Honduran cartel boat captain sentenced for trafficking tons of cocaine to the United States

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Honduran national was sentenced yesterday to 13 years in prison for moving prodigious amounts of cocaine bound for the United States.

Erasmo Avila Palacios, aka Nelsi Erasmo Avila or “Monstruo,” 49, was a prominent boat captain and long-time trusted associate of the Montes Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) based in Colón, Honduras, which distributed multi-metric-ton quantities of Colombian cocaine through Central America bound for the United States. Avila used go-fast vessels to move workers as well as cocaine for the DTO, and even received cocaine loads via airplane.

From 2010 to 2014, under the leadership of Noe Montes-Bobadilla, Avila averaged at least two go-fast-vessel shipments of cocaine per month, with each shipment consisting of approximately 500 to 900 kilograms of cocaine. Avila then curried shipments of millions of dollars in cash in the opposite direction.

After Noe Montes-Bobadilla’s arrest in 2017, the Montes DTO continued under new leadership.  From 2017 to 2022, Avila became a trusted advisor for the DTO’s new leadership, providing maritime advice and helping to coordinate maritime cocaine shipments for the Montes DTO and consulting for other DTOs as well. Avila directed and advised several individuals on operating maritime vessels, plotting maritime coordinates to receive cocaine shipments to avoid detection and seizure, bribery of Honduran officials, and acts of violence towards suspected rival narcotraffickers in Honduras and elsewhere. During this time, Avila also managed a team of trusted workers who performed the hands-on jobs in the distribution of cocaine shipments. Honduran authorities intercepted three shipments of cocaine during this time, ranging from 1,500 to 2000 kilograms of cocaine, that Avila was involved in transporting.

After his October 2023 extradition from Honduras to the United States, Avila pled guilty on Feb. 6 to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine for importation into the United States.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin S. Starr prosecuted the case.

Assistance in the investigation and prosecution was provided by the DEA’s Washington Division in coordination with the Honduran National Police and the Tegucigalpa Country Office. Local assistance was provided by the Virginia State Police, and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing Avila’s arrest and extradition.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-16.