NEW ORLEANS, LA – A Honduran national has been sentenced to 47 months in federal prison for his role in an international smuggling operation that illegally transported migrants and cocaine from Honduras to the United States aboard a sportfishing vessel, federal prosecutors announced.
According to court documents, 38-year-old Josue Alexander Flores Villeda conspired with at least six others over a three-year period to smuggle both narcotics and people from Honduras into the United States. On each voyage, the group brought as many as 15 migrants into U.S. waters, charging up to $20,000 per person. The organization also trafficked large quantities of cocaine to accompany the human cargo.
In February 2022, Villeda and his co-conspirators attempted to bring more than 20 Honduran nationals and 24 kilograms of cocaine to Louisiana aboard the M/V Pop, a sportfishing vessel co-owned by one of the conspirators, Carl Allison. The voyage was cut short when the vessel developed engine trouble near Cocodrie, Louisiana. Before a chartered boat carrying fuel could reach them, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted the M/V Pop off the Louisiana coast and towed it to shore, ending the operation.
- Josue Alexander Flores Villeda sentenced to 47 months in prison
- The smuggling ring moved migrants and cocaine from Honduras to Louisiana
- U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the vessel before it reached shore
Villeda pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully bring aliens to the United States for financial gain and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride. Several co-conspirators, including Allison and Darrel Martinez of Honduras, were also convicted and sentenced in related prosecutions. Another suspect, Olvin Javier Velasquez Maldonado, was extradited from Honduras in 2025 and is awaiting trial scheduled for February 2026.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Wright of Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) New Orleans Field Office announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted as part of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), a coordinated federal initiative targeting human trafficking and smuggling networks operating across the Americas. JTFA combines resources from the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security to dismantle transnational criminal organizations that exploit migrants and engage in large-scale narcotics operations.
HSI offices in Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Georgia worked on the case alongside the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, and several state and local law enforcement agencies.
