Colombian National Sentenced To 16 Years In Prison For Trafficking $75 Million Of Cocaine On A Self-Propelled Semi-Submersible

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Henry Aguirre-Valois (36, Colombia) to 16 years in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Aguirre-Valois entered a guilty plea on May 24, 2024.

According to court documents, on November 20, 2023, Aguirre-Valois and his three co-defendants smuggled cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on board a self-propelled semi-submersible vessel, which is a closed hull boat built specifically for transporting bulk levels of narcotics. Members of the United States Coast Guard Cutter Waesche interdicted the defendants and their vessel approximately 170 nautical miles west of Ecuador, in international waters.

The United States Coast Guard seized 2,523 kilograms of cocaine from the vessel, which has an approximate wholesale value of $75 million.

Aguirre-Valois had previously been convicted and sentenced in 2019 for trafficking cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi- jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations involved in large scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities. The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations. The prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Pardo.