14ymedio, Madrid, January 29, 2024 — Boris Arencibia, a Cuban resident in Miami, is in a prison in this city, accused of money laundering and conspiracy to illicitly distribute pharmaceutical products. As reported by América TeVé, the businessman, promoter of the controversial Santa María Music Festival on the Island, faces up to 40 years in prison for these charges.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office of the Southern District of Florida, according to the note published by the American network, accused Arencibia, Stephen Manuel Costa and Ángel Caminero Álvarez, of “having falsified documentation and labels of adulterated drugs, and of having carried out financial transactions with funds from illegal activities,” in Miami and Puerto Rico, between 2013 and 2019.
Arencibia was arrested by the FBI early Saturday morning, and the next day he was presented before the Federal Court. The scoop was given by influencer Alexander Otaola, who had previously announced that the businessman was being investigated by the US federal agency.
Otaola commented that Arencibia, with restrictions on leaving US territory, had been seen accompanying boxer Floyd Joy Mayweather to take a private plane to Cuba
In his program that same Saturday, Otaola commented that Arencibia, who was restricted from leaving United States territory, had been seen accompanying boxer Floyd Joy Mayweather to take a private plane to the Island.
As Lessner Gómez, director of the Cuban Tourism Bureau in Toronto (Canada), announced on his social networks, the boxer is at The One Gallery hotel, located in Cayo Santa María, to promote those islands belonging to the province of Villa Clara.
Former judo champion of the Island, Arencibia escaped during a competition in Puerto Rico in 1993, and was the organizer of last August’s Santa Maria Music Fest, which had as one of its main guests the rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine – also arrested, ago a few weeks, in his case in Santo Domingo for violence against his romantic partner, the Dominican rapper and reggaeton singer Yailín la Más Viral.
The festival in the North Key of Villa Clara was harshly criticized at the time. For example, Cuban reggaeton artist Lenier Mesa could not sing, despite having been announced on the poster. Lack of transportation, crowds, confusion in booking accommodation and inattention on the part of hotel staff were other complaints from attendees.
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