Miami Men Who Stole Ventilators Meant For COVID-19 Patients In El Salvador Sentenced: DOJ

MIAMI, FL — Two Miami men were each sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for stealing 192 medical ventilators being sent to El Salvador to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients in 2020.

The ventilators, worth about $3 million, were owned by the United States Agency for International Development and were being sent to an intensive care facility in El Salvador as part of a U.S. COVID-19 aid program, according to a Department of Justice news release. They were stolen in South Florida while in transit.

Yoelvis Deni Hernandez, also known as “Guajiro,” 42, and Luis Urra Montero, also known as “Flaco,” 25, previously pled guilty to theft of government property.

Montero was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison last week, while Hernandez was sentenced to 41 months imprisonment in December, the DOJ said.

According to court documents, on Aug. 9, 2020, Hernandez and Montero stole a tractor trailer loaded with USAID’s medical ventilators as they were being brought to Miami International Airport. They took the trailer from a lot where the driver left it overnight.

Following an investigation, federal law enforcement agents recovered most of the stolen ventilators, the DOJ said.