South Florida is seeing a marked rise in human smuggling cases, with Cuban nationals increasingly at the center of federal prosecutions involving unlawful maritime migration from the Caribbean.
In recent weeks, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has reported multiple convictions in high-risk smuggling ventures involving not only Cubans, but also migrants from other Caribbean and Latin American countries—especially Ecuador.
Three recent cases underscore the growing trend:
Deadly crossing ends in prison sentence
On Friday, a Miami federal judge sentenced 25-year-old Yaquelin Dominguez-Nieves, a Cuban national, to seven-and-a-half years in prison after she pleaded guilty to alien smuggling conspiracy. In November 2024, Dominguez-Nieves and her boyfriend orchestrated a paid smuggling operation to bring 18 Cubans across the Florida Straits in an overloaded and poorly equipped fishing boat. The vessel capsized roughly 30 miles into the trip, claiming the lives of 16 passengers—including several children. Judge Beth Bloom issued a sentence exceeding federal guidelines, citing the “devastating human toll” of the smuggling attempt.
Fast boat intercepted off Key Largo
Earlier this month, two more Cuban nationals—Yordany Capote-Leon and Yuniel Cabrera Piloto—were convicted after attempting to smuggle 18 Ecuadorians from the Bahamas to the U.S. in October 2024. The pair departed U.S. shores and picked up the migrants in Bahamian waters, returning toward Florida until they were intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Coast Guard near Key Largo. Officers were forced to fire warning shots before the boat stopped. Several of the Ecuadorian nationals onboard had been previously deported from the U.S. Capote-Leon was sentenced in March to 37 months in prison. Piloto will be sentenced in May and faces up to 10 years.
Bahamas-to-Florida run ends in arrest
In a separate incident also prosecuted last week, 35-year-old Rafael Rodriguez Hernandez was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to smuggling 27 individuals, including five previously deported Ecuadorians, from the Bahamas to the U.S. on Sept. 29, 2024. His boat was intercepted by CBP and the Coast Guard and taken to the USCG Cutter Richard Etheridge. Hernandez and the five repeat border crossers were brought to shore to face charges. The remaining migrants were returned to the Bahamas.
While Cuban nationals continue to make up a significant portion of those involved in both human smuggling and migration attempts, the increasing presence of Ecuadorians and other Latin American migrants suggests a broader regional trend. Federal officials say these operations are often coordinated by loosely organized smuggling networks operating across the Caribbean basin, exploiting vulnerable migrants in search of better opportunities.
All three of these cases were investigated by multiple federal agencies and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative “that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration,” the Southern District of Florida said.
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, CBP, and the U.S. Coast Guard, have increased patrols and coordination with Caribbean partners in response to the spike.
