TAMPA, Fla. — A Colombian drug trafficking boss who helped organize international cocaine shipments aboard commercial vessels was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Jose Ramiro Cardenas-Iguaran, 47, also known as “Titi,” “Senor” and “Jefe,” previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine aboard a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
U.S. Senior District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell imposed the sentence. Cardenas-Iguaran pleaded guilty Nov. 25, 2025.
- Defendant: Jose Ramiro Cardenas-Iguaran
- Aliases: “Titi,” “Senor” and “Jefe”
- Age: 47
- Country: Colombia
- Sentence: 25 years in federal prison
- Charge: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine aboard a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction
- Guilty plea: Nov. 25, 2025
- Sentencing judge: U.S. Senior District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell
- Major seizure: 1,500 kilograms, or more than 3,300 pounds, of cocaine
- Vessel: Togolese-flagged cargo ship Fat Crow
- Interdiction: August 2017 in international waters
- Arrest: 2021
- Court: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- Prosecutor: Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Baeza
- Location: Tampa, Florida
According to court documents, Cardenas-Iguaran entered the drug trade by robbing traffickers approximately 15 to 20 years before his 2021 arrest. He later began arranging maritime smuggling operations for other traffickers before establishing his own organization.
One of those operations involved the Fat Crow, a Togolese-flagged cargo ship intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard in international waters in August 2017.
Authorities found nine people and approximately 1,500 kilograms — more than 3,300 pounds — of cocaine aboard the vessel.
Cardenas-Iguaran admitted helping plan the operation and arrange its logistics. He also acknowledged smuggling cocaine for other traffickers and placing as much as 650 kilograms of his own cocaine aboard drug shipments.
Prosecutors said he also accepted responsibility for a cocaine shipment seized in the Dominican Republic and another shipment destined for Puerto Rico.