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.