The American citizen of Cuban descent,Mirtza Ocaña, was released on unsecured bail after being arrested at Tampa International Airport, Florida.
Ocaña was arrested last Monday while tryingentering the United States with one hundred thousand dollars in undeclared cash, a crime classified as money smuggling.
According to the criminal complaint filed by special agentVictor Valentin of the Department of Homeland Security (HSI/DHS), Ocaña, 38, arrived at the airport from Cuba and initially declared that he had nothing to declare.
However, during a routine inspection, $30,000 was discovered distributed in his luggage, despite initially claiming he only had around $10,000 from the sale of a property in Cuba.
US law requires that anyone entering the country with more than $10,000 in cash must declare it. After his arrest, Ocaña admitted to having smuggled money into the United States since June 2023, making between 2 and 3 monthly trips to the island. In exchange for this service, he claimed to have received payments between $1,000 and $2,500.
Upon review of his travels, it was discovered thatOcaña had visited Cuba 45 times since May 2023. Despite admitting his knowledge of the illegality of bringing in undeclared money, approximately one hundred thousand dollars in total were seized from him.
Special Agent Valentín maintained that there is probable cause to believe that Ocaña intentionally concealed more than $10,000 to evade the cash declaration requirement, he said.Martí News.
A profile of the social network TikTok (@mirtzaocana) appears to match that of the 38-year-old Cuban-American woman, and contains several advertisements for "package service" to Cuba.
Unsecured bail implies that Ocaña agrees to appear before the judge and, if he does not do so, he must pay an agreed amount of money. He has been assigned a court-appointed attorney and will receive assistance from a translator at future hearings.
If convicted of all charges, the woman faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, the court said.statement signed by the United States Attorney of Florida,Roger B. Handberg.
The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. AttorneyMichael J. Buchanan.
A traveler can enter the United States with any amount of money or checks, bills of exchange, stocks, bonds, but must declare if they have more than $10,000 in total.
The reason for such regulation is to combat money laundering and other criminal activities, such as terrorist financing. After amounts greater than $10,000 are declared, authorities can investigate the origin and purpose of the money to ensure it is not related to illegal activities.
In August 2023,A Cuban was arrested with 30,000 euros without declaring at the Cancun International Airport. A year earlier, three Cubans were detained at the Tapachula international airport, in southern Mexico,in possession of around $50,200 undeclared before the corresponding authorities.
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