Honduran Man Sentenced to 210 Months for Plotting Mall Bombing

Honduran Man Sentenced to 210 Months for Plotting Mall Bombing

Vicente Adolfo Solano, a 53-year-old Honduran citizen residing in Miami, was sentenced to 210 months in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, after planning to detonate an explosive device at a Miami mall.

Solano pleaded guilty on March 14. The sentencing was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Robert F. Lasky of the FBI’s Miami Field Office.

“The efforts of the dedicated women and men of the FBI and the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force have kept the people of Miami safe from this ISIS supporter and ensured Solano will go to prison,” said Assistant Attorney General Demers. “I am grateful for our law enforcement partners, and I applaud our prosecutors for today’s successful outcome and the message it sends: we will not tolerate threats to our country or its people.”

“Any individual who plots to support a foreign terrorist organization puts our local community at risk and this threat remains a top priority for our U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners,” stated U.S. Attorney Greenberg. “Today’s sentence speaks to those who harbor extremist ideals – your terroristic agenda will be thwarted and your punishment of years in prison will be your only lasting legacy.”

Solano had planned to place and detonate an explosive device in a crowded area of a popular Miami mall. “Solano dreamed of detonating an explosive device in a crowded Miami area mall, but he was denied his terroristic aspirations by the outstanding work and team effort of the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force,” said Special Agent in Charge Lasky. “This is a job well done by a group of professionals who must remain eternally vigilant.”

Solano had been residing in the United States under Temporary Protected Status, but his protected status has since been revoked. Judge Huck imposed a sentence below the statutory maximum recommended by the advisory sentencing guidelines and advocated by the government, noting that the defendant is currently in removal proceedings and will be returned to his native country of Honduras following his prison term.

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