Rosbin Leonardo Duarte-Elvir, a 43-year-old Honduran national, has been sentenced to 17 years and six months in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $5 million for his role in a conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge William F. Jung after Duarte-Elvir pleaded guilty on December 11, 2025.
According to court documents, Duarte-Elvir played a central role in organizing shipments of cocaine from Colombia to the United States over several years, continuing through 2024. He owned and invested in these shipments with the help of a security supervisor and other corrupt airport employees at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali, Colombia. The cocaine was concealed in boxes of fruit and transported via commercial aircraft destined for Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport on San Andrés Island.
The operation involved assistance from at least 20 corrupt Colombian police officers who helped export the drugs from San Andrés Island by boat to Nicaragua or Honduras before moving them overland through Mexico into the United States. Authorities said that thousands of kilograms of cocaine were trafficked during this period.
A significant disruption occurred in 2023 when law enforcement seized a shipment at San Andrés Island airport. However, Duarte-Elvir and other leaders decided to resume their air route operations soon after. On May 7, 2024, an attempt was made to import 540 kilograms of cocaine into Cali airport; this shipment was intercepted by Colombian authorities before it could reach its intended destination in the United States.
Duarte-Elvir reportedly used proceeds from drug trafficking to support an extravagant lifestyle, including owning a large estate outside Cali.
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service. Support came from Colombian law enforcement agencies DIRAN and ETICA. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs coordinated with Colombian authorities for Duarte-Elvir’s arrest and extradition from Colombia in March 2025.
Assistant United States Attorney David J. Pardo prosecuted the case, while Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne C. Nebesky handled asset forfeiture proceedings.
"This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion," according to U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe's office announcement. "The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad."
The prosecution also falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide effort using all available resources within the Department of Justice aimed at stopping illegal immigration and dismantling criminal organizations that threaten community safety.
