High-seas mariners sentenced to a decade in prison for violating Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act

NORFOLK, Va. – Two Nicaraguan nationals were sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute over two tons of marijuana on the high seas, in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, on board a stateless vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on Sept. 27, 2023, while on routine patrol in the Eastern Pacific, a maritime patrol aircraft located a go-fast vessel (GFV) in international waters 97 nautical miles southwest of Malpelo Island, Colombia. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) James (WSML 754), a National Security Cutter, was patrolling nearby and maneuvered to intercept the GFV.

After requesting and receiving authority, Cutter James launched a helicopter, which first attempted to contact the GFV on a maritime channel, then activated its blue warning lights, fired three warning shots across the bow, and, as the vessel failed to yield, engaged a precision gunner to disable the GFV’s engines.

A boarding team launched from the Cutter James and found three individuals onboard, including Maximo Zacarias, 43, Ismael Alexis Martinez, 30, and Bernacio Solares Ramon, 31. The boarding team determined the GFV, El Tanque, was without nationality. The team was authorized to recover 74 bales of marijuana, weighing a total of 4,610 pounds, and a five-gallon bucket containing electronics devices such as a GPS, SAT phone, ship-to-ship walkie-talkie, and other communication devices. Solares Ramon was in possession of paperwork with GPS coordinates for the routes of travel to near a Pacific island off the coast of Costa Rica.

Zacarias and Solares Ramon were convicted by a federal jury on Aug. 23, 2025.

Martinez pled guilty on Aug. 8 to possession with intent to distribute more than 1000 kilograms of marijuana on board a vessel. He was sentenced on Jan. 23 to two years and six months in prison.

Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Rear Admiral Joseph R. Buzzella, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District; Ibrar A. Mian, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division; and Christopher Heck, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes. The Maritime and Counternarcotics Unit within the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division provided substantial assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin M. Comstock, Eric M. Hurt, and Joseph E. DePadilla prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-129.