Defendant's Statement of the Offense

BLANDON was interviewed, in the presence of his defense attorney,

regarding his participatory actions in the offense. He recalled-

that all of his problems stemmed from the Nicaraguan Contra

Revolution in 1980. He said that his family had always occupied

positions of prestige and power in Nicaragua; however, when the

Ortega Regime seized control of the country, he was forced to

flee, thereby "losing everything." He said that he was

successful in leaving the country with his wife and children;

however, the remainder of his family did not leave and the Ortega

Government took the family's wealth and property.

The defendant went on to state that when he entered the United

States he only had $100, but he was immediately able to obtain a

job in the car rental business. Through hard work and a diligent

savings plan, he was able to open his own car rental business in

Miami, Florida. He experienced success in this business;

however, when a large corporation failed to honor a contract, he

"lost everything."

Although BLANDON was able to reestablish himself as a businessman

in Miami, he said that he was never able to recuperate the wealth

and the success that he had experienced when he initially came into

the United States.

The defendant added that while he was working to establish

himself in the United States, all of his family members were

still suffering under the tyranny of the Ortega Regime in

Nicaragua. In 1984, he was successful in "ransoming" his father

and brother from the Ortega Government. Because of the horror

stories and persecution suffered by his family and countrymen,

BLANDON said that he decided to assist his countrymen in

"fighting the tyranny of the Ortega Regime." He added that he

believed that the only method of reestablishing a democracy in

Nicaragua was through resistance, money, and political

intervention. He decided that because he was an adept

businessman, he could assist his countrymen through monetary

means. Unfortunately, he discovered that the amount of money

that was necessary to "make a difference" for surpassed the

amount of money that he could raise through legitimate endeavors.

At this point, he became committed to raising money for

humanitarian and political reasons via illegal activity (cocaine

trafficking for profit).

BLANDON advised that he is very sorry for what he has done, and

he is ashamed of the dishonor that he has brought to his family,

his country, and the United States. He urges the Court to

exercise leniency at the time of sentencing.