North American authorities sentenced a Cuban identified as Lázaro Vitón Rodríguez to 13 years and one month in prison, who is accused of participating in a conspiracy to traffic cocaine from the Dominican Republic to the United States.
The 55-year-old detainee was part of an international drug trafficking network that used boats to transport more than 2,000 pounds of cocaine to the United States between 2014 and May 2019.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), this network was based in the Caribbean nation and operated by moving illegal substances from South America through the Caribbean.
The network used several types of vessels, including sailboats and sport fishing boats. These used to stop at multiple ports in the Caribbean, in an attempt to conceal their illicit activities.
According to authorities, a key moment in solving the case took place at the end of 2018, when one of the vessels used by the network was intercepted near Key Biscayne, in Florida.
During this operation, agents from the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Marine Interdiction Unit seized more than 327 kilograms of cocaine.
After an investigation, it was determined that Rodríguez played an important role in these activities, carrying out the purchases, registrations and maintenance of the vessels used to move the drug packages.
Likewise, he helped make it possible to register these vessels in the names of front men and built secret compartments in the boats to hide the cocaine packages.
Finally, he is required to coordinate operations with the crew through satellite phones, to help them navigate and collect drug shipments.
Rodríguez was arrested in January 2022 on charges of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Following his arrest, he discussed the possibility of resolving the case through a guilty plea, but eventually decided to go to trial.
Documents indicate that the main objective of the investigation was an Italian citizen identified as Luca Finocchiarrio, who ended up under arrest in June 2020 after Italian and American authorities carried out joint work.
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