The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the drug conviction of Randar Vasquez Munoz, who was found with 383 kilograms of cocaine aboard a vessel intercepted by the Coast Guard in international waters off Colombia in November 2020.

In the case United States v. Randar Vasquez Munoz, the Third Circuit rejected Munoz's appeal of his conviction for drug offenses while aboard a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Circuit Judge Freeman wrote the opinion for the three-judge panel, which also included Circuit Judges Restrepo and McKee.

The events that led to Munoz's conviction began in November 2020 when a U.S. Coast Guard cutter intercepted a vessel operating approximately 115 nautical miles from Isla Malpelo, Colombia, in international waters. The vessel attempted to evade capture at high speed before Coast Guard personnel successfully stopped it through interdiction measures.

When Coast Guard authorities boarded the vessel, they discovered three occupants: two Costa Rican nationals, including Munoz, and one Colombian national. During their search, authorities found eleven bales of suspected narcotics, which subsequent testing confirmed contained 383 kilograms of cocaine.