A Colombian national has been sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison for his role in a significant cocaine trafficking operation. U.S. Attorney Alina Habba revealed that Raul Orlando Torres Cubides, also known as "Jose Jota," was sentenced to 178 months behind bars after pleading guilty to conspiring to import large quantities of cocaine into the United States.
Cubides, aged 57, admitted his leadership role in a network that saw hundreds of kilograms of the drug smuggled from countries including Colombia, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic between 2016 and early 2020. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, who also imposed a five-year term of supervised release following the prison sentence.
The operation that led to Cubides's conviction involved coordinated efforts from both U.S. and international law enforcement. U.S. Attorney Habba commended the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and various other agencies, including the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Marshals Service. She expressed gratitude for their extensive cooperation in dismantling the criminal network.
This case forms part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative, which targets key criminal organizations using a collaborative, intelligence-led strategy. The OCDETF aims to dismantle high-level criminal entities posing a significant threat to the United States. Additional details about the task force's work are available on the Department of Justice website.
Concurrently, the case aligns with Operation Take Back America. This initiative, led by the Department of Justice, seeks to eliminate transnational criminal organizations and protect communities from violent crime. Operation Take Back America leverages resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and the Project Safe Neighborhood program.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Farhana C. Melo of Newark’s Economic Crimes Unit represented the government in this case, while James Plaisted served as the defense counsel for Cubides.
###
Defense counsel: James Plaisted, Esq., Hackensack, New Jersey