The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and its law enforcement partners, along with the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office, have filed human trafficking charges against two Miami men stemming from the U.S. Coast Guard stopping 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 currently in jail in Miami-Dade County on other charges related to firearms, battery, and grand theft auto, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesman Adam Linhardt. The Sheriff’s Office has obtained warrants for their arrest in Monroe County upon their release in Miami-Dade County.
The incident occurred at approximately 10:10 p.m. on July 15, in the Cotton Key Basin area near Mile Marker 86. The U.S. Coast Guard stopped and boarded the suspect 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 six nationals there, according to an arrest warrant.