Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced that charges have been unsealed in Manhattan federal court against MAXIMILIANO DAVILA-PEREZ for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and a related weapons offense involving conspiring to use and possess machineguns. The defendant is currently detained in Bolivia. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Denise L. Cote.
The U.S. Department of State, through its Narcotics Rewards Program, is offering a reward of up to $5,000,000 for information leading to the conviction of DAVILA-PEREZ. Anyone with information that may lead to the conviction of DAVILA-PEREZ can email the DEA at Bolivia.Tips@usdoj.gov, or message the DEA at 1-202-480-9038 using text message or WhatsApp.
U.S. Attorney Williams said: “As alleged, Davila-Perez, a former senior Bolivian government official, was entrusted with leading Bolivia’s anti-narcotics agency. Instead of rooting out drug trafficking in that country, Davila-Perez worked in partnership with Bolivian drug labs and sought to send more than a thousand kilograms of cocaine to the United States. Davila-Perez further abused his position by using Bolivian law enforcement officers, armed with machineguns, to guard and transport cocaine shipments. This Office and the DEA will not stand idly by while corrupt officials in Bolivia seek to import poison into the United States.”
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “Today’s announcement of charges against Maximiliano Davila-Perez and his designation under the U.S. Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program reaffirm our commitment to bring anyone who acts to threaten the safety and health of Americans to justice. Davila-Perez is alleged to have betrayed his oath to combat dangerous drugs and the violence associated with drug trafficking, and used his position to further his own criminal activities. I am grateful to the DEA agents who relentlessly pursued the investigation. Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder to anyone who threatens the safety and well-being of Americans, that DEA stands at the ready to protect our communities.”
According to the Superseding Indictment and court filings in this case:[1]
DAVILA-PEREZ was previously the Director of Bolivia’s chief anti-narcotics law enforcement agency, Fuerza Especial de Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico (“FELCN”). As part of the conspiracies charged in the Superseding Indictment, DAVILA-PEREZ exploited his official position at FELCN to secure access to Bolivian airfields for cocaine transport and to arrange for members of Bolivian law enforcement under his command—including individuals armed with machineguns—to provide protection for those drug loads. DAVILA-PEREZ also worked in partnership with large-scale cocaine suppliers who operate cocaine labs in Bolivia, and agreed to ship more than a thousand kilograms of Bolivian cocaine to New York.
DAVILA-PEREZ, 57, is charged with: (1) conspiring to import cocaine into the United States; and (2) conspiring to use and carry machineguns during, and to possess machineguns in furtherance of, the cocaine importation conspiracy. If convicted, DAVILA-PEREZ faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on Count One, and a maximum term of life in prison on Count Two. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding efforts of the Special Operations Division of the DEA Bilateral Investigations Unit, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their ongoing assistance.
The charges in the Superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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