A former Marine was recently sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison after admitting he ran an international organization that brought tons of cocaine into the U.S.
Angel Dominguez Ramirez Jr., 50, with dual U.S. and Mexican citizenship, was sentenced June 1 to 195 months in prison, according to a June 6 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement news release.
“Today’s sentencing of Dominguez is a strong example of HSI’s ongoing efforts to target and dismantle the most significant drug trafficking organizations in the world, whose multi-billion dollar criminal networks funnel drugs onto our streets and spread violence into our communities,” said Chad Plantz, special agent in charge of HSI San Diego, according to the release. “We will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners in Mexico to root out the leaders of these insidious cartels, wherever they may be found, and bring them to justice.”
Dominguez's sentence "sends a message that the leaders of even the most powerful criminal organizations will be held accountable," U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in the news release. Grossman also thanked the prosecution team team in the case and HSI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection "for their excellent work on this case."
According to the news release, the drug and money laundering charges to which Dominguez pleaded guilty stemmed from a long investigation netting more than 30 seizures totaling five tons of cocaine and more than $9 million in drug-related proceeds from his organization named El Seguimiento 39, or El Seg 39 or "The Company."
The organization's drugs were smuggled into the U.S. from South America and Mexico via "cooperative alliances" with other criminal organizations, such as Beltran Leyva Organization, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Sinaloa Cartel, Cartel del Golfo and the Los Zetas, the release reported.
