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Press Release

Son Of The Former President Of Honduras Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Conspiring To Import Cocaine Into The United States

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that FABIO PORFIRIO LOBO pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to a charge that he conspired to import cocaine into the United States.  LOBO, who was arrested in the Republic of Haiti on May 20, 2015, and arrived in the United States on May 21, 2015, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield.  LOBO’s father, Porfirio Lobo, served as president of Honduras between 2010 and 2014.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Fabio Lobo has now admitted in court that he conspired to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States.  Whether you are a street-level dealer, a member of a cartel, or the son of a former foreign president, drug dealing is drug dealing.  It is a serious federal crime for which you will be prosecuted.”

According to the Indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings: 

In 2014, LOBO agreed to assist two purported Mexican drug traffickers, who were in fact confidential sources (the “CSes”) acting at the direction of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), with the transportation of a multi-ton load of cocaine through Honduras so that the narcotics could be imported into the United States.  In exchange, LOBO was to receive a financial interest in a portion of the cocaine that was intended to be sold and distributed in the United States.  In furtherance of the conspiracy, LOBO introduced the CSes to, among others, Honduran police officials who agreed to participate in the cocaine transaction by providing security and logistical support for the transportation of the cocaine through Honduras.  During 2015, in consensually recorded calls and emails between LOBO and one of the CSes, LOBO agreed to travel to Haiti for the purpose of receiving payment from the proceeds of the cocaine transaction.  LOBO subsequently traveled to Haiti in May 2015 and was arrested. 

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LOBO, 44, pled guilty to one count of conspiring to (i) import five or more kilograms of cocaine into the United States from a foreign country; and (ii) distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States.  The charge carries a maximum term of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison.  The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

LOBO will be sentenced on September 15, 2016. 

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of the Special Operations Division of the DEA.  Mr. Bharara also thanked the DEA’s Port-au-Prince Country Office, the Government of the Republic of Haiti and its Bureau de Lutte Contre le Trafic Illicite de Stupefiants, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their ongoing assistance. 

This case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emil J. Bove III, Matthew J. Laroche, and Michael D. Lockard are in charge of the prosecution.

Updated May 16, 2016

Topic
Drug Trafficking
Press Release Number: 16-124