Cuban Man Guilty of Federal Controlled Substances Act Violations (DOJ)

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - YAIDEL PLACIDO SALVADOR, ("PLACIDO") age 39, a New Orleans resident, pled guilty on January 7, 2026, before United States District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo to two counts of a superseding indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine (Count 1), and possession with intent to distribute, five kilograms or more of cocaine (Count 3), in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), and 846, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.

According to court documents, PLACIDO, and other co-conspirators, distributed multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine within the Eastern District of Louisiana.

As to both counts individually, PLACIDO faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years up to a maximum term of life, a fine of up to $10,000,000.00, at least five years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $200.

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.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration - New Orleans Field Division Office, and assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Border Patrol, the Gretna Major Crimes Task Force, the Kenner Police Department, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office, and the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Lynn E. Schiffman of the Narcotics Unit is in charge of the prosecution.