## Facts

- A federal grand jury charged Ivan Lopez-Vanegas and Doris Mangeri Salazar with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, citing conduct in Miami-Dade County and elsewhere, under 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A)(ii), and 846.
- The government’s theory was that Lopez and Salazar acted as brokers between a Colombian trafficking organization and a Saudi royal who would provide an airplane.
- The alleged plan was to transport cocaine from Caracas, Venezuela to Paris, France, for distribution in Europe.
- Some planning and coordination meetings occurred in Miami, Florida.
- The government did not contend that any cocaine was destined for the United States or that the object of the agreement was distribution in U.S. territory.
- Lopez and Salazar moved for judgment of acquittal, arguing the government’s evidence described only a foreign-to-foreign transportation agreement; the district court denied the motions.
- A jury convicted both defendants on the § 841/§ 846 conspiracy count, and the district court entered judgments of conviction and imposed sentences.

## Issues

1. Whether an agreement to transport cocaine wholly between foreign countries for foreign distribution—despite planning meetings in Miami—constitutes a conspiracy offense under 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846.
2. Whether §§ 841 and 846 may be applied to the charged conduct absent a U.S.-distribution object or other sufficient nexus to U.S. territory or interests.

## Decision

- The Eleventh Circuit vacated the judgments of conviction and sentences.
- The court held that, on the government’s own proof, the defendants committed no offense under §§ 841 and 846 because the conspiracy’s object was foreign transport and foreign distribution, not possession with intent to distribute in the United States.
- The court concluded that meetings in Miami did not supply the missing statutory element or otherwise transform the alleged foreign-to-foreign scheme into a § 841/§ 846 conspiracy.
- Because the convictions were vacated on this ground, the court did not reach the defendants’ other appellate claims (including Brady and evidentiary issues), treating them as moot.

## Legal Principles

- Section 846 criminalizes conspiracy only to commit an offense defined in the same subchapter; thus, a § 846 conviction requires that the conspiracy’s object fall within § 841(a)(1).
- Absent clear congressional direction, federal criminal statutes are presumed not to apply extraterritorially.
- Sections 841 and 846 do not reach a drug conspiracy whose object is solely foreign possession/transport and foreign distribution, where no distribution in the United States (or comparable U.S. nexus) is intended.
- Domestic planning activity, standing alone, is insufficient to establish a § 841/§ 846 conspiracy when the contemplated possession and distribution are entirely outside U.S. territory.

## Conclusion

The Eleventh Circuit vacated the defendants’ § 841/§ 846 conspiracy convictions because the government proved only a foreign-to-foreign cocaine transportation plan aimed at European distribution, and Miami-based meetings did not supply the U.S.-directed object required for liability under those statutes.


United States v. Lopez-Vanegas, 493 F.3d 1305 (11th Cir. 2007)