United States v. Willington Barona-Bravo

HULL, Circuit Judge:

In September 2014, a dilapidated cargo vessel, the Borocho, was on its way from Colombia to Panama to pick up cargo. Unbeknownst to the Borocho’s captain, the crew had smuggled hundreds of kilograms of cocaine on board. Each of these crew members knew about certain amounts of drugs, but no one knew everything. There was one simple rule governing the conspiracy—you got paid based on how much you knew. In the midst of this voyage, the Borocho was boarded by the U.S. Coast Guard, who discovered the contraband and arrested all thirteen crew members. A federal grand jury…