The founder of the luxury handbag company Gzuniga Ltd., Nancy Teresa Gonzalez de Barberi, and her associate, Mauricio Giraldo, were sentenced to prison today for their roles in the illegal importation of goods made from protected wildlife. This case is historic and highlights the global fight against wildlife trafficking.
The accusations were related to a scheme that involved the smuggling from Colombia to the United States between February 2016 and April 2019 of designer handbags made from python and caiman skins. The defendants employed several strategies, such as recruiting coworkers, acquaintances, and even family members to wear or carry the contraband on passenger planes. The handbags were shipped to the Gzuniga showroom in New York for retail and display after arriving in the country.
The unlawful plan was discovered as a result of a thorough investigation conducted by the Office of Law Enforcement of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), with significant support from the Miami Resident Agent in Charge Office. Gonzalez, Giraldo, and their co-conspirator John Camilo Aguilar Jaramillo were apprehended and extradited thanks to the cooperative efforts of several agencies, including the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS) Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá, Colombia.
Markenzy Lapointe, the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, stressed the significance of following regulations that save endangered animals. He stated, “The press of business, production deadlines, or other economic factors are not justification for anyone to knowingly flout the system and attempt to write their own exceptions to wildlife trafficking laws.”
Reiterating the commitment to thwart illegal smuggling, Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division also commended the cooperative efforts of federal and international partners in the case’s investigation, extradition, and prosecution.
Along with being prohibited from engaging in any commercial traffic in wildlife for three years, Gzuniga Ltd. was also ordered to forfeit all seized handbags and other products as part of the penalty. Nancy Teresa Gonzalez de Barberi was sentenced to eighteen months in prison, with credit for time served. She was also given a special evaluation, three years of supervised release, and other conditions. Mauricio Giraldo received a sentence that included time served of almost 22 months, supervised release for a year, and a special assessment.
The harshness of the sentences highlights the law enforcement agencies’ commitment to combating wildlife trafficking in all of its forms and reflects the seriousness of the offenses perpetrated against protected animals. The Southern District of Florida Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-Fitzgerald and Senior Trial Attorney R.J. Powers of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.
The fact that this case was successfully resolved makes it very evident that wildlife trafficking will not be allowed and that anyone who attempts to make money by exploiting endangered species will face the harshest penalties possible.
Edward Grace, assistant director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, stressed the value of cooperation in dismantling networks involved in the illegal wildlife trade. He emphasized that the inquiry uncovered a multi-year operation in which hired couriers smuggled handbags made of protected reptile skins into the United States without declaring them, underscoring the importance of maintaining constant watchfulness to prevent the exploitation of fragile animals for financial gain.
