On 14 April 2015, the US Navy stopped the defendants’ vessel, the El Vacan, around 135 nautical miles off the coast of Costa Rica. Cocaine was found on board. Therefore, the defendants faced several alleged violations of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA). The defendants filed motions to dismiss and argued that, although the El Vacan was 135 nautical miles off the coast of Costa Rica, it was not on the high seas but rather in foreign waters, where the MDLEA has no application.

Held: Motions denied.

Article 3 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS) provides that 'Every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles'. The 'high seas' is generally understood to mean the area outside of a nation’s territorial waters, which extend 12 nautical miles from shore. Accordingly, the El Vacan was on the high seas and MDLEA applied. Thus, the defendants’ motions to dismiss were denied.