Opinion ID: 6290
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Importation of Marihuana

Text: 90 Juan Castro also challenges his conviction for aiding and abetting the importation of 99.8 kilograms of marihuana under 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2. To prove an importation offense, the government need only prove that the defendant knowingly played a role in transporting contraband from a foreign country into the United States. United States v. Gibson, 963 F.2d 708, 710 (5th Cir.1992) (multiple citations omitted). To establish that Juan Castro aided and abetted the importation, the government must show that he  'willfully associated himself in some way with the criminal venture and willfully participated in it as he would in something he wished to bring about.'  United States v. Stanley, 765 F.2d 1224, 1242 (5th Cir.1985) (quoting United States v. Phillips, 664 F.2d 971, 1010 (5th Cir.1981)). 91 Juan Castro's conviction arises out of the December 10, 1988, seizure of a marihuana load imported into the United States by Bruce Coggins, a driver for the organization and a confidential informant for the DEA. Coggins testified that while meeting with Juan Castro at a restaurant in Cielo De Flores, Mexico, Juan Castro instructed him that the load was not ready but that he should return at a later date to pick up the marihuana. A few days later, on December 9, 1988, Coggins returned to the restaurant in Cielo De Flores. When he arrived, he was met by several persons who took him to another location and loaded ninety-nine kilograms of marihuana in the trunk of his car. He drove the load of marihuana across the border and parked it at an apartment complex in Laredo, where it was seized by law enforcement authorities. After he dropped off the car, Coggins called Alfredo Castro, Juan Castro's nephew, who then accompanied Coggins back to the apartment complex to pick up the car. When Alfredo learned that the car was missing, he called Juan Castro and Araceli Castro and told them what had happened. 92 From this evidence, Juan Castro's substantial connection to the load imported by Coggins could properly be inferred. A rational jury could easily have found that Juan Castro willfully associated himself in some way with the [Coggins' importation of marihuana] and willfully participated in it as he would in something he wished to bring about. Hence, the evidence was sufficient to support Juan Castro's conviction for aiding and abetting the importation of 99.8 kilograms of marihuana. 93