A former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Jairo Eliezer Arias Caceres, has been extradited to the United States to face charges related to a conspiracy to import cocaine. The announcement was made by Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael McCarthy, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark Field Office.
Arias Caceres is accused of organizing a scheme while serving as a security officer at the embassy and previously at Santo Domingo Airport. He allegedly arranged for couriers to smuggle cocaine into airports in the New York area by hiding it within packaging from items purchased at the airport’s duty-free store.
“Jairo Eliezer Arias Caceres allegedly orchestrated a cocaine smuggling scheme while employed as a security officer at our U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic and as a former security officer at the airport in Santo Domingo,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “While Arias Caceres was supposed to be protecting our diplomats and embassy staff from danger, he was allegedly busy endangering New Yorkers by pumping illegal drugs into our community. Abuse of a position of national trust to traffic in deadly narcotics shocks the sensibilities of New Yorkers and the women and men of our office are committed to bringing those who abuse that trust to justice.”
According to investigators, Arias Caceres managed several aspects of this operation: recruiting couriers, paying for their travel between countries, coordinating with other airport employees for delivery logistics, and acting as their main contact throughout each trip.
“The charges against Jairo Arias Caceres are the result of an extensive investigation into a significant narcotics importation conspiracy, led by our Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST),” said HSI Newark Special Agent in Charge Michael S. McCarthy. “In coordination with HSI Santo Domingo and multiple federal partners, this investigation successfully dismantled a sophisticated trafficking network responsible for moving dangerous narcotics from the Dominican Republic into the United States. HSI remains committed to protecting the American public by targeting and disrupting the transnational criminal organizations that seek to bring illicit drugs into our communities.”
The indictment alleges that these activities took place between April 2023 and December 2023 while Arias Caceres worked at the embassy—a role he held from 2018 through 2025—after previously working seven years as an airport security officer.
Arias Caceres faces one count of conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States; if convicted, he could receive a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison up to life imprisonment. Sentencing will ultimately be determined by a judge.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including HSI New York; Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Division; HSI Santo Domingo; U.S. Customs and Border Protection Strategic Partnership for Enforcement and Analytical Response Port of New York/New Jersey; CBP Air & Marine Operations; and U.S. Marshals Service Office of International Operations based out of its Dominican Republic Foreign Field Office.
Substantial assistance was provided by The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs during arrest and extradition proceedings.
This prosecution falls under an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation—a multi-agency effort focused on identifying and dismantling major criminal organizations using intelligence-driven strategies (https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jackie Delligatti and Katherine Cheng are leading this case within the Narcotics Unit.
Authorities emphasize that all charges remain allegations until proven otherwise in court.
