Florida Man Arrested for Stealing Nearly 200 Ventilators Intended for El Salvador's Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients
A detail of the respirator of a Covid-19 patient in the ICU is seen on November 11, 2020 in Barcelona, Spain. Clinic Hospital's ICU Unit has a capacity for 48 beds and half of it is occupied by patients with coronavirus. Cesc Maymo/Getty Images

Authorities arrested a Florida man after stealing nearly 200 ventilators intended for the COVID-19 patients in El Salvador. Identified as Yoelvis Denis Hernandez, 42, the Florida man was arrested in Del Rio, Texas on Thursday for the heist that occurred in August last year.

The Washington Post reported that Hernandez was the second culprit in the August heist for the ventilators bound initially for El Salvador. The other suspect, who was identified as Luis Urra Montero, 24, was taken into custody in September and was held without bond while waiting for his trial.

Florida Man Stole Ventilators for El Salvador' COVID-19 Patients

Both Hernandez and Montero faced felony charges of federal conspiracy and possession of stolen goods being shipped interstate and theft of government property. If convicted on that charge, they could face up to 25 years in prison.

The U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District of Florida accused Hernandez of stealing a tractor-trailer loaded with 192 medical ventilators on Aug. 9, 2020, ABC News reported.

A complaint prepared by Neil D'Cunha, a special agent from USAID's inspector general office, noted that the trailer vehicle holding the ventilators from a tractor was parked at a warehouse parking lot in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Hernandez allegedly helped in detaching the trailer vehicle carrying the ventilators bound for El Salvador via Miami International Airport.

The Florida man allegedly attached the trailer and hooked it up in his truck, which authorities believed was also stolen from a Kmart parking lot in Miami two weeks before stealing the ventilators.

The Washington Post reported that the trailer stolen by Hernandez was owned by Landstar System, with its logistics' company name and logo displayed on its side.

The driver of the semi-truck to which the trailer was initially attached reported the incident. On Aug. 12, 2020, authorities located the emptied trailer abandoned on a road in Parkland.

The trailer's identification number matched with one of the trailers that housed the ventilators off to El Salvador. Officials said the ventilators were worth around $3 million.

The Florida man made his first court appearance on Friday in the Western District of Texas, while the future proceedings will take place in the Southern District of Florida.

Ventilators for EL Salvador COVID-19 Patients, Stolen

According to the Washington Post, the pandemic made ventilators one of the most sought-after medical commodities, as COVID-19 can prevent and make it difficult for an individual to breathe.

The ventilators, which the Florida man stole, were originally planned to be sent to a COVID-19 intensive care facility in El Salvador. Authorities confirmed that the ventilators were a part of the COVID-19 aid program of the U.S. federal government.

A USAID inspector general report in December disclosed that the investigation recovered 191 of the 192 stolen ventilators. The report added that the recovered ventilators reached El Salvador in working condition.

The World Health Organization recorded at least 425 new COVID cases in the last 24 hours in El Salvador, with four deaths.

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