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A woman from Florida filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, claiming that an employee of the company falsely implicated her in a drug smuggling scheme, which led to her spending nearly a week in jail in the Bahamas.
The affected individual, identified as Alison Domínguez, was arrested in April at the Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau when authorities discovered a suitcase registered in her name containing over 100 bottles of codeine.
However, later records showed that the passenger had never checked in luggage and that the bag had passed the screening process before arriving at the airport.
According to the lawsuit, first reported by Court Watch, airline workers in Nassau allegedly manipulated the baggage system to check in luggage under the names of legitimate passengers.
Subsequently, accomplices in the United States would collect the luggage containing drugs at the baggage claim area.
Domínguez stated that she was imprisoned for nearly a week under "horrible conditions," forced to sleep on a concrete floor stained with urine and feces, sometimes without access to a bathroom, and under threats of rape from another inmate.
According to the court document, prison guards even warned her that she could be exposed to the HIV virus.
The lawsuit claims that American Airlines did not verify the information before notifying the Bahamas authorities and U.S. Customs, which resulted in the arrest and public humiliation of the passenger.
"If American Airlines had bothered to confirm this information, Alison Domínguez would have spared herself this terrible experience," the legal document states.
The case also raises questions about security at international airports and the possible use of commercial airlines by drug trafficking networks to transport drugs to the United States.
So far, American Airlines has not commented on the case. The news will be updated if the company makes a statement.
Inner workings of the lawsuit
The court document filed by Alison Domínguez in the Southern District of Florida Court provides new details about her case and elaborates on the responsibilities she attributes to American Airlines.
First of all, the complaint specifies that the claim exceeds 75,000 dollars, although it does not provide an exact figure. Domínguez requests that the court grant him "all damages and other compensations to which he is entitled," including compensation for physical pain, mental anguish, loss of freedom, reputational damage, and aggravation of a pre-existing health condition.
The complaint is based on four main legal charges:
- Negligence for not protecting their baggage systems or their personal information.
- Failure to warn passengers, despite the company being aware of the risks of internal smuggling.
- Defamation by implication, by placing his name on luggage loaded with drugs.
- Illegal imprisonment for having directly caused his arrest and detention in the Bahamas.
The document also details the criminal scheme operating at Nassau Airport involving the U.S. pre-clearance customs system: an employee checks bags containing narcotics under the names of innocent passengers, who then have them picked up by accomplices at U.S. airports without going through customs.
As part of their argument, Domínguez's attorneys point to a history of previous incidents involving American Airlines employees in drug trafficking operations.
Among them are arrests in Miami, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and Jamaica from 2009 to 2023, which, according to the plaintiff, demonstrates that the airline was aware of the issue and did not implement the necessary measures.
The lawsuit emphasizes that American Airlines lacked sufficient internal controls to prevent its baggage systems from being manipulated and accuses the company of allowing the identity of an innocent passenger to be used in an international drug trafficking operation.
From Villa Clara to Miami: Other scandals involving American Airlines
The case of Alison Domínguez, who is now taking American Airlines to court, is not the first time the airline has been associated with incidents of drug trafficking and illegal activities.
In March 2025, Cuban authorities reported on the arrest of two passengers at Abel Santamaría Airport in Villa Clara, who were traveling on an American Airlines flight and were caught with 7.83 grams of methamphetamine in crystal form.
The accused were placed in the custody of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) as part of an operation that the regime framed within its policy of "Zero Tolerance for Drugs."
That same month, the Cuban Customs warned about the increased use of so-called "blind mules", travelers who transport packages for payment without knowing their contents, and who in some cases have brought narcotics into the island hidden in food, coffee, or sealed medications.
The warning included that passengers are the sole legal responsible for their luggage, regardless of whether they are aware of what they are carrying or not.
American Airlines has also had a history in the United States. In 2019, four flight attendants were arrested at Miami International Airport for attempting to bring in over $22,000 in cash undeclared, as part of a money laundering operation.
The crew members were detained after routine checks by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office, and the company was forced to issue a statement affirming that it would cooperate with the authorities.
These episodes reflect how commercial airlines, including American Airlines, have been scrutinized in various countries for being used— or for the involvement of some of their employees and passengers— in illicit activities related to drug trafficking and money laundering.
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