Individual extradited to the United States from the Dominican Republic to face drug trafficking charges

Date: Jan. 16, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

San Juan, PR – Dominican authorities extradited Esteffani José Vasquez-Amarante, also known as “Ethian” or “Baby” to the United States to face drug trafficking and money laundering charges filed in the District of Puerto Rico, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. Vasquez-Amarante was arrested in the Dominican Republic on November 6, 2025, at the request of the United States and extradited to Puerto Rico on Wednesday, January 14, 2026.

“This extradition is another important step in our fight against drug trafficking and transnational organized crime. This prosecution demonstrates the commitment of the Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners, and the cooperation of the Dominican Republic, to work together to bring international drug traffickers to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “We will continue to maximize our multi-agency efforts to disrupt and dismantle international drug cartels that smuggle drugs into Puerto Rico and the continental United States.”

“This extradition sends a clear message: leveraging political access, financial technology, or international borders, will not shield criminals from accountability,” said Claudia Dubravetz, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office. “The FBI, along-side our federal and international partners, will aggressively pursue transnational drug traffickers and money launderers who undermine the rule of law and threaten communities in the United States and abroad.”

On September 7, 2023, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Esteffani José Vasquez-Amarante with international conspiracy to distribute cocaine, international distribution of cocaine, and conspiracy to commit money laundering derived from specified unlawful activity – drug trafficking. Vasquez-Amarante facilitated drug trafficking and money laundering activity between La Romana, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, through cryptocurrency.

According to the superseding indictment, since at least February of 2022, Vasquez-Amarante conspired to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine intending, knowing, and having reasonable cause to believe that it would be imported into the United States. The indictment also charges that Vasquez-Amarante conspired to commit money laundering derived from drug trafficking since no later than March 17, 2021. Specifically, the indictment states that Vasquez-Amarante and another co-conspirator directed the delivery of approximately $400,000 in U.S. currency – the product of drug trafficking -- to an individual in San Juan, Puerto Rico, who converted the drug proceeds to cryptocurrency.

On March 24, 2021, Vasquez-Amarante and another co-conspirator directed the delivery of approximately $2,000,000 in U.S. currency / drug proceeds to an individual in San Juan, Puerto Rico, who converted the drug proceeds to cryptocurrency. On or about April 14, 2021, another co-conspirator, at the direction of Vasquez-Amarante, attempted to deliver approximately $2,200,000 in U.S. currency / drug proceeds to an individual in San Juan, Puerto Rico, who had previously converted drug proceeds to cryptocurrency.

On January 14, 2026, Vasquez-Amarante was extradited from the Dominican Republic to San Juan, Puerto Rico by the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Region 22, located in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, FBI Legal Attaché in Santo Domingo and law enforcement partners in the Dominican Republic provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition to the United States of Vasquez Amarante.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Antonio L. Perez-Alonso under the supervision of Chief Myriam Y. Fernández-González and Deputy Chief María L. Montañez-Concepción from the Money Laundering & Transnational Organized Crime Section.

If convicted, Vasquez-Amarante faces a minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison for the drug trafficking charges and a sentence of up to 20 years of imprisonment for the money laundering charge.

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 San Juan comprises agents and officers from the following federal partners: FBI, ICE-HSI, CBP (OFO, AMO and Border Patrol), the U.S. Marshals Service for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, DEA, ATF, IRS, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of State, and the U.S. Secret Service, the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands HIDTA, TSA, FAA, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The HSTF also has the following state and local law enforcement partners as participating agencies: the Puerto Rico Police Department; the San Juan, Carolina, Guaynabo, Barceloneta, and Ponce Municipal Police Departments, the Puerto Rico National Guard – Counter Drug Program; the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Service (Hacienda); the Puerto Rico Port Authority; and the Virgin Islands Police Department.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.