Two Cuban Nationals in US Illegally Since 1980 Charged in Miami Drug and Firearms Bust

Two men who entered the United States illegally near Key West, Florida, in May 1980 are now facing felony drug and firearms charges in Miami-Dade County, according to court records and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Cesar Valdes, 89, and Magdaleno Medina, 73, both Cuban nationals, had lived in the country for more than 45 years without legal status before their recent arrests, an ICE spokesman told Fox News Digital.

The case began after the Miami Police Department sent an undercover officer to buy $60 worth of cocaine from Medina on Aug. 19, court records show. Police returned on Sept. 9 with a narcotics search warrant to a trailer, where they found both Medina and Valdes. Officers said they recovered dozens of clear bags of cocaine and marijuana, ammunition, stolen firearms and more than $4,800 in cash.

Medina now faces eight felony charges, including possession of cocaine with intent to sell, cocaine trafficking, and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. Valdes faces five similar drug- and firearm-related felony charges. Both men have pleaded not guilty in Miami-Dade County. Their attorney declined to comment.

ICE said Medina has four prior felony convictions in the United States for cocaine smuggling, drug possession and drug trafficking. An immigration judge issued him a final order of exclusion on July 24, 1996. Details of his prior arrests and convictions, and whether he served jail time, were not available.

Valdes has a record of prior charges in Miami-Dade County dating to the 1980s and 1990s, including cocaine possession and a probation violation. An immigration judge issued him a final order of exclusion on March 10, 1993. It is unclear whether he served jail time.

Final orders of exclusion were issued by immigration judges under a system used before April 1997, when a new removal-proceedings framework took effect, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Both men are currently held in a Miami jail, with ICE detainers lodged against them.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,” an ICE spokesman said in a statement. “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S. We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you.”