Dominican Drug Agents Face Miami Trial From 30 November
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The country A Caribbean nation of nearly 11 million people, popular with US tourists and on a sea route for South American cocaine.
- —What happened A scheduling order filed in Miami’s federal court on Friday 9 October set the jury trial to start Monday 30 November, El Nacional reported.
- —Who is accused The Dominican drug agents are Second Lieutenant Deny Manuel Sepúlveda de León and agent Oliver Guevara Rodríguez of the National Drug Control Directorate.
- —The charges Conspiracy and attempt to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine meant for the United States. Conviction carries ten years to life.
- —Why the US cares Sepúlveda de León served in a sensitive-investigations unit that worked with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office in Santo Domingo.
- —Still open How the two men have pleaded, whether the trial date holds and whether Dominican prosecutors will act at home.
Two Dominican drug agents face a federal jury in Miami from Monday 30 November, accused of conspiring to traffic cocaine bound for the US. A scheduling order filed on Friday 9 October set the date, the Santo Domingo newspaper El Nacional reported.
The case matters in Washington because one defendant served in a unit that coordinated with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Both men are presumed innocent and face at least ten years in prison if convicted.
What the Miami Court Has Scheduled
The federal court docket in the case of the two Dominican drug agents shows a scheduling order filed on Friday 9 October. The case number is 1:26-cr-20401 in the Southern District of Florida, which covers Miami.
According to El Nacional, the order sets the start of a jury trial for Monday 30 November before US District Judge Darrin P. Gayles. A calendar call, the hearing where a judge checks that both sides are ready, is set for Wednesday 25 November.
Judge Gayles schedules trials in two-week periods, usually with the calendar call on the Wednesday before, his page on the court’s website says. The 30 November date therefore opens that window.
The docket also traces the case so far. It was unsealed on Wednesday 30 September, the date of a first court appearance at which counsel was appointed.
A superseding indictment, which replaces an earlier charging document, followed on Thursday 1 October. An arraignment, the hearing where defendants answer the charges, took place on Monday 5 October.
On Wednesday 7 October, a notice assigning an assistant federal public defender to the case was filed, the docket shows. Federal defenders represent people who cannot afford a private lawyer.
What US Prosecutors Allege
The Dominican drug agents are Second Lieutenant Deny Manuel Sepúlveda de León and agent Oliver Guevara Rodríguez. Both belong to the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD), the state agency that fights drug trafficking.
The indictment charges them with conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. It says they knew or had reason to believe it would be imported into the United States.
A second count alleges an attempt to distribute the drug for the same purpose, El Día reported.
The case grew out of an undercover DEA operation that began in February 2026. A DEA affidavit cited by Dominican Today says an informant offered Sepúlveda de León a 35-kilogram cocaine run.
The load supposedly belonged to a Colombian trafficker, the affidavit says. In reality, investigators had set up the job to test whether the officer would take it.
On 29 August, the affidavit says, the two men drove an unmarked DNCD vehicle to Barahona, a southern coastal province. The informant loaded a suitcase with 35 kilograms of fake cocaine into the trunk.
The men then allegedly drove the load to Santo Domingo, the capital, and handed it over in a park near a gas station. Sepúlveda de León was allegedly promised five kilograms of cocaine as payment.
The affidavit values that promised payment at about US$57,600. He allegedly received US$3,000 up front and about US$4,000 more in Dominican pesos.
El Día reported that part of that marked cash was found on the men when they were arrested. Citing the investigation, it said they had allegedly helped shipments from Colombia and Venezuela pass checkpoints between Barahona and Santo Domingo.
Neither man has commented publicly on the allegations, which have not been tested in court.
A Unit Built to Work With the DEA
Sepúlveda de León was assigned to the DNCD’s sensitive-investigations department, known by its Spanish initials DITIS. El Nacional reported on 8 October that the unit coordinated with the DEA office in Santo Domingo.
Both men flew out with a group of officials invited to a DEA training course in Washington. They were detained during a stopover at Miami International Airport on Monday 28 September.
Because the arrests took place on US soil, Washington did not need to request extradition, El Nacional noted. The Dominican foreign ministry and the attorney general’s extradition office said they had not been formally told about the investigation.
The ties between the two agencies run deep. In July, DNCD president Vice Admiral José M. Cabrera Ulloa thanked the DEA at a graduation in Quantico, Virginia, Dominican Today reported.
The case of the Dominican drug agents follows another blow to trust. Melitón Cordero, a former DEA supervisor at the US embassy in Santo Domingo, was arrested in February 2026 on visa bribery and fraud charges.
As that scandal broke, US Ambassador Leah Francis Campos temporarily closed the DEA office in Santo Domingo, El Nacional reported. Cordero, who is presumed innocent, awaits further hearings in Washington, DC.
What It Means for You
For US travelers, nothing changes. The case of the Dominican drug agents concerns two officers, not flights, entry rules or the resorts of Punta Cana and Puerto Plata.
For US taxpayers and policymakers, the trial is about trust. Washington shares intelligence with vetted Dominican units and trains their members, and this case asks whether that vetting works.
The cocaine at the center of the sting was fake, but the charges point at the US market. The indictment says the men knew or had reason to believe the drug would be imported into the United States.
If it goes ahead, the trial will be held in open court in Miami. The arrests themselves are set out in DEA Watched Two Dominican Drug Agents Since February, published on 5 October.
What Is Not Known
How the two men pleaded at their arraignment has not been made public. Federal trial dates often move when either side asks for more time to prepare.
It is not known whether anyone else will be charged in the case. Dominican prosecutors have not said whether they will open their own case.
The DNCD had not commented publicly on the trial date by Saturday 10 October. Until a jury rules, both Dominican drug agents are presumed innocent.
More: Dominican Republic news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the trial of the Dominican drug agents start?
The jury trial of the two Dominican drug agents is set to begin on Monday 30 November in Miami, El Nacional reported. A calendar call is set for Wednesday 25 November.
What are the two agents charged with?
The Dominican drug agents face one count of conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine meant for the United States. A second count charges an attempt; each carries ten years to life.
Was the cocaine in the DEA sting real?
No. A DEA affidavit cited by Dominican media says the 35 kilograms moved in August were fake cocaine supplied by investigators. Separate claims that the men helped real shipments pass through Barahona have not been tested in court.
Does the case affect travel to the Dominican Republic?
No. The case concerns two officers of the anti-drug agency and has no effect on flights, entry rules or tourist areas.
Sources: US District Court, Southern District of Florida, docket United States v. Sepulveda De Leon, 1:26-cr-20401 (Scheduling Order, entry 18), 9 October 2026; US District Court, Southern District of Florida — Judge Darrin P. Gayles, chambers page (criminal procedures, calendar call), 10 October 2026; El Nacional, 9 October 2026; El Nacional, 8 October 2026; El Nacional, 7 October 2026; El Día, 6 October 2026; El Día, 6 October 2026; Dominican Today, 6 October 2026; Dominican Today, 27 July 2026; Acento, 12 February 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief