Manuel Rodriguez, a 32-year-old Venezuelan, pleaded guilty on Thursday in District Court to one count of possession of a controlled substance on board a vessel, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert announced.
The charge is a federal offense carrying a possible sentence of up to 40 years in prison, a maximum fine of up to $5 million and a term of supervised release of at least two years, according to Shappert’s news release.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 23.
According to court documents, at approximately 7:50 p.m. on May 8, 2017, a patrol aircraft associated with the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force South located a northbound go-fast vessel approximately 105 nautical miles west of Martinique traveling at a speed of 25 knots. Located in a known drug trafficking route, the vessel had five outboard engines and contained multiple fuel barrels and suspicious packages which were visible on deck. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley was directed to intercept the vessel.
Upon arrival, the crew of the suspect vessel were observed tossing the suspicious packages and fuel barrels overboard. Ultimately, the crew of the Cutter Donald Horsley recovered 8 bound packages, which contained approximately 357 pounds of marijuana. Rodrigues was one of seven Venezuelan national crew members onboard the go-fast vessel.
Rodriguez is now the sixth defendant to enter a guilty plea in the case. Co-defendant Juan Rodriguez previously entered a guilty plea on Aug. 13. Co-defendants Jesus Garcia and Jhoan Gomez entered a guilty plea on Aug. 15. Co-defendants Felix Gomez and Rosauro Morao entered a guilty plea on Aug. 22.
The Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley is a 154-foot fast response cutter home ported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Huston.
