Rodríguez-López, Castillo-Vasquez, Auitian-Bohorquez Indicted in $15M Cocaine Plot

Three men are facing federal charges in a high-stakes cocaine smuggling operation after a 30-foot go-fast boat loaded with approximately 900 kilograms of cocaine—worth over $15 million—was intercepted 50 nautical miles south of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The defendants, Erix Manuel Rodríguez-López, Juan Carlos Castillo-Vasquez, and José Nicolas Auitian-Bohorquez, were apprehended on March 1, 2018, during a joint maritime interdiction led by the U.S. Coast Guard and federal law enforcement partners.

The seizure stemmed from surveillance conducted by a CBP maritime patrol aircraft from the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch (CAMB), which spotted the vessel moving without navigational lights and carrying visible packages on deck. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Horsley moved in, boarded the vessel, and recovered 30 bales of cocaine. The defendants were taken into custody and handed over to FBI agents from the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF) for processing.

A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned a three-count indictment on March 7, 2018, charging the trio with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on a vessel under U.S. jurisdiction. The indictment, announced by Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, then U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, marks another blow to transnational drug networks exploiting Caribbean waters as a trafficking corridor.

The investigation was part of Operation Unified Resolve and Operation Caribbean Guard—federal initiatives targeting maritime smuggling routes. The Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF), an OCDETF-led task force, spearheaded the probe with support from DEA, HSI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol, and Puerto Rico’s Joint Forces of Rapid Action (FURA).

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Gajewski is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Díaz-Rex, Deputy Chief of the International Narcotics Unit. If convicted, each defendant faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life without parole. Authorities emphasize that the charges stem from a conspiracy tied directly to possession on a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction, a key legal element in maritime drug interdictions.

The CCSF remains a critical weapon in dismantling South American-based trafficking organizations that funnel multi-kilogram drug shipments through the Caribbean en route to U.S. mainland markets. The $15 million cocaine load seized in this case underscores the scale and audacity of these operations. The defendants remain in federal custody awaiting trial. Indictments are not evidence of guilt; all are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in court.