St. John the Baptist Parish Men Guilty of Cocaine Distribution Conspiracy

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - ANDRES CRUZ GARCIA ("CRUZ GARCIA"), age 33, DARIEL HERNANDEZ GARCIA ("HERNANDEZ GARCIA"), age 33, and RICARDO JIMENEZ RAMOS ("JIMENEZ RAMOS'), age 58, residents of Laplace, Louisiana, plead guilty before United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion to conspiracy to possess, and possession with intent to distribute, 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A) and 846, and possession with intent to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A), announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.

For each count, the three men face a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years, up to life imprisonment, a fine of up to $10,000,000, at least five years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

According to court documents, on September 10, 2023, St. John the Baptist Sheriff's Office deputies seized 69 kilograms of cocaine from the Laplace residence of co-conspirator, EDEL FREYRE-SOTO. Continued investigation by agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the deputies revealed that CRUZ GARCIA, HERNANDEZ GARCIA, JIMENEZ RAMOS, and others, conspired to conduct large-scale cocaine transactions utilizing a vessel off the coast of the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico). On March 19, 2024, DEA agents seized 85 kilograms of cocaine from a residence in Laplace where HERNANDEZ GARCIA, JIMENEZ RAMOS, and MARCOS QUINTERO OTERO, another co-conspirator, were living. This cocaine was smuggled in through a marina at Grand Isle, and this organization intended to distribute it throughout the United States.

HERNANDEZ GARCIA and JIMENEZ RAMOS will be sentenced on June 2, 2026. CRUZ GARCIA will be sentenced on June 9, 2026.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF New Orleans comprises agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the DEA and St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office in investigating this matter. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Sarver, now serving with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Schiffman, of the Narcotics Unit for the Eastern District of Louisiana.