HSTF: Three Dominican Nationals Plead Guilty to Cocaine Conspiracy Charges After Importation of 1,694 kilograms of Cocaine

MIAMI - Three Dominican nationals pleaded guilty for their roles in importing approximately 1,694 kilograms of cocaine into South Florida.

Erasme Catalino Paulino Rodriguez, 35; Joseito Diaz De Oleo, 48; and Ober Alexander Villavicencio Jimenez, 36 - all of the Dominican Republic - pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import a controlled substance.

"This was a large-scale maritime cocaine smuggling operation aimed at bringing nearly 1.7 metric tons of poison into South Florida," said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. "That amount of cocaine fuels addiction, violence, and cartel profits on a massive scale. These guilty pleas disrupted a major trafficking pipeline and reflect the strength of coordinated federal enforcement at sea and on land. If you move narcotics toward our shores, you will be intercepted, prosecuted, and sent to federal prison."

According to court documents, on Dec. 2, 2025, approximately six nautical miles off the coast of Government Cut in Miami-Dade County, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) interdicted the M/V Best Bet, a 65-foot sport-fishing vessel. After escorting the vessel to U.S. Coast Guard Station Miami Beach, law enforcement discovered 1,694 kilograms of cocaine concealed in hidden compartments.

Rodriguez, De Oleo, and Jimenez admitted they piloted the Best Bet east from Miami to a pre-determined location near the Turks and Caicos, where they met a smaller vessel carrying four Dominican men who transferred duffle bags filled with cocaine. The defendants then concealed the drugs on board and began the return trip to Miami, where they were intercepted.

Each defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones, Special Agent in Charge Miles Aley of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and Acting Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, made the announcement.

DEA Miami Field Division and HSI Miami are investigating the case, with assistance from the USCG, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (AMO), and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Miami Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Kirkpatrick is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Miami comprises of agents and officers from DEA Miami, HSI Miami, USCG, U.S. Customs and Border Protection AMO, and FBI Miami with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link., under case number 25-cr-20541.

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