The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and law enforcement partners, along with the Monroe County office of the state attorney, are filing human trafficking charges against two Miami men accused based on an incident on the waters off the Florida Keys.
Charges stem from a July incident in which the U.S. Coast Guard stopped a boat en route to Cuba earlier this year in waters just off Islamorada.
Oscar Alfredo Bustamante-Semeren, 29, and Alejandro Gauche-Valdez, 35, are both currently in jail in Miami on other charges related to firearms, battery and grand theft auto. The sheriff’s office has obtained warrants for their arrest in Monroe County upon their release in Miami-Dade County.
The incident occurred at about 10:10 p.m. on July 15, in the Cotton Key Basin area near MM 86. The U.S. Coast Guard stopped and boarded a vessel before terminating its voyage due to numerous safety violations. A GPS on the boat showed an active track to Cuba. Bustamante-Semeren admitted he and Gauche-Valdez were en route to Cuba to pick up nationals there.
The U.S. Attorney’s office subsequently declined to prosecute the suspects. Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Joel Slough continued to investigate the case as per state charges alongside the office of the state attorney. Examination of the GPS and other evidence supported Bustamante-Semeren’s admission. Warrants (each with a $60,000 bond) were obtained on Oct. 21 by the sheriff’s office as a result of the investigation.
The U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations assisted in the case. The investigation also showed Bustamante-Semeren is linked to the violent gang, “Tren De Aragua” of Venezuela.
“Another great job by Sgt. Joel Slough, the Monroe County state attorney’s office and our law enforcement partners to arrest these two criminals,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “We will continue to take a hard stance on crime even when the U.S. Attorney’s Office fails to do its job. The U.S. Attorney’s Office unwillingness to pursue criminal offenders who traffic humans is sad. These offenders continue to wreak havoc in our community and other communities.”
In an email to Keys Weekly, the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined comment on active investigations and any charging decisions.
“What we can say is that we are in regular contact with our federal partners, to include Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Coast Guard, FBI, ATF, and DEA, as we collaborate with our state and local partners to thwart, combat and prosecute crimes that threaten our South Florida communities,” said Sarah Schall, special counsel and public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Southern District of Florida. “We encourage the public to continue to report suspected crimes to 911.”
For the 2024 fiscal year, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged at least 75 defendants with alien smuggling related offenses. This includes 25 smugglers and over 50 migrants who attempted to enter on the vessels.
Bustamante-Semerene is being held in a Miami-Dade detention center on numerous charges, including fleeing and eluding police, resisting arrest, use of a firearm while committing a felony, grand theft, burglary, transportation of drug paraphernalia and recklessing driving.
