Cuban National Sentenced to Federal Prison for Alien Smuggling

MIAMI – A federal district judge in Miami sentenced a Cuban national to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he previously pleaded guilty to alien smuggling in January.

On Sept. 29, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers on a CBP air and maritime operations vessel, intercepted Rafael Rodriguez Hernandez, 35, while he was transporting 27 people on his boat from the Bahamas to the United States. The CBP officers brought the individuals from Hernandez’s boat onboard the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Richard Etheridge where USCG Officers confirmed that all the individuals, except Hernandez, were aliens who did not have authorization to enter the United States. The CBP officers also determined that five of the aliens were Ecuadorian nationals who had been previously removed from the United States.

USCG officers brought Hernandez and the five Ecuadorians to shore to face charges. The rest of the aliens were returned to the Bahamas.

U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced Hernandez’s sentence.

HSI Miami investigated the case with assistance from CBP and USCG, 7th Coast Guard District. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanner Stiehl is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-20458.

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