Florida Man Convicted in Conspiracy to Smuggle Rifles to Costa Rica
A federal court has convicted Gabriel Donato-Mendez of smuggling AR-15 rifles to Costa Rica. He faces 15 years in prison. Photo credit: Orange County, Fla. Sheriff’s Department.
In a six-month period between 2018 and 2019, Donato-Mendez bought over 150 AR-15-style rifle kits, which had pieces required to make AR-15 firearms after minor modifications by drilling and assembling, according to a Justice Department press release.
Under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), AR-15 rifles cannot be legally exported from the U.S. without a proper license.
Donato-Mendez is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 7, 2025. If found guilty, he faces up to ten years on the attempted smuggling count and five years on the conspiracy count.
From Florida to Costa Rica
On March 4, 2019, Donato-Mendez transported at least 84 AR-15 kits from Daytona, Florida, to a freight forwarder, where they were meant to be sent to Costa Rica.
Since 2019, AR-15s and their parts have been on the United States Munitions List as “defense articles” and required a license from the Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls to be exported, according to the Justice Department.
Neither Donato-Mendez nor his known conspirators possessed a license to export AR-15 kits from the United States.
The smuggling network between the U. S. and Venezuela via Costa Rica is currently one of the most active in recent history.
Smugglers use Costa Rica as a stepping stone for human trafficking and other smuggling between the U. S. and South American countries, according to a report by the International Organization for Migration, an agency of the UN.
Recent Smuggling Cases
The Justice Department is cracking down on smuggling between the U.S. and Central and South America.
In September 2024, a 35-year-old man from Costa Rica named Mainor Salazar Montero was sentenced to 5 years and three months in prison for smuggling cocaine, according to a Justice Department report.
In November 2024, Julio Contreras Bueno and Christian Garay Ochoa, both from Mexico, were charged with smuggling 1,295 kilograms of cocaine after a Royal Canadian Naval ship with a United States Coast Guard detachment onboard intercepted a go-fast vessel near Acapulco, according to a Justice Department statement.
This case is also similar to that of former Army Special Forces soldier Jordan Goudreau, who was the subject of a feature by The Daily Muck.
Feds arrested Goudreau in July 2024 under the allegations that he illegally exported firearms and other equipment to Colombia in violation of U.S. export laws. Those weapons were meant to be used in an armed coup in Venezuela against Nicolas Maduro, according to joint statements by Goudreau and members of the Venezuelan opposition.
However, the so-called “Operation Gideon” was ill-conceived and resulted in the deaths of six paramilitaries and the arrest of 13 others, including two Americans, also former Special Forces soldiers. The two Americans were later returned to the U. S. during a prisoner exchange.
More From This Author
Kosovo National Arrested and Charged with Running Online Marketplace for Stolen ID, Financial Information
Report Strahinja Nikolić | Jan 17, 2025
American Multinational Company Fined $122 Million for Bribing South African Officials
Report Strahinja Nikolić | Jan 14, 2025
Accountant and Sister Embezzled $1.5 Million from Employer
Report Strahinja Nikolić | Jan 14, 2025
Weekly Muck
Join the mission and subscribe to our newsletter. In exchange, we promise to fight for justice.
Weekly
Muck
Join the mission and subscribe to our newsletter. In exchange, we promise to fight for justice.
