A Honduran national was sentenced Thursday to over 18 years in prison for participating in an international drug trafficking conspiracy, according to authorities.
Carlos Humberto Henriquez Gomez, 57, of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, was part of a transnational drug ring that used a U.S.-registered plane to smuggle over a ton of cocaine from Venezuela to Belize, officials stated.
In 2018, officials stated that Gomez inspected a clandestine airstrip in Belize for the operation, and in 2019, he returned to prepare it and assist with offloading the shipment. Authorities intercepted the plane and a vehicle hauling the drugs, seizing more than 1,300 kilos of cocaine.