Cuban woman arrested after landing in Florida with nearly $103,000 in cash from Cuba

The Cuban woman pleaded guilty to cash smuggling at the Tampa airport.

Mirtza Ocaña, a 39-year-old Cuban resident of Tampa, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the smuggling of large sums of cash and conspiracy to carry out this illegal activity.

The information was confirmed by federal prosecutor Roger B. Handberg and ratified by the Florida Department of Justice.

The incident occurred on February 5, 2024, when Ocaña was returning to Tampa on a flight from Cuba. During a routine customs inspection, he initially denied carrying more money than allowed by law.

However, upon searching his luggage, agents found more than $31,000 in cash that had not been declared.

Record

The situation worsened when, following an additional search, authorities discovered another $71,300 hidden in his clothing, bringing the total to $102,700 in undeclared cash.

Faced with the evidence, Ocaña confessed to having participated in a recurring scheme of smuggling money from Cuba to the United States. He admitted that he made these trips two or three times a month since June 2023, for which he received between $1,000 and $2,500 for each successful operation.

Ocaña now faces a possible sentence of up to five years in federal prison. As of yet, his sentencing date has not been set, and the source of the money and the purpose for which it was intended remain unclear.