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Summary: Case: 18-15204 Date Filed: 04/21/2020 Page: 1 of 28 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT _ No. 18-15204 _ D.C. Docket No. 1:17-cr-20013-JEM-4 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus FREDIS VALENCIA PALACIOS, Defendant-Appellant. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida _ (April 21, 2020) Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, LUCK, and MARCUS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 18-15204 Date Filed: 04/21/
Summary: Case: 18-15204 Date Filed: 04/21/2020 Page: 1 of 28 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT _ No. 18-15204 _ D.C. Docket No. 1:17-cr-20013-JEM-4 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus FREDIS VALENCIA PALACIOS, Defendant-Appellant. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida _ (April 21, 2020) Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, LUCK, and MARCUS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 18-15204 Date Filed: 04/21/2..
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Case: 18-15204 Date Filed: 04/21/2020 Page: 1 of 28
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 18-15204
________________________
D.C. Docket No. 1:17-cr-20013-JEM-4
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
FREDIS VALENCIA PALACIOS,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
________________________
(April 21, 2020)
Before ED CARNES, Chief Judge, LUCK, and MARCUS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
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Fredis Valencia Palacios arranged for a boat captain to take three Cuban
nationals from Colombia to Panama on what was meant to be one leg of an illegal
journey to and into the United States. What was meant to be did not come to pass.
Instead, the boat captain and another man robbed the three passengers, sexually
assaulted one of them, murdered two and attempted to murder the third.
Palacios was not personally involved in the violence. He was charged with
and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to encourage and induce aliens to
enter the United States resulting in death, in violation of 8 U.S.C.
§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I), and three counts of encouraging and inducing aliens to enter
the United States resulting in death, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv).
He was sentenced to 180 months in prison, and he challenges that sentence on
several grounds.
I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 1
In July 2016, two Cuban nationals identified in the record of this case by
their initials, E.M.A. and L.S.C., flew from Cuba to Guyana. From there, they
crossed illegally into Brazil, and then into Venezuela, and then into Colombia.
1
A factual proffer was signed by Palacios, his attorney, and the government. Counsel for
the government read the proffer aloud at Palacios’ plea hearing, and Palacios agreed that it was
accurate and true, that he had signed it, and that he understood it. The facts set forth in this
opinion come from that factual proffer and Palacios’ sentence proceedings.
2
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They arrived in Colombia in August 2016 and sought transportation to Panama.
They intended to go from Panama to Mexico and then into the United States.
In a hotel in Colombia, they were approached by Fernando Rivera Weir
(Weir),2 who offered to take them to the Panamanian border and told them that he
had successfully smuggled aliens into the United States. He showed them
Facebook photos of people he claimed to have smuggled, some of whom E.M.A.
and L.S.C. recognized from Cuba.
One of E.M.A.’s family members in Miami wired $500 to Weir as a
smuggling down payment, and later wired an additional $1,400 to someone
designated by Weir. Weir introduced E.M.A. and L.S.C. to one of his “associates,”
Palacios, who is the defendant in this case. Palacios had worked as a boat captain
for Weir in past alien smuggling operations. He informed Weir that he could not
transport these migrants to Panama because he no longer had a boat, but he offered
to introduce the migrants to Carlos Ibarguen Palacios (Ibarguen), who did have a
boat and who had also worked as a boat captain for Weir in the past. Ibarguen had
a relationship with Palacios’ sister, and Palacios referred to him as his “brother-in-
law.”
2
The parties refer to some of the conspirators by their first surname and some by their
second surname. We will use the same short form of the names that the parties use.
3
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At a hotel, Weir met with E.M.A. and L.S.C. along with Ibarguen and
Palacios, and they discussed the route to transport the migrants by boat to Panama.
Later, another Cuban national, D.E.L.S., arrived at the hotel and joined the
meeting; he had also arranged with Weir to be smuggled into the United States.
L.S.C. later testified at Palacios’ sentence hearing that Palacios had attended two
meetings where he and Weir discussed how they would “cross over” in a boat, and
Palacios assured them that “everything would be safe.” That assurance could not
have been more wrong.
On September 6, 2016, Weir took E.M.A., L.S.C., and D.E.L.S. to meet with
Palacios, and Palacios took them to a boat captained by Ibarguen to begin their trip
to Panama. Palacios did not get on the boat with them. Instead, Ibarguen launched
the boat himself with just he and the three migrants in it. After the boat started
taking on water, however, Ibarguen returned to shore and took the migrants to his
home to spend the night.
The next day, Ibarguen and Jhoan Stiven Carreazo Asprilla (Carreazo) took
the three Cuban nationals on a different boat from Colombia headed toward
Panama. Palacios was there when the three victims departed in the boat with
Ibarguen and Carreazo, but he did not leave with them.
During that trip, Carreazo brandished a firearm and Ibarguen pulled a knife
on the migrants in the small wooden boat. See Appendix 1 (Doc. 117-1, Ex. 1).
4
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Ibarguen tied the wrists of L.S.C. and D.E.L.S., threw them overboard, then pulled
them up with their heads just above the water and anchored them with a rope to the
outside of the boat. From where he was in the water, L.S.C. could not see what
was happening to the other two, but he heard Ibarguen and Carreazo sexually
assaulting E.M.A. before they cut her throat and murdered her. L.S.C. then heard
the killers cut D.E.L.S.’ throat and murder him. L.S.C. managed to free himself
from the ropes, swim away, and hide in the mangroves. The murderers searched
for him a while but eventually gave up and left.
The next day, a local fisherman found L.S.C., and the Colombian Navy
rescued him. L.S.C. told Colombian authorities where the murders had been
committed, and the authorities found the bodies of E.M.A. and D.E.L.S. Ibarguen
and Carreazo had cut open “their throats and bellies,” tied the two bodies together,
and submerged them in the water.
L.S.C. later identified photographs of Weir, Ibarguen, Carreazo, and
Palacios as the men who had agreed to smuggle the group. He identified Ibarguen
and Carreazo as the men who had committed the sexual assault and the two
murders and had tried to murder him. Ibarguen and Carreazo were arrested in a
Colombian hotel. Some of the victims’ personal property was recovered from the
murderers’ hotel rooms, and more of it was recovered from Ibarguen’s house along
5
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with the firearm that Carreazo had brandished on the boat. There is no indication
that any of the victims’ property was in Palacios’ possession.
One of E.M.A.’s family members in Miami reported to law enforcement that
E.M.A. had contacted her from Colombia and had asked for money for smuggling
fees. That family member had wired $500 and $1,400 from Miami to Colombia to
pay the fees. Another family member in Miami told law enforcement that he
“spoke constantly with E.M.A. throughout her journey” and that E.M.A. said she
had paid a smuggler named “Fernando” 3 $1,000 to take L.S.C. and her from
Colombia to Panama. E.M.A. sent that family member a photograph of Weir and a
phone number that was linked to his social media account. Business records and
social media accounts corroborated what E.M.A.’s family members had told law
enforcement. Additional information obtained from Weir’s social media accounts
showed that he and his criminal organization had successfully smuggled Cuban
nationals into the United States, and some of those people had been transported
from Colombia to Panama as part of the journey.
Palacios was charged with one count of conspiracy to encourage and induce
aliens to enter the United States resulting in death, in violation of 8 U.S.C.
§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I), and three counts of encouraging and inducing aliens to enter
3
Weir’s full name is Jorge Fernando Rivera Weir.
6
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the United States resulting in death, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv).
He was arrested in Colombia and extradited to the United States. He pleaded
guilty to those charges without a written plea agreement.4
Palacios’ Presentence Investigation Report recounted the offense conduct as
set forth in the factual proffer and in Palacios’ post-arrest statement.5 The PSR
also mentioned some details from Palacios’ post-arrest statement, including his
admission that he had worked with Weir and other smugglers in the past as a boat
captain and was paid $150 to $200 per person. The PSR noted that in his post-
arrest statement Palacios said that Weir had asked him to captain the boat, but
Palacios did not have a boat, so he introduced Weir to Ibarguen. Palacios said
Weir was supposed to pay him 100,000 pesos per person for his assistance and
would pay Ibarguen 200,000 pesos per person for the trip. Palacios stated that
because the victims were killed he never received any money.
4
Ibarguen and Carreazo were charged in Colombia with murder, rape, and aggravated
robbery. They pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 43.5 years in prison. They were later
extradited to the United States and pleaded guilty to the same offenses with which Palacios was
charged. Carreazo was sentenced to 600 months imprisonment, and he has appealed, challenging
his sentence. See United States v. Carreazo Asprillo, No. 19-10677. Ibarguen was sentenced to
540 months imprisonment, and his appeal of his sentence is also pending. See United States v.
Ibarguen Palacios, No. 19-10734. Neither of them challenges his conviction. Weir is a fugitive.
Palacios was not charged with a crime in Colombia, but he was held in prison there while
awaiting extradition.
5
There are three PSRs in the record: the first one is dated November 5, 2018; the second
is dated November 29, 2018 (an amended PSR with an addendum); and the third one is dated
December 11, 2018 (prepared after sentencing). All three recite the facts drawn from the plea
hearing factual proffer and Palacios’ post-arrest statement.
7
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Also in his post-arrest statement, Palacios admitted that he knew Ibarguen
had robbed other Cuban nationals of their cell phones. He said this about
Ibarguen:
If he went out on the street, and he would go — and, well, he would
rob them. Like, for example, you are walking there on the street. Do
you understand what I’m saying? . . . And you would have a phone in
your hand, and he would take it from you. And he would take off
running, and he would take it. . . . Yes, he would take it from them,
the phones, from the Cubans, every now and then.
Doc. 117-2 at 216–17.
Palacios said that he was not friends with Carreazo but had seen him with
Ibarguen and knew that Carreazo was a member of the paramilitary and that he had
“bad ideology.”6 The PSR described Palacios’ role in the conspiracy as
“assist[ing] in smuggling the aliens by finding [Weir] a pilot of the vessel, such as
Ibarguen to ferry the aliens.” Palacios insisted that the plan was only to take the
victims to the Panamanian border, and he did not know that Ibarguen and Carreazo
intended to rob and kill them.
Palacios’ PSR also noted that in a post-arrest statement, Carreazo said that
Ibarguen had recruited him to help with the smuggling trip. Carreazo admitted that
6
Palacios asserted before the district court, and asserts before us, that he did not know
about Carreazo’s paramilitary connection or his “bad ideology” before the boat trip; instead, he
learned about that while they were imprisoned together and awaiting extradition in Colombia.
His post-arrest statement does not indicate one way or the other when he learned about
Carreazo’s ideology.
8
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he and Ibarguen planned to rob the victims because they were told by someone else
(an unindicted co-conspirator) that the victims had a lot of money. He admitted to
participating in the sexual assault of E.M.A. and the murder of E.M.A. and
D.E.L.S.
The first PSR assigned Palacios a base offense level of 38 under U.S.S.G.
§ 2A1.2(a), which is the guideline for second degree murder. There was a 2-level
reduction for acceptance of responsibility and another one- level reduction for
assisting law enforcement in the investigation of his own conduct under § 3E1.1.
That resulted in a total offense level of 35. With a criminal history category of I,
his guidelines range was 168 to 210 months in prison. The statutory maximum for
each count was life.
In his objections to the PSR, Palacios argued, among other things, for the
application of § 2L1.1 (the smuggling, transporting, or harboring an unlawful alien
guideline with a base offense level of 12) instead of § 2A1.2 (the second degree
murder guideline with a base offense level of 38). That request was not without
cost to Palacios, though. As he recognized, the alien smuggling guideline opened
the door to several new enhancements.
First, if the alien smuggling guideline applied, Palacios would be subject to a
10-level enhancement under § 2L1.1(b)(7)(D) because his offense resulted in
death. In his objections to the PSR, Palacios did not contest that enhancement, but
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he did contest two others. He argued that a 4-level brandishing a dangerous
weapon enhancement under § 2L1.1(b)(5)(B) should not apply because it was
Ibarguen and Carreazo who brandished weapons, not him, and their brandishing
could not be attributed to him under the guidelines. He also argued against a 2-
level enhancement under § 2L1.1(b)(6) for intentionally or recklessly creating a
substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. Again, he asserted that it was
Ibarguen’s and Carreazo’s actions that created the substantial risk, and he could not
be held accountable for those actions under the guidelines.
According to Palacios’ calculations, his base offense level should have been
12, plus ten because the offense resulted in death, minus three for acceptance of
responsibility, resulting in a total offense level of 19. He also argued for a minor
role reduction. The probation office did not agree with Palacios’ objections,
including the one about application of the second degree murder guideline.
In its objections to the PSR, the government argued that the second degree
murder base offense level guideline did apply, and two points should be added
under § 3A1.3 for restraint of a victim. The probation office agreed, and adding
those two points raised Palacios’ total offense level to 37. As a result, his
recommended guidelines range went from 168–210 months to 210–262 months.
The district court held a sentence hearing that spanned two days. On the
first day, the parties argued mainly about whether the second degree murder base
10
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offense guideline should apply. The court agreed with Palacios that the alien
smuggling guideline should apply instead. The court found that even if Palacios
did know Ibarguen and was present when Ibarguen and Carreazo brought the
second boat to transport the migrants, “[t]hat still doesn’t prove that [Palacios]
knew that these people [Ibarguen and Carreazo] were going to murder and rape
people.”
The court decided to instruct the probation office to calculate the guidelines
range using the alien smuggling base offense level. And the court asked the
Assistant United States Attorney: “Do you have any evidence that shows that
[Palacios] knew that [Ibarguen and Carreazo] had murdered people in the past or
that they intended to murder these people?” She responded, “Not before the Court,
Your Honor, no.” To which the court replied: “I didn’t think so. That is what my
hang up is.”
The next day, after the court had determined that the alien smuggling
guideline would apply, the sentence hearing continued. Palacios conceded that the
§ 2L1.1(b)(7)(D) ten-level enhancement applied because a death resulted from the
offense. But he argued against the government’s attempt to apply the
enhancements under § 2L1.1(b)(5)(B) for brandishing a dangerous weapon, under
§ 3A1.3 for restraining the victim, and under § 2L1.1(b)(6) for intentionally or
recklessly creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.
11
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In opposition to all three of those enhancements, Palacios argued that it had
not been shown that Ibarguen and Carreazo’s conduct was reasonably foreseeable,
within the scope of the alien smuggling conspiracy, and in furtherance of that
conspiracy. For each of the enhancements, he argued, all three of those elements
had to be established or his co-conspirators’ actions could not be imputed to him.
He insisted that the government had not carried that burden as to any of the three
disputed enhancements.
The government’s response focused on foreseeability and asserted that even
if Palacios could not have known that Ibarguen and Carreazo were going to murder
the victims, “[t]hey certainly had given him an indication that they were robbers
and he knew that.” To support that argument, the government pointed out that in
his post-arrest statement, Palacios had admitted this was not the first time he had
participated in smuggling aliens and that he knew Ibarguen had robbed Cuban
migrants of their cell phones on the street in Colombia.7 Based on the seriousness
and nature of the offense, the government argued for an upward variance and a
sentence of 262 months for purposes of deterrence. The government asserted that
Palacios was “not merely someone who found a boat, he is not merely somebody
7
As we have noted, in his post-arrest statement, Palacios said that on the street in
Colombia Ibarguen would sometimes go up to Cubans who had phones in their hand, take the
phone, and “take off running.”
12
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who found a boat driver. He is somebody who was involved in a smuggling
scheme.”
Palacios pointed out that the government had already conceded that the
murders were not foreseeable. He argued that he was “a middle man, who
procured the boat Captain Carlos Ibar[g]uen and that he had no idea that this
superseding intervening crime was going to take place.”
Focusing on foreseeability, the court concluded that each of the
enhancements applied, and it calculated a total offense level of 31 with a
guidelines range of 108 to 131 months imprisonment. Based on the 18 U.S.C. §
3553 factors, it stated that it would “impose a sentence above the advisory
guidelines range” and indicated that it would have done so even if the government
had not asked. The court went on to explain:
I believe that this is a crime of [a] horrible nature. I believe that while
the rape and murder may not have been foreseeable. . . . The violence
and robbery [were] definitely foreseeable. He knew that these people
had tendencies that they had — robbery, that they had robbed people.
That they were violent people. And I think delivering these people into
their hands is inexcusable and just terrible.
So I will make a sentence that is above the — it is above the guideline
range. Sentence will be imposed above the advisory guideline range
which I think is necessary to provide sufficient punishment and
deterrence.
The court imposed a sentence of concurrent terms of 180 months for all four
counts.
13
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After the sentence hearing, the probation office prepared a final, post-
sentencing PSR, which reflected the district court’s findings. It set a base offense
level of 12 under the alien smuggling guideline and then increased that to 20
because of the firearm brandishing. See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.1(b)(5)(B) (“If a
dangerous weapon (including a firearm) was brandished or otherwise used,
increase by 4 levels, but if the resulting offense level is less than level 20, increase
to level 20.”). It added 2 levels because the offense involved intentionally or
recklessly creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another
person. See id. § 2L1.1(b)(6). It added another 10 levels because a person died.
See
id. § 2L1.1(b)(7)(D). It added 2 levels because a victim was restrained in the
course of the offense. See
id. § 3A1.3. With 2 levels subtracted because of
acceptance of responsibility and one level for assisting the government in the
investigation of his own misconduct, Palacios’ total offense level was 31. His
guidelines range was 108 to 135 months. The statutory maximum on each count
was life.
II. GUIDELINES ENHANCEMENTS
Palacios contends that the district court erred by imposing all four of the
enhancements it did in calculating his guidelines range. We review de novo the
district court’s application of the sentencing guidelines and review its factfindings
only for clear error. United States v. Smith, 480 F.3d 1277, 1278 (11th Cir. 2007).
14
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Factfindings are clearly erroneous when, on the record as a whole, we are “left
with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” United
States v. Barrington, 648 F.3d 1178, 1195 (11th Cir. 2011) (quotation marks
omitted).
A. Brandishing a Dangerous Weapon and Restraint of Victims
Palacios’ base offense level of 12 was increased to 20 because a dangerous
weapon was brandished. See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.1(b)(5)(B) (“If a dangerous weapon
(including a firearm) was brandished or otherwise used, increase by 4 levels, but if
the resulting offense level is less than level 20, increase to level 20.”). Another
two levels were added because a victim was restrained in the course of the offense.
See U.S.S.G. § 3A1.3 (“If a victim was physically restrained in the course of the
offense, increase by 2 levels.”). It is undisputed that during the course of the
offense, Ibarguen and Carreazo brandished dangerous weapons and restrained the
victims. But Palacios contends that his co-conspirators’ conduct cannot be
attributed to him for purposes of calculating his guidelines range.
A co-conspirator’s conduct can be attributed to the defendant if it meets the
requirements set out in the “Relevant Conduct” guideline. That guideline provides
that “in the case of a jointly undertaken criminal activity,” all “acts and omissions
of others” will be attributed to the defendant if they were:
(i) within the scope of the jointly undertaken criminal activity,
(ii) in furtherance of that criminal activity, and
15
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(iii) reasonably foreseeable in connection with that criminal activity.
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(1)(B) (emphasis added).
Jointly undertaken criminal activity is “a criminal plan . . . undertaken by the
defendant in concert with others, whether or not charged as a conspiracy.”
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3 cmt. n.3(A). The undisputed facts establish that Palacios engaged
in the jointly undertaken criminal activity of alien smuggling with Ibarguen and
Carreazo. As a result, if Ibarguen and Carreazo’s brandishing of the firearm and
restraint of the victims were foreseeable, in the scope of, and in furtherance of the
alien smuggling conspiracy, it would be relevant conduct attributable to Palacios.
U.S.S.G. supp. to app. C, amend. 790, “Reason for Amendment,” available at
https://www.ussc.gov/guidelines/amendment/790 (last visited Apr. 20, 2020)
(explaining that the clarifying 2015 amendment “restructures the guideline and its
commentary to set out more clearly the three-step analysis the court applies in
determining whether a defendant is accountable for the conduct of others in a
jointly undertaken criminal activity under §1B1.3(a)(1)(B)”); see also U.S.S.G. §
1B1.3 cmt. n.3(A) (“[W]hen the conduct of others does not meet any one of the
criteria set forth in subdivisions (i) through (iii), the conduct is not relevant
conduct under this provision.”).
Palacios contends that none of the three requirements has been met for
brandishing a dangerous weapon and restraining the victims. The government
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responds that all three relevant conduct requirements were met for both
enhancements.8
As we have mentioned, the government conceded that the murders were not
foreseeable. The district court also focused on foreseeability, stating that “the rape
and murder may not have been foreseeable,” but “[t]he violence and robbery
[were] definitely foreseeable.” It found that Palacios “knew that these people had
tendencies that they had –– robbery, that they had robbed people.”
The district court did not clearly err in finding that the robbery was a
foreseeable part of the alien smuggling conspiracy. Palacios admitted that he knew
Ibarguen had committed robberies in Colombia, robbing Cuban migrants of their
cell phones, which means he was aware of Ibarguen’s history of robbing
vulnerable people who were in unfamiliar surroundings. In light of that, it was not
clearly erroneous to find that it was foreseeable to Palacios that Ibarguen would
rob the migrants during the trip to the Panamanian border. And if robbery is
8
The victim restraint guideline, U.S.S.G. § 3A1.3, is a victim-related adjustment, and it is
written in the passive voice. It imposes a 2-level enhancement when a victim “was physically
restrained” in the course of an offense and says nothing about who restrained the victim. Id.
(emphasis added). An argument could be made that, as a result, the three relevant conduct
requirements do not apply to the § 3A1.3 enhancement, and it applies whenever a victim was
restrained regardless of those requirements. But the government has not made that argument,
either in the district court or in its brief to this Court. For that reason and for purposes of this
case only, we will assume without deciding that Ibarguen and Carreazo’s restraint of the victims
cannot be imputed to Palacios unless the scope, furtherance, and foreseeability requirements of
the relevant conduct provision have been met.
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foreseeable, brandishing a dangerous weapon and restraining the victim are also
foreseeable. The application note about the “reasonably foreseeable” requirement
is instructive about that:
[T]wo defendants agree to commit a robbery and, during the course of
that robbery, the first defendant assaults and injures a victim. The
second defendant is accountable for the assault and injury to the victim
(even if the second defendant had not agreed to the assault and had
cautioned the first defendant to be careful not to hurt anyone) because
the assaultive conduct was within the scope of the jointly undertaken
criminal activity (the robbery), was in furtherance of that criminal
activity (the robbery), and was reasonably foreseeable in connection
with that criminal activity (given the nature of the offense).
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3 cmt. n.3(D). The reasoning of that application note confirms that
violent or “assaultive” conduct that occurs during a robbery is a foreseeable part of
robbery. The district court did not clearly err in finding that the robbery was a
foreseeable part of the alien smuggling conspiracy and in turn that brandishing a
firearm and restraining the victims were foreseeable actions during the robbery.
The district court made no findings, however, about whether the robbery was
within the scope of and in furtherance of the alien smuggling conspiracy. It should
have. We might examine the record to determine if we could mine from it enough
facts to convince us that the district court implicitly found enough facts to satisfy
the scope and furtherance requirements of relevant conduct. See United States v.
Petrie, 302 F.3d 1280, 1290 (11th Cir. 2002). But in light of all the circumstances,
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we think it better to remand the case to the district court with instructions for it to
enter the necessary findings to resolve the remaining relevant conduct questions.
In doing so, we note that even if the district court enters findings precluding
application of the brandishing of a dangerous weapon and restraint of a victim
enhancements, it is not precluded from imposing the same sentences it did by way
of an increased upward variance. See United States v. Williams, 431 F.3d 767,
774 (11th Cir. 2005) (Carnes, J., concurring) (noting that whatever the district
court “decides the advisory guidelines range is in light of what we have said, it still
must consider the same 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors that it did initially in deciding
the appropriate sentence in this case”); cf. United States v. Keene,
470 F.3d 1347,
1350 (11th Cir. 2006) (explaining that “it would make no sense to set aside this
reasonable sentence and send the case back to the district court since it has already
told us that it would impose exactly the same sentence”); United States v.
Goldman,
953 F.3d 1213, 1221 (11th Cir. 2020) (explaining that under Keene “we
need not review an issue when (1) the district court states it would have imposed
the same sentence, even absent an alleged error, and (2) the sentence is
substantively reasonable” because any error in the guidelines calculation is
harmless).
B. Enhancement for Intentionally or Recklessly Creating a Substantial Risk
of Death or Serious Bodily Injury
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Palacios also contends that the district court erred by enhancing his sentence
two levels for intentionally or recklessly creating a substantial risk of death or
serious bodily injury under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.1(b)(6). He argues that enhancement
does not apply because murdering, raping, or injuring the migrants was not in the
scope of the alien smuggling conspiracy. Regardless of the scope of the
conspiracy, that contention fails. Even apart from the terrible crimes that Ibarguen
and Carreazo committed on the boat, the record supports the application of the
enhancement based on Palacios’ own conduct.
Palacios was directly involved with the logistics of the alien smuggling
conspiracy, including the dangerous mode of transportation that was used. He
introduced the migrants to Ibarguen and recommended him as a boat captain. He
attended meetings with Weir, Ibarguen, and the victims, planning the route that
would be taken. L.S.C. testified that Palacios assured them that they would be
safe. Despite those assurances, the first boat almost sank. The second boat, which
was to carry five people nearly fifty miles from Colombia to the Panamanian
border across the Gulf of Uraba, was a small, rickety wooden contraption that did
not even have seats for the passengers. The photograph of it, which the
government introduced as evidence, proves that the migrants were subjected to
substantial risk of injury by the mode of transportation that Palacios secured for
their journey. See Appendix 1 (Doc. 117-1, Ex. 1).
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The evidence established that Palacios put the migrants on the first boat that
almost sank, and L.S.C. testified that Palacios was there the next day when they
got on the second boat that was also unfit for the voyage. Even if the victims had
not been robbed, raped, and murdered, Palacios was justifiably held accountable
for recklessly creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury because
he put them on that small, unseaworthy boat with Ibarguen and Carreazo. See
U.S.S.G. § 2L1.1 cmt. n.3 (defining reckless conduct for purposes of the
enhancement as including “carrying substantially more passengers than the rated
capacity of a motor vehicle or vessel”).
C. Enhancement for an Offense Resulting in Death
Palacios also contends that the district court erred by imposing a ten-level
enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.1(b)(7)(D) for an alien smuggling offense that
resulted in death. We will not address the merits of that contention because even if
the district court did err in applying this enhancement, any error would be invited.
“Where a party invites error, the Court is precluded from reviewing that error on
appeal.” United States v. Brannan, 562 F.3d 1300, 1306 (11th Cir. 2009)
(quotation marks omitted). If it was error to apply § 2L1.1(b)(7)(D), Palacios
invited it not once, not twice, but three times. The first time was in his objections
to the first PSR. Palacios argued that the alien smuggling guideline should set the
base level for the offense, and if it did, the 10-level § 2L1.1(b)(7)(D) enhancement
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would apply because the offense resulted in death. See Second PSR, Addendum at
6 (“Furthermore, counsel comments that if the court find[s] that the §2L1.1 [alien
smuggling] guideline is applicable, the total offense level would be 19 after the
application of a 10-level enhancement for resulting in death, pursuant to
§ 2L1.1(b)(7)(D).”).
The second time Palacios extended the court an invitation to apply
§ 2L1.1(b)(7)(D) was during the first day of the sentence hearing, when the court
and counsel for Palacios were discussing the application of the alien smuggling
guideline. They had this exchange:
COUNSEL FOR PALACIOS: The only applicable guideline is the
alien smuggling guideline under these facts.
Here is what I propose to the Court should be the guideline
calculation. The base offense under 2L1.1, is twelve.
THE COURT: Then you had four, add four.
COUNSEL FOR PALACIOS: You add ten because of the resultant
death.
Doc. 134 at 23.
The third of the three invitations was made on the second day of the
sentence hearing. Counsel for Palacios said: “We agree obviously that the base
offense level is 12, and we also agree that there should be a ten level bump up,
because there was a resulting death as set forth in the indictment.” Doc. 135 at 8.
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Any error concerning the resulting in death enhancement was not just invited
but thrice invited, and “[w]here invited error exists, it precludes a court from
invoking the plain error rule and reversing.” United States v. Silvestri, 409 F.3d
1311, 1327 (11th Cir. 2005) (quotation marks omitted).
III. MINOR ROLE REDUCTION
Palacios also contends that the district court erred by refusing to grant him a
2-level minor role reduction. We disagree.
A defendant may receive a mitigating role reduction if he “plays a part in
committing the offense that makes him substantially less culpable than the average
participant in the criminal activity.” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 cmt. n.3(A). The defendant
bears the burden of proving his minor role by a preponderance of the evidence.
United States v. Rodriguez De Varon, 175 F.3d 930, 939 (11th Cir. 1999) (en
banc).
To receive the 2-level minor role reduction that Palacios contends he should
have gotten, he was required to show that he “is less culpable than most other
participants in the criminal activity,” even if his role could not be described as
minimal. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 cmt. n.5. A defendant whose role is “minimal” is
“plainly among the least culpable of those involved in the conduct of a group.” Id.
cmt. n.4.
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An application note to the mitigating role guideline lists some factors to
consider when determining whether a defendant’s role was minor:
(i) the degree to which the defendant understood the scope and structure
of the criminal activity;
(ii) the degree to which the defendant participated in planning or
organizing the criminal activity;
(iii) the degree to which the defendant exercised decision-making
authority or influenced the exercise of decision-making authority;
(iv) the nature and extent of the defendant’s participation in the
commission of the criminal activity, including the acts the defendant
performed and the responsibility and discretion the defendant had in
performing those acts; [and]
(v) the degree to which the defendant stood to benefit from the criminal
activity.
U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 cmt. n.3(C). A district court’s determination of a defendant’s
role in an offense is a factfinding that is reviewed only for clear error. See
Rodriguez De Varon, 175 F.3d at 937.
The relevant considerations are Palacios’ role in the relevant conduct for
which he was held accountable at sentencing and his conduct as compared to that
of the other participants. See id. at 940. Even if firearm brandishing and
restraining of the victims were not considered relevant conduct for Palacios, the
district court did not err, much less clearly err, in finding that he was not entitled to
a minor role reduction.
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Palacios arranged for Ibarguen to captain the boat. And he attended
meetings where he and the other conspirators discussed the plan to transport the
migrants by boat and the route they would take. And he delivered the migrants
into Ibarguen’s hands not just once but again a second time after Ibarguen’s first
boat almost sank. As the district court noted, Palacios was “an essential part of . . .
putting the whole thing together. Without him . . . these people would not have
had contact with” the murderers, Ibarguen and Carreazo. It is clear that Palacios
“understood the scope and structure” of the alien smuggling scheme, “participated
in planning [and] organizing the criminal activity,” “exercised decision-making
authority or influenced the exercise of decision-making authority,” and personally
performed some of the acts, without which the crime could not have been
committed. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 cmt. n.3(C)(i)–(iv). Even though Palacios
claims that he was not paid, he admitted that he was supposed to be paid 100,000
Colombian pesos per person. So he also “stood to benefit from the criminal
activity.” Id. § 3B1.2 cmt. n.3(C)(v). His role was not minor, and the district court
did not err by refusing to grant him a mitigating role adjustment.
IV. PROCEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIVE REASONABLENESS
Finally, Palacios contends that his sentence is procedurally and substantively
unreasonable. We do not address those arguments since we have decided to vacate
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his sentence because the district court did not make all of the necessary relevant
conduct findings in its application of the enhancements under U.S.S.G.
§§ 2L1.1(b)(5)(B) and 3A1.3. See United States v. Mock, 523 F.3d 1299, 1304 n.2
(11th Cir. 2008) (declining to address the defendant’s reasonableness arguments
because his sentence was vacated and remanded for another reason).
AFFIRMED IN PART; VACATED IN PART AND REMANDED.
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