What do you think happens when the United States Coast Guard intercepts a narco boat
in international waters? One stuffed to the gunnels with bales of the cartel's precious cargo? I don't
just mean what happens right then and there in the ocean. I mean the full, true, gritty story
from beginning to end. Nose to tail. Well now I can tell you, after tracing these international
smugglers — let's call them the Miserable Seven — over years, with exclusive video of their jagged
life before their frantic journey, to the moment they were bagged with 20 million dollars worth
of coke; from their devious plots to escape to where they are right now. Which is in Florida
The Mob Reporter here with the inside story of smuggling gone wrong, of seven
cartel minnows stuck between far bigger fish — the sharks of the Mexican and South
American cartels and the mighty whale of the U.S government. Let me tell you about it
First, let's watch them get caught
It was Jan. 14, 2021. This remotely piloted drone, a Predator variant for maritime surveillance, was
on a routine patrol scanning the Eastern Pacific when it spotted a suspicious speedboat. It was
traveling in international waters, 212 nautical miles south of Mexico's Huatulco. They're called
go-fast boats because they're exactly that — built for speed, bristling with high powered outboard
motors, all teeth in the back with little comfort up front. They're notoriously used for smuggling
A U.S Coast Guard cutter named Steadfast was on a counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific
Ocean. It changed course and gave chase. As the Steadfast chugged closer and the drone watched
from high above, the crew of the go-fast realized they've been spotted and started jettisoning their
cargo. Now this shot is a rare sight. Obtained exclusively by The Mob Reporter it's taken by
one of the narcos from on-board the drug boat. It shows the crew tethering the bales one to the
other and heaving them overboard, trying to get them off before the Americans arrived. You can
see them bobbing in the water, one after another after another. The smugglers at this point clearly
hoped to retrieve them later. 19 Bales were dumped before a boarding team from the Steadfast caught
up to them. Here's the view from the drone. We see the Coast Guard's own go-fast boat
approach. The Coasties are the ones wearing the life vests. And here's the view from sea level
The Coasties found this ragtag, seven-man crew on board. They don't look happy. The skipper of the boat told
the Coast Guard they were just out fishing for sharks, but the Coasties knew better. There was
no fishing gear, no ice, no bait, and no sharks. The skipper said he was Mexican and the boat was too
The Coast Guard radioed Mexican authorities to confirm the go-fast was one of theirs and for
permission to board and search it. The Mexican government said it had no idea if it was theirs
or not. That was the cue the Americans needed. Once deemed a stateless vessel it falls under American
jurisdiction, according to U.S law. They seized the boat, the crew, and reeled in the cargo. An agent
cut open a bale and tested the powder inside, that had been pressed into bricks. To nobody's
surprise it was found to be cocaine. Together the bricks weighed more than 760 kilos. Now that's a
significant load, but nowhere near as large as many that the Steadfast had seized before. The
narco crew wouldn't have realized it, but they were actually being nabbed by drug war royalty. For 54
years, since the Coast Guard entered the War on Drugs, the Steadfast has been pestoring South
American and Mexican cartels. She's intercepted more than 1.6 million pounds of cannabis and over
164,000 pounds of coke, according to Coast Guard statistics. In the 1970s the Steadfast patrolled
the Florida Straits and Caribbean. Her reputation was so feared the Spanish-speaking narcos nicknamed her
"El Tiburón Blanco," Spanish for The White Shark. The Coast Guard crew embraced that name and
to this day a picture of a white shark appears in the Steadfast's official crest. In the 1990s
she moved to the western coast and now sails counter-narcotic deployments down the Pacific
seaboard to Mexico and Central America. Caught by the Steadfast on this mission were seven men: Luis
Bran-Lopez, Isaac Enrique Oyando, Romeo Santos Hernandez, John Dario Macias Agua, Jaime Velez Arcentales, Eddy
Fabian Anchundia-Velez, and Juan Hernandez Peña. Four from Mexico, three from Ecuador. They ranged in
age from 32 to 45. They're no spring chickens and several have a narco past. In 2006 Hernandez
Peña drove a Dodge Ram pickup truck across the border from Mexico to Calexico, California. A dog
at the border sniffed him out and a search found 31 kilos of coke in the truck's hidden
compartment. Anchundia-Velez had been caught in a high seas drug raid before, back in
2008. And, yeah, you bet I've got footage of that. And just like this time, a patrol aircraft had
spotted a fishing vessel, this one Towing four go-fast boats north of the Galapagos Islands
A Coast Guard Cutter changed course to intercept, catching up to them at night. 700 kilos of liquid
cocaine and 30 kilos of powdered cocaine were found on board. Anchundia-Velez was one of 14
crew members. Now, because the fishing boat was confirmed registered in Ecuador, the crew was
turned over to Ecuadorian authorities, which may have been great luck for him because in
just a few years he's already free and on the sea again. Evidence of a gangster past was found
on the phones of another two of the Miserable Seven crew. Here are scenes from Oyando's phone
including selfies with five different handguns, bands on bands of cash, and a delicious fish soup
Ahhh, the narco life. Santo Hernandez's phone was filled with incriminating photos of cocaine and
guns, including these videos of shooting a shotgun and a military-style rifle and also this footage
which looks like a race between go-fast boats very similar to the ones he was caught on. And finally
Velez Arcentales was found to have taken a one-way flight from Guatemala, Mexico's southern
neighbor, to Peru, in South America. That's an indicator of a successful smuggling venture: boat
ride north, one-way flight back south. The Steadfast brought the crew, the coke and all their belongings
to the U.S,, docking in San Diego, California. It took until April for them to be hauled to Florida for
prosecution, where they pleaded not guilty to possessing with intent to distribute 5 kilos
or more of cocaine and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Those charges carry
a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment. Arguments have
previously been made in court cases challenging the Coast Guard's right to board foreign boats in
international waters, but this group didn't make any. They would have lost even if they had. The
fact is, there are more restrictions on U.S. police searching a car on the street than there is for
the Coast Guard to search a vessel on the water. On the high seas, it is only diplomatic courtesy
standing between a Coast Guard boarding team and any vessel it suspects of smuggling. But that legal
certainty didn't rob their trial of intrigue. Oh, it had that. In late February, 2022, before their
scheduled trial began, one man suddenly broke from the pack. This usually signifies someone
has agreed to be a government witness. In gangland lingo, a rat. Sure enough, Bran-Lopez, the skipper of
the go-fast, struck a deal to plead guilty to the charges and cooperate with the investigation and
prosecution of the others, and to testify "fully and truthfully" at their trial. In return, if he
was a good witness, the government would get him a reduced sentence. Prosecutors likely expect the
news to feel like a stab to the heart for the others. When Bran-Lopez's deal became public
in April, however, none of his colleagues seemed surprised and none seemed worried about it at all
When federal agents sat with Bran-Lopez on May 4th to hear him spill the beans on the
smuggling ring, they found out why. They learned he was — in legal terms — full of crap. His guilty
plea was not a bid to save himself by dooming the others. It was the opposite. It was a plan to save
them all by taking the fall. The story he told was designed to bring them vindication. You see
they weren't really narcos, he claimed. He tricked the others into thinking they were going fishing
Bran-Lopez said. Once they were on the high seas they were surprised when they were met by another
boat whose crew filled their boat with cocaine, and before they could do much about it the Coast Guard
pounced on them. As for him, Bran-Lopez said, he didn't want to have anything to do with smuggling
but he was forced to do it; dangerous members of a cartel had kidnapped his family, he said. He
was forced to smuggle the load against his will just to save them. It was an unbelievable charade
Prosecutors were irate at being played for fools. At trial, of course, Bran-Lopez was never called as
a government witness. Instead he was called to the stand and testified for the defense. Prosecutors in
turn told jurors Bran-Lopez's story just couldn't be true — evidence from their phones and GPS data
from their navigation devices proved his sloppy lie. They had been at sea days before the date he
said his family was kidnapped. When it came time for Bran-Lopez's sentencing for his guilty plea
instead of prosecutors recommending leniency for his cooperation they asked the judge to increase his
punishment for obstruction of justice. In July, Bran- Lopez was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison
Ouch. The trial for the rest of them began Aug. 15, 2022, in Tampa, Florida. One defendant Hernandez
Peña was dropped from the prosecution during trial for COVID exposure. The others, well, the
others put their faith in Bran-Lopez's lies. It took the jury only one hour and 16 minutes to reach
a unanimous verdict: the five remaining defendants were each found guilty on all counts. Now they are
set to be sentenced on Nov. 18, 2022. The trial for the one who has dropped from the prosecution
for COVID is scheduled to begin next month as well. I'll be watching to see if any of them
get anywhere close to the 22 years given to Bran- Lopez can return for his futile attempt at being
the fall guy. Please tap the "Thanks" button below this video, or join me on Patreon for bonus content
and perks at Patreon.com/TheMobReporter. Please like, comment, and subscribe. Thanks for watching