Prisciliano Garces Angulo, Cocaine Smuggling, Florida 2021

A federal jury in Tampa, Florida, has found Prisciliano Garces Angulo, a 58-year-old Colombian national, guilty of possessing and conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

According to testimony presented at trial, in December 2020, a US Coast Guard airplane detected a 25-foot open-hull motorboat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean about 200 miles from the nearest point of land. The motorboat was suspected of drug smuggling because it had numerous fuel containers on deck, displayed no indicia of nationality or registration, and was operating in a location where maritime drug smuggling by similar vessels is common.

The USCG Cutter Harriet Lane launched a helicopter and small boat to investigate. After the motorboat failed to stop in response to numerous orders and warnings by the USCG, the helicopter was forced to employ disabling fire on the boat’s engine. A USCG boarding team found Garces Angulo and his four charged co-conspirators on board and determined the vessel to be without nationality, and therefore subject to United States jurisdiction.

On board the vessel, the boarding team found and seized more than 970 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated worth of over $29 million. This staggering amount is a stark reminder of the severity of the crime.

Garces Angulo faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years, and up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 28, 2022. He had been indicted on January 13, 2021.

According to US Attorney Roger B. Handberg, the successful prosecution of Garces Angulo demonstrates the commitment of the US government to disrupting and dismantling the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States.

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