Eduard Bueno-Beltrán, Cocaine Importation, Puerto Rico 2015

Over 229 kilograms of cocaine flooded the black market via a darkened go-fast vessel slicing through Caribbean waters—until the U.S. Coast Guard and Homeland Security Investigations slammed the operation shut. Eduard Bueno-Beltrán, a Dominican national, has now pled guilty to all counts in a federal indictment charging him with importation of controlled substances, conspiracy to import, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine on a vessel under U.S. jurisdiction.

The takedown traces back to March 17, 2015, at 2:00 a.m., when a maritime patrol aircraft spotted the engine-powered speedboat racing eastbound in international waters—20 nautical miles north of Miches, Dominican Republic. The vessel, operating without navigation lights, followed a known narcotic smuggling corridor. Surveillance captured crew members jettisoning packages into the sea before interception.

U.S. Coast Guard boarding teams seized the vessel and recovered nine bales containing brick-shaped parcels of white powder—field tests confirmed it as cocaine. Also found: one cellular telephone and one GPS device used to navigate the illicit run. Ultimately, approximately 205 bricks weighing 229.2 kilograms were recovered from the vessel and surrounding waters.

Eduard Bueno-Beltrán identified himself as the vessel’s master at the time of arrest. He now faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison, with the possibility of life behind bars. Co-defendant Ismael King-Almeida has already pled guilty. A third suspect, Pedro Antonio Berroa-Bonilla, died in custody due to preexisting medical conditions.

The prosecution, led by Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eugenio Lomba and Nicholas Smith, marks the culmination of a multi-agency manhunt involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. Judge Gustavo A. Gelpí presided over the guilty plea proceedings in U.S. District Court.

With nearly a quarter-ton of cocaine bound for American streets intercepted, the case underscores the relentless flow of narcotics through Caribbean transit zones—and the federal crackdown targeting those willing to risk their lives for cartel profits. Bueno-Beltrán’s sentencing is pending, but the weight of the evidence, and the drugs, ensures a prison term measured in decades, not years.

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