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Anonymous ID: 74c3c3 Dec. 29, 2023, 1:37 p.m. No.20149601   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9638 >>9661 >>9689 >>9691 >>9695

Former Dominican Republic Congressman Pleads Guilty After Trafficking More Than Five Tons of Cocaine Into the US

December 29, 2023

 

Miguel Gutiérrez, a former Congressman from the Dominican Republic, has pled guilty to crimes related related his involvement in a significant drug trafficking operation.

 

Arrested in May 2021 at Miami International Airport, Gutiérrez was part of a network that distributed at least five tons of cocaine from 2014 to 2020. This network operated in Colombia and the Dominican Republic, according to court records.

 

The plea deal, finalized in December 2022 in the Southern District of Florida, revealed that Gutiérrez also engaged in money laundering activities. For the drug trafficking charge, he faces a sentence ranging from 10 years to life in prison, and up to 20 years for money laundering. Additionally, he could be fined up to $10 million for the drug conspiracy count and $500,000 for the money laundering charge. Prosecutors have recommended a 16-year sentence for both charges.

 

Gutiérrez, elected as a Congressman in 2020, was responsible for receiving cocaine from suppliers in the Dominican Republic. He invested in shipments to the United States and oversaw the packaging of cocaine for shipment, including his co-defendant and brother, Miguel Emilio Gutiérrez, who faces similar charges. The cocaine was shipped to the United States, particularly to South Florida counties like Monroe, Broward, and Miami-Dade, using shipping containers and vessels.

 

From this operation, Gutiérrez earned over $7.5 million in drug sales and received commissions for introducing other traffickers to the network. He and his co-conspirators laundered more than $6 million, hiding it in bank accounts under his and his family’s names and diverting it to his businesses.

 

As part of his plea bargain, Gutiérrez agreed to forfeit property bought with drug proceeds from 2014 to 2020. This includes two Rolex watches, a 14 karat gold chain with a 4 karat gold crucifix, $446,000, 20 additional Rolex watches, and 11 vehicles held in the Dominican Republic at the time of his arrest. He owes the U.S. government $2,171,000 as part of the drug trafficking charge.

 

Gutiérrez, a married father of three young boys, did not resign from his congressional post until September 2023. The lower house did not remove him following his arrest, as he had not been convicted of any charges at that time.

 

https://resistthemainstream.com/former-politician-pleads-guilty-after-trafficking-more-than-five-tons-of-cocaine-into-the-us/