Mexican National Sentenced After Transporting 1,295 kilograms of Cocaine On Board a Vessel Subject to U.S. Jurisdiction

St. Thomas, USVI –U.S. Attorney Adam F. Sleeper announced today that one of three Mexican nationals, Francisco Hernandez Penaloza, 65, was sentenced on Friday, June 12, 2026, by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert A. Molloy to 46 months’ imprisonment for his role in conspiring to transport and possess with intent to distribute approximately 1,295 kilograms of cocaine on board a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction. According to court documents, on September 5, 2024, during a routine patrol in international waters in the Eastern Pacific, a Royal Canadian Naval ship, the HMCS Yellowknife, intercepted a go-fast vessel after it was sighted approximately 427 nautical miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico. A United States Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment was aboard the HMCS Yellowknife. The go-fast vessel was dead in the water, floating adrift with bales and large fuel barrels visible on its deck. It displayed no indicia of nationality with no flag flown. The USCG Detachment conducted a right of visit boarding on the vessel as it was suspected of illicit maritime activity. Three people were encountered on board the vessel, including the defendant. A search of the vessel revealed 35 bales consistent with the packaging and transport of a large quantity of narcotics. The three people on board were detained. The bales were removed, and the vessel was sunk due to the damage to the hull. The packages inside the bales were tested by a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) laboratory, which confirmed that the bales contained a total of 1,295 kilograms of cocaine.