United States v. De Varon

Isabel Rodriguez De Varon appeals from a conviction of the importation of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 952(a) and 18 U.S.C. § 2(1). She was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida after pleading guilty to the charge. She was sentenced to 46 months in prison. She appeals the district court's denial of a two-point sentence reduction for her role as a minor participant in the crime. We have reviewed her contentions and vacate and remand her sentence for further proceedings in the district court. I. Factual and procedural history De Varon arrived at Miami International Airport on June 12, 1996 aboard a flight from Bogota, Columbia. She reported to United States Customs, and officials suspected that she might be an internal carrier of narcotics. When examined by the officials she admitted that their assumption was correct. De Varon was then taken to a hospital where medical examination revealed that she had ingested 70 pellets of heroin. The government recovered 514 grams of 85 percent pure heroin from De Varon.