On January 21, 2025, 26-year-old Yaquelin Dominguez-Nieves of Sebring, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court in Miami to conspiring to smuggle migrants into the United States. Dominguez-Nieves, who entered the U.S. illegally, collected over $11,500 from the families of Cuban migrants with the promise of transporting them into the United States.
Court documents reveal that Dominguez-Nieves transferred the funds to her co-conspirator in Cuba, who arranged to load approximately 18 migrants onto a small fishing vessel. The vessel, which had no life jackets and was operated by an inexperienced captain, sank about 30 miles off the coast. Tragically, 16 of the migrants, including young children ranging from 9 months to 7 years old, drowned in the incident. Four bodies were recovered, and the cause of death was determined to be drowning.
Dominguez-Nieves faces a sentencing hearing on April 11, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. in Miami, where she could face up to life in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. The case was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West, U.S. Border Patrol, and local law enforcement agencies, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller handling the prosecution.
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