A federal judge in Miami has handed a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence to Yaquelin Dominguez-Nieves, a 25-year-old Cuban national who pleaded guilty to charges related to a deadly human smuggling operation. The operation attempted to bring 18 people from Cuba to the United States, leading to the tragic deaths of 16 individuals, many of them children, when the boat sank.
Dominguez-Nieves, who entered the U.S. illegally in October 2022, orchestrated the smuggling operation with her boyfriend, charging for passage from Cuba to the U.S. coast. In the weeks leading up to the voyage, Dominguez-Nieves collected over $11,500 from South Florida-based families of the individuals to be smuggled.
On November 16, 2024, the smugglers set sail from Playa Jaimanitas, Cuba. The boat, which was deemed too small for such a journey and lacked essential life-saving equipment like lifejackets, sank approximately 30 miles into the trip. Testimonies from survivors indicated that the boat was overcrowded and the captain inexperienced. The bodies of three victims washed ashore in Monroe County, Florida, all drowning victims.
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom delivered a sentence that exceeded federal guidelines, citing the grave nature of the crimes. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. Margelot of the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Southeast Field Office.
The case was investigated by the CGIS Southeast Field Office, the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West, U.S. Border Patrol, Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office, and Highlands County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller is the case prosecutor.
This prosecution forms part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration and dismantling criminal organizations responsible for such clandestine operations.
Further details and related court documents can be obtained from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida and the District Court for the Southern District of Florida.