No. 19-1152

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Appellee,

v.

JUAN CARLOS CASTILLO-VAZQUEZ,

Defendant, Appellant.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Francisco A. Besosa, U.S. District Judge]

Before

Lynch, Thompson, and Kayatta, Circuit Judges.

Fernando O. Zambrana Avilés and Colon Serrano Zambrana, LLC on brief for appellant. W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney, Mariana E. Bauzá- Almonte, Assistant United States Attorney, and Julia M. Meconiates, Assistant United States Attorney, on brief for appellee.

April 16, 2021 LYNCH, Circuit Judge. Juan Carlos Castillo-Vazquez was caught 39 nautical miles south of Puerto Rico smuggling 900 kilograms of cocaine into the United States on a 30-foot vessel. The district court sentenced him to 135 months' imprisonment. Castillo appeals his sentence on the grounds that the district court erred in refusing to grant a two-level reduction to his offense level based on his allegedly minor role in the offense or a departure based on Castillo's family ties and responsibilities. We affirm.

I.

On March 1, 2018, a Caribbean Air Marine Branch Maritime Patrol Aircraft observed a thirty-foot vessel loaded with packages travelling at high speed south of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted the vessel, seized thirty packages of cocaine weighing approximately 900 kilograms, and arrested the three men on the vessel. Castillo was one of these crew members.

On March 7, 2018, Castillo was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine on board a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States in violation of 46 U.S.C. §§ 70502, 70503, and 70506, aiding and abetting in the possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine in violation of 46 U.S.C. §§ 70502, 70503, and 70506, and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute for the purpose of unlawfully importing more than five

- 2 - kilograms of cocaine into the United States in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 959, 960, and 963. Castillo pled guilty on all charges.

The Probation office filed an initial Presentence Report ("PSR") which calculated Castillo's advisory guidelines range to be 168 to 210 months' imprisonment and did not identify any grounds for a departure. The PSR was amended after Castillo participated in a safety-valve debriefing, which earned him a two-level reduction resulting in a guidelines range of 135 to 168 months. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f).

On January 14, 2019, Castillo filed a sentencing memorandum requesting that the court impose the statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months' imprisonment and arguing that Castillo should receive a two-level reduction under USSG § 3B1.2(b) for his minor role in the offense and a downward departure from the guidelines range in light of his familial ties and responsibilities under USSG § 5H1.6. The government did not file a sentencing memorandum.

At the sentencing hearing on January 24, 2019, Castillo presented the arguments in his sentencing memorandum and the government advocated for a middle-of-the-guidelines sentence of 150 months' imprisonment. The district court then confirmed that it had read Castillo's sentencing memorandum and explained its calculation of the guidelines sentencing range. It sentenced

- 3 - Castil