Cesar Augusto Romero Caballero, 35, of Colombia, was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine, knowing it would be smuggled into the U.S. He pleaded guilty on April 8, 2024.
A former Colombian Navy officer, Caballero, admitted to recruiting active-duty sailors to plant GPS tracking devices on naval vessels. Drug cartels used the data to steer cocaine-laden boats around Colombian Navy patrols.
The case involved help from the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs and its Judicial Attaché in Bogotá. It was part of the OCDETF Strike Force Initiative, a multi-agency effort targeting major drug traffickers and transnational criminal organizations.