The United States congratulated the Presidency of the Republic and the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) for their collaboration in the arrest of Congressman Miguel Gutierrez, who was arrested Monday night for alleged ties to drug trafficking.
"The U.S. Attorney's Office and its federal partners commend the Office of the Presidency of the Dominican Republic and the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) for their cooperation in this investigation," states the full document on the arrest of Gutierrez.
According to the formal indictment issued by a federal grand jury in Miami on March 11, 2021, from approximately 2014 to 2017, Congressman Gutiérrez Díaz was part of a transnational drug trafficking network that operated in the Dominican Republic, Colombia and the United States.
The congressman and three others are charged with conspiring to import and distribute cocaine in the United States and face life in prison if found guilty.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and La Verne J. Hibbert, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division, announced the charges and the arrest.
DEA Miami investigated the case with the assistance of various government agencies.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Getchell and Ellen D'Angelo of the International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section in the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
Below is the complete document:
Dominican congressman accused of international cocaine trafficking arrested at Miami international airport
Miami, FL - Last night, federal law enforcement agents arrested a foreign elected official accused in the United States of drug trafficking, following the official's international flight from the Dominican Republic to Miami.
Miguel Andres Gutierrez Diaz, 58, of Santiago, is an elected member of the Dominican Republic's House of Representatives. According to the indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Miami on March 11, 2021, from approximately 2014 to 2017, Congressman Gutierrez Diaz was part of a transnational drug trafficking ring that operated in the Dominican Republic, Colombia and the United States. The federal indictment charges Gutierrez Diaz and others with three counts: conspiracy to distribute cocaine, knowing it would be imported into the United States; conspiring to import cocaine into the United States; and conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. If convicted, Gutierrez Diaz faces life in prison.
Gutierrez Diaz will make his initial appearance in federal court today at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes, who sits in Miami.
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and La Verne J. Hibbert, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division, announced the charges and the arrest.
DEA Miami investigated the case, with the assistance of the Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs, DEA Santo Domingo Country Office, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE). -HSI), Miami Field Office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Miami Office of Field Operations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Getchell and Ellen D'Angelo of the International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section in the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney's Office and its federal partners commend the Office of the Presidency of the Dominican Republic and the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD) for their cooperation in this investigation.
This prosecution is the result of the ongoing efforts of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The primary mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle high-level drug traffickers, money launderers and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using an agency approach to combat transnational organized crime. The OCDETF program facilitates complex joint operations by focusing its partner agencies on priority targets, managing and coordinating the efforts of multiple agencies, and leveraging intelligence across multiple investigative platforms.
An indictment simply contains allegations and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
