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced the indictment alongside HSI Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin, DEA Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis, Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Michael A. Jackson, and representatives from the Charles County and St. Mary’s County sheriff’s departments. Hayes credited the investigating agencies for their work and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Duvall and Elizabeth Wright, who are prosecuting the case.
No court date for further proceedings had been announced as of this report. The case remains active, and additional hearings are expected in federal court in Greenbelt as it moves forward.
