On 24 October 2024, Middle District of Florida’s Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle held that Congress may punish maritime drug trafficking conspirators even if they are never on the high seas in U.S. v. Montero-Monsavlo, No. 8:21-CR-377-KKM-AEP, 2024 WL 4534222 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 21, 2024).
On 27 August 2019, CG LEDET aboard a Dutch vessel encountered the Maria Purisima, a Venezuelan-flagged fishing boat, about forty-two nautical miles from Venezuela. As the Dutch vessel neared, the Maria Purisima crew jettisoned several packages, which were later found to contain over 300 kilograms of cocaine. The U.S. obtained Venezuela’s permission to board, arrested the crew, and subsequently identified Montero-Monsalvo as part of the drug trafficking conspiracy, though he was not aboard outside Venezuelan TS. Montero-Monsalvo was indicted, extradited to the U.S.
When addressing whether co-conspirators can be punished, the court looked at historical precedent and concluded that Under the Felonies Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause, Congress may punish landward conspiracy to traffic controlled substances on the high seas:
“Punishing a maritime crime’s land-based conspirators also has roots in the early Republic. In the United States’s first criminal code, the First Congress made it unlawful to give aid to piracy, robbery, and murder upon the seas, regardless of whether any “aiding,” “commanding,” or “advising” of those crimes took place “upon the land or the sea.” While not “a guarantee of a statute’s constitutionality,” … “[t]he practice of the First Congress” can “ ‘provide[ ] contemporaneous and weighty evidence of the Constitution’s meaning.’ ” And here, Montero-Monsalvo presents no contrary historical evidence that would cast doubt on Congress’s power to punish his behavior. The prohibition of land-based conduct advancing maritime crime in the 1790s is further evidence that Congress may lawfully apply the MDLEA to Montero-Monsalvo.”
Montero-Monsavlo, 2024 WL 4534222, at *2 (internal citations omitted).
Take-Away: When conducting boardings it’s crucial to look for evidence of land-based co-conspirators, as they can be held liable and punished under the MDELA, even if they were never physically present on the vessel.