On March 26 Cesar Augusto Romero Caballero, of Colombia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge James Moody Jr. for conspiracy to distribute cocaine having reasonable cause to believe it would be unlawfully imported into the United States. Romero Caballero pleaded guilty on April 8...

TAMPA, FL – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz, 50, of Colombia, and Carlos Andres Aldana-Gil, 43, also of Colombia, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. Each faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date...

MIAMI – On July 29, Jordan Curry, 42, an Australian national from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to launder money and import cocaine from South America through the United States to Australia. According to the agreed upon factual proffer, from 2019 to 2021...

TAMPA, F la. – U.S. District Judge Richard A. Lazzara has sentenced Alonso Pineda-Torres (52, Colombia), a/k/a “Galladita,” to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine on board vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Pineda-Torres entered a guilty plea on October...

TAMPA , F la. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that Nestor Hugo Gomez-Garcia (38, Colombia), a/k/a “Simon,” “Guava,” and “Guavita,” pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. He faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years, up...

TAMPA , F la. – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury has found Javier Monserrate Vazquez (46, Wesley Chapel) guilty of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy against the United States, obstruction of justice, witness tampering...

TAMPA, Fla. - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that a federal jury found Hector Caballero (70, Venezuela) guilty of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, as well as possessing with the intent to distribute...

MIAMI – Adalberto Fructuoso Comparan-Rodriguez, a/k/a “Fruto,” the former mayor of Aguililla, Mexico and, according to the allegations, a leader of the United Cartels in Michoacán, Mexico, made his initial appearance in federal court in Miami, Florida today after his extradition from Guatemala. A South Florida grand jury returned an...

TAMPA, Fla. – A federal jury has convicted Luis Elias Angulo Leones (Ecuador, 29), Jhonis Alexis Landazuri Arboleda (Colombia, 33), and Dilson Daniel Arboleda Quinones (Colombia, 25) of possessing and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction...

TAMPA, Fla. – Oscar Marsiglia Barrios (54, Colombia) pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the United States (U.S.). Marsiglia Barrios faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to court...