Guatemala's "The Iceman," three others plead not guilty to drug trafficking charges in Texas, officials say

Four Guatemalan men accused of trafficking tons of cocaine into the United States pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court in Plano, less than a day after they were extradited to North Texas.

The men arrived on Thursday at McKinney National Airport on a Drug Enforcement Administration plane after leaving Guatemala in handcuffs.

Among them was Juan Carlos Cruz Ovalle, known in Guatemala as "The Iceman." 

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Cruz Ovalle had been wanted in the United States for eight years and is accused of trafficking "multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Guatemala for distribution to the United States."

Cruz Ovalle and the three other defendants were ordered held without bond. Each was appointed a public defender. Their attorneys left the courthouse without commenting.

Federal prosecutors in North and East Texas have been targeting suspected drug traffickers and others in Guatemala as part of efforts to disrupt cocaine trafficking into the United States.

"We are going to put a stranglehold on it," the U.S. attorney said while discussing the effort.

Dr. Nathan Jones, a professor at Sam Houston State University, said increased U.S.-Mexico enforcement efforts have pushed some cartel operations farther south into Central America.

"Many of these drug cartels started staging their operations in Central America," Jones said. "The governments were weaker first, and that builds out more of these drug networks that might involve Guatemalan nationals like the ones involved here."

U.S. authorities say continued cooperation with the Guatemalan government is intended to make it more difficult for drug trafficking organizations to establish safe places to operate.

CBS News Texas will provide updates as more information becomes available.