Jurors in Florida found a Colombian man guilty of using a speed boat to move one ton of cocaine from Central America with the intent of moving drugs through Mexico and ultimately the U.S.
After three days of trial testimony late last week, jurors found that 58-year-old Prisciliano Garces Angulo from Colombia had conspired with others and tried to smuggle large cocaine shipments using speed boats. Four other men who were part of the conspiracy previously pleaded guilty and some of them testified against Angulo. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he is facing a maximum sentence of life in prison and a minimum of 10 years.
The case began in December 2020, when a U.S. Coast Guard surveillance plane spotted a boat approximately 213 miles away from Guatemala in the Pacific Ocean, court documents revealed. Federal prosecutors claimed that authorities suspected the boat was being used to run drugs because “ it had numerous fuel containers on deck, displayed no indicia of nationality or registration, and was operating in a location where maritime drug smuggling by similar vessels is common.”
The plane guided a U.S. Coast Guard ship to intercept the boat. The boat refused to stop, leading authorities on a chase that ended when they disabled the engines. Authorities boarded the boat and detained Angulo and four other men who were with him in the boat. During the interdiction, U.S. authorities contacted Mexico’s Navy to help determine its nationality, as per maritime law. Once authorities determined that the speed boat had no nationality, the U.S. Coast Guard was able to claim jurisdiction.
After boarding the vessel, authorities were able to find dozens of bundles with a total weight of more than 2,100 pounds of cocaine.
As Breitbart Texas has reported, drug traffickers use speed boats to move shipments of drugs from South and Central America making landings along the way until they reach Mexico’s Pacific Coast. There, the cocaine is collected by crews from Mexican cartels who then move it further north.
Luisana Moreno is a contributing writer for Breitbart Texas.
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