Two arrested in smuggling scheme  

Two men were arrested Wednesday for human smuggling in Marathon, Florida, in violation of state law.  

Oreste Carvajal Gonzalez, 33, of Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Roberto Carlos Medina Moreno, 19, of Lakewood, Florida, were both charged with 23 counts of smuggling.

Warrants were obtained for their arrest following an incident on July 21, 2023, in which a go-fast vessel with 23 Cuban migrants ran out of gas in waters near Marathon in which Carvajal Gonzalez and Medina Moreno were also on board.

The vessel was known to the Sheriff’s Office from previous interactions with law enforcement as a suspected migrant smuggling vessel.

The State Attorney’s Office, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations assisted in the investigation.

Carvajal Gonzalez and Medina Moreno were booked into jail.

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