The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Virgin Islands announced that Mario Montano Camacho, 41, and Juan Ignacio Reyes Delgado, 48, both of Ecuador, were each sentenced to 78 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
A third defendant, Edison Quijije Cuzme, 35, also from Ecuador, had been sentenced to 78 months earlier in the month for the same offense.
The case stems from a Dec. 22, 2023, interception by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Resolute while patrolling the Eastern Pacific. The Coast Guard encountered a go-fast vessel approximately 110 nautical miles west of Ecuador.
The vessel, traveling at a high speed and displaying no flag or nationality markings, was pursued by the Coast Guard. During the pursuit, the occupants of the vessel were observed throwing packages overboard.
The Coast Guard subdued the vessel, which was later classified as stateless after the Ecuadorian government could not confirm its nationality.
Approximately 1,261 kilograms of cocaine were recovered from the ocean. The investigation was carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Drug Enforcement Administration DEA as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces OCDETF operation, which targets high-level criminal organizations threatening the U.S.