Adan Bolivar Arcentales Anchundia, Cocaine Trafficking, Virginia 2025

NORFOLK, Va. – Two Ecuadoran nationals pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine on board a vessel in international waters approximately 544 nautical miles south of Mexico.

According to court documents, on Jan. 16, a helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Waesche located a go-fast vessel (GFV) that appeared to be dead in the water with two people on board. The GFV displayed no indicia of nationality.

A small boat from the USCG Cutter Waesche approached the GFV and the crew observed Adan Bolivar Arcentales Anchundia, 57, and Frowen Antonio Alcivar Muentes, 56, cutting lines connecting the GFV to bundles of bails in the water. USCG personnel boarded the vessel and conducted tests of the contents of one package taken from the water. The contents tested positive for cocaine.

USCG personnel gathered additional contraband from the water around the GFV. In total, ten bales containing approximately 397.9 kilograms of cocaine were recovered.

Arcentales Anchundia pled guilty on May 28 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 30. Alcivar Muentes plead guilty today and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 9. Both defendants face a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin M. Comstock and Eric M. Hurt are prosecuting the case as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the government to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the government to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Arcentales Anchundia and Alcivar Muentes are subject to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, which will determine the actual sentence.

Related Federal Cases