Former Colombian Navy Lieutenant Sentenced to 15 Years for Helping Sell Locations of Navy Drug Interdiction Vessels to International Drug Traffickers

On Wednesday, Cesar Augusto Romero Caballero, of Colombia, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge James Moody Jr. for conspiracy to distribute cocaine having reasonable cause to believe it would be unlawfully imported into the United States. Romero Caballero pleaded guilty on April 8, 2024.

According to court documents, Caballero, 35, was a former member of the Colombian Navy. In exchange for money, he recruited active-duty members of the Colombian Navy to secretly plant global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices in Colombian Navy vessels. Transnational Criminal Organizations used the location data derived from these tracking devices to direct vessels filled with cocaine bound for the United States around Colombian Navy ships and patrols.

“This foreign national committed serious crimes to enable the flow of drugs into our country,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This sentencing reflects the Department of Justice’s ironclad commitment to not only hunting down criminals, but ensuring that they suffer severe legal consequences following their apprehension.”

“Our teams focus on sophisticated and violent drug trafficking organizations and work countless investigative hours,” said Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration Miami Field Division. “I am proud of our team’s efforts and thankful for our law enforcement partners who brought this case to conclusion.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Stoia for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted this case.

The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia, provided significant assistance.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi- jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations involved in large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities. The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations.