United States of America v. Jesus Alexander Guerrero Rosario, a/k/a Jesus Guerrero

Miami, Florida, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiring to possess with intent to disbribute cocaine.



Jeifry Antonio Vasquez and Jesus Alexander Guerrero-Rosario pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.



In March 2023, a boat bearing no indicia of nationality was spotted in the Caribbean Sea about 115 nautical miles off the coast of Aruba. A Coast Guard team approached and boarded the boat. They found two men—Vasquez and Guerrero-Rosario—aboard. Nicholas Muzo, a member of the Coast Guard team who spoke Spanish, questioned Vasquez and Guerrero-Rosario

USCA11 Case: 23-1334223-13342 Opinion of the individually. He asked each man whether he was the master of the boat, using the Spanish word for "captain.” Doc. 53 at 12.1 Both Vasquez and Guerrero-Rosario denied being the boat's master.



Muzo then asked each man if he had "registration documents for the boat for any country” or wanted "to claim any nationality for the boat.” Id. at 33. Each man answered that he "did not have any documentation and did not want to make a claim of nationality.” Id. at 14. Based on these answers, the Coast Guard treated the boat as a vessel without nationality. It recovered 941 kilograms of cocaine from the boat.



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Vasquez and Guerrero-Rosario moved to dismiss the indictment. They argued that the court lacked jurisdiction over them be

cause the government failed to prove that their boat was a vessel without nationality under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act ("MDLEA”), 46 U.S.C. §§ 70501–08.

The Defendant's motion was denied.



The Defendants elected to plea guilty and they were sentenced to 78 months in prison.



Affirmed on appeal.