Former US Embassy Staffer in Santo Domingo on Drug Import Scheme Still Mulls Resolution

Former US Embassy Staffer in Santo Domingo on Drug Import Scheme Still Mulls Resolution by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 2 – The prosecutors of the Southern District of New York announced on August 6 that JAIRO ELIEZER ARIAS CACERES, a former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was extradited from the Dominican Republic in connection with the unsealing of an Indictment charging ARIAS CACERES with conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States.  ARIAS CACERES will make his initial appearance later today before U.S. District Judge Robert W. Lehrburger.   Inner City Press was there; Caceres with his assigned Federal Defender consented to detention without prejudice to a subsequent application for bail. There has been no next court hearing set, so the Defender asked for one in two weeks.   The indictment says he also previously worked in the airport, and used both former positions to coordinated the alleged conspiracy. Jump cut to January 23, 2026, when the US Attorney's Office wrote in to push back the January 29 conference for 30 days, saying "the parties are discussing a potential pretrial resolution." Judge Woods moved it to March 3 - and on March 2 the AUSA again asked for time to talk. Now it's April 21 at 11 am. The case is USA v. Arias Caceres, 1:24-cr-659 (Woods / Lehrburger) *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com