Tampa, FL – In a significant blow to transnational organized crime, Oscar Adriano Quintero Rengifo, a/k/a ‘Guatala,’ (35, Colombia) was sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in federal prison for smuggling thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States.
U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell handed down the sentence in a Tampa federal court, bringing an end to a long and complex investigation that spanned several years and multiple countries.
Quintero Rengifo, known in the Colombian media as the ‘Prince of Semi-Submersibles,’ was arrested in Colombia at the request of the United States on January 29, 2021, and extradited to the United States on January 26, 2022. He pleaded guilty on May 20, 2022.
According to the plea agreement, Quintero Rengifo was part of a transnational criminal organization that smuggled cocaine from South America to Central America for ultimate importation into the United States. The organization primarily sent vessels, including self-propelled semi-submersible vessels, to Guatemala, where the cocaine was then smuggled over the Guatemala/Mexico border and into the United States.
A former mayor in Guatemala, who controlled drug routes in northern Guatemala into Mexico, oversaw the smuggling of cocaine to Mexican cartel members. Quintero Rengifo progressed within the group, from organizing smuggling operations to ultimately investing in shipments and securing investors.
From at least as early as January 2015 through September 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted at least four vessels, including two semi-submersible vessels, directly linked to Quintero Rengifo’s organization, and involving more than 13,000 kilograms of cocaine.
The case was investigated by the Panama Express Strike Force, a standing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) comprised of agents and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force South.
The Government of Colombia and the Colombian Office of the Attorney General provided significant assistance and support. This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza prosecuted the case, which was a prime example of the OCDETF Program’s work in identifying, disrupting, and dismantling the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States.
Related Federal Cases
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- Dario Renteria-Garcia, Cocaine Smuggling, FL 2016 · Florida
- Nichiren Shoshu Smith, Crack Cocaine Distribution, Florida 2024 · Florida
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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