U.S. Navy SEAL Smuggled 10 Kilos Of Cocaine Into Miami

A Navy commando who worked on covert anti-drug operations pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the smuggling of 10 kilos of cocaine into the U.S.

The SEAL, Angel Martinez-Ramos, left active duty in 2010 but continued to deploy on missions as a reservist, court papers say. He had drug paraphernalia, including a money-counting machine and drug-testing equipment, at home, the documents say. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine and is currently in custody in Miami awaiting sentencing.

His case comes in the wake of another embarrassment for the elite SEALs, the commandos famous for killing Osama bin Laden. Earlier this year, two former members of the group died after consuming heroin and alcohol on a commercial ship they had been hired to protect from pirates.

Martinez-Ramos, 36, was arrested in December as he returned to the U.S. from a short trip to Aruba. Before his arrest, the Drug Enforcement Administration had received a tip that a U.S. service member would be arriving with a load of narcotics, documents show. Ironically, Martinez-Ramos had occasionally worked closely with the DEA on sensitive counter-narcotics missions in Latin America, a source familiar with his service record told BuzzFeed.

By: Cheston Catalano

Cheston Catalano is a Kentucky-based journalist whose work has been featured in the Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. He is a long-time contributor to Liberaland.