A federal grand jury issued nine criminal counts against three people in connection with a yola, a small makeshift boat, that capsized in September, leaving three dead and a dozen missing. At a press conference, federal prosecutors identified the defendants as Máximo Alexander Castillo Cabrera, Víctor Alfonso Montilla Espíritu and Danny de la Rosa Mercedes, all Dominican nationals.
Héctor Ramírez Carbó, acting director of the federal prosecutor’s office, said all three face charges of smuggling migrants, bringing foreigners into U.S. territory without federal authorization. Castillo Cabrera and Montilla Espíritu also face a count of conspiring to do so for financial gain, and De la Rosa Mercedes one count of acts of violence against multiple people with a machete aboard the vessel.
Ramírez Carbó said 49 people were rescued with the assistance of Coast Guard personnel and other agencies. If found guilty, the alleged charges expose the defendants to a maximum penalty of life in prison and the death penalty.