Defendant Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Involvement in Large-Scale Narcotics Transportation Organization

A Miami jury found Juan Carlos Arvizu Hernandez guilty on July 14, 2017, of conspiring to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine with the knowledge that the cocaine would be unlawfully imported into the United States.

Hernandez operated in Honduras as the leader of a large-scale narcotics transportation organization that was part of a distribution chain spanning from Colombia to Mexico and the United States. The evidence at trial showed that the defendant and his workers were responsible for secretly receiving multi-hundred kilogram quantities of cocaine being shipped from Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil, temporarily storing the narcotics in Honduras, and then transporting the narcotics to their next point, which was typically a location in Honduras close to the Guatemalan border, Belize or even further north to Mexico.

Hernandez was responsible for trafficking over 5,000 kilograms of cocaine, according to the evidence presented at trial. In addition to the proceedings at trial, the government presented evidence of video recordings involving Arvizu Hernandez, including a still photograph showing the defendant handling a brick of cocaine.

Acting U.S. Attorney Benjamin G. Greenberg stated, ‘The arrest and extradition of Juan Carlos Arvizu Hernandez is the result of extraordinary international cooperation. It also reflects the hard work, commitment, and perseverance of our Honduran and U.S. law enforcement partners to stem the flow of cocaine into the United States.’

DEA Special Agent in Charge Adolphus P. Wright stated, ‘Hernandez’ drug trafficking organization has been dismantled and will no longer be able to import large amounts of cocaine into the Unites States. The total disregard Hernandez displayed in his efforts to destroy countless communities in the United States has been addressed with this sentence.’

The prosecution was part of Operation Hollow Point, which is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate, and prosecute high level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.

Mr. Greenberg would like to thank the governments of Honduras and Colombia, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Florida and the Southern District of New York, the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of the Panama Express Strike Force, and other agencies for their assistance in obtaining the conviction against Arvizu Hernandez.

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