Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Mark Hamlet, Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, today announced that FABIO PORFIRIO LOBO was arrested in the Republic of Haiti and brought to the United States on charges that he conspired to import cocaine into the United States. LOBO was presented and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox this afternoon.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “As alleged, Fabio Lobo attempted to break U.S. law by conspiring to traffic in cocaine. Being the son of a former public official, though, does not mean that you are above the law.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge Mark Hamlet said: “The arrest of Fabio Porfirio Lobo proves, once again, that no one is above the law, Mr. Lobo will be prosecuted in a U.S. court thanks, in large part, to the great cooperation from our international partners, particularly the Government of the Republic of Haiti.”

LOBO’s father, Porfirio Lobo, served as president of Honduras between 2010 and 2014. According to the allegations in the Indictment, [1] which was previously unsealed in Manhattan federal court, LOBO conspired with others from 2009 to 2014 to violate U.S. narcotics laws prohibiting the importation of cocaine. Specifically, the Indictment charges LOBO with conspiring to (i) import five or more kilograms of cocaine into the United States from a foreign country; and (ii) distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine knowing and intending that it would be imported into the United States. The charge in the Indictment carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Special Operations Division and New York Strike Force. Mr. Bharara also thanked the DEA’s Port-au-Prince Country Office, the Government of the Republic of Haiti and its Bureau de Lutte Contre le Trafic Illicite de Stupefiants, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for their ongoing assistance.

This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emil J. Bove III, Michael D. Lockard, and Adam Fee are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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