Individual Involved in Multi-Million Dollar Cocaine Seizure in Humacao is Sentenced to 18 1/2 Years in Prison

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On July 15, 2025, United States District Court Senior Judge Francisco A. Besosa sentenced Domingo Acosta to 222 months and 14 days in prison and 5 years of supervised release for the importation of more than 850 kilograms of cocaine on April 12, 2022. According to court documents, Domingo Acosta pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to: (1) conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, from Colombia, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere; and (2) possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

As part of the conspiracy, the defendant possessed firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking activities.  On October 7, 2022, federal agents searched a property used by the defendant and seized the following electronic devices, handguns, magazines, and ammunition: (1) a Glock model G23, (2) a Glock model 19, (3) 2 Glock .40 caliber magazines, (4) 2 Glock 9mm magazines, (5) 38 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition, (6) 42 rounds of 9mm ammunition, (7) 2 Garmin GPS units, and (8) a handheld radio ICOM. The defendant also has a prior felony conviction for immigration offenses.

The DEA HIDTA Fajardo TFGII/Maritime Program led the investigation. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organization (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. The Homeland Security Task Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side by side in the same location, assisted in the prosecution of this case.

Assistant United States Attorney Antonio J. López-Rivera from the Asset Recovery, Money Laundering and Transnational Organized Crime Unit prosecuted the case.

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