Homeland Security Task Force Announces Twenty-Five-Year Sentence for Colombian Drug Kingpin

Tampa, FL - Jose Ramiro Cardenas-Iguaran, a/k/a "Titi," "Senor," "Jefe" (47, Colombia) has been sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell to 25 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine on a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. He pleaded guilty on November 25, 2025. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, Cardenas-Iguaran began his career about 15 to 20 years before his 2021 arrest by robbing drug traffickers. Over time, he began to assist other traffickers with maritime smuggling logistics before becoming the boss of his own organization. In August 2017, the United States Coast Guard interdicted the Togolese-flagged M/V FAT CROW in international waters with nine people and 1,500 kilograms of cocaine onboard. Cardenas-Iguaran admitted to his involvement in the planning and logistics of the smuggling operation aboard the M/V FAT CROW. Cardenas-Iguaran also admitted to smuggling cocaine for other traffickers as well placing up to 650 kilograms of his own cocaine on drug shipments. He further claimed responsibility for a seizure of cocaine in the Dominican Republic as well as a separate load of cocaine intended for Puerto Rico.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Colombian National Police's Anti-Narcotics Directorate (DIRAN). The Department of Justice's Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá and Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance in securing Cardenas-Iguaran's extradition. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza.

This case 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 Region 20 (Tampa) comprises agents and officers from multiple law enforcement agencies with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.