The two Miami men who stole ventilators heading to El Salvador’s COVID-19 intensive care center as part of a U.S. aid program were sentenced to 41 months in federal prison, officials said.
An estimated $3 million worth of ventilators belonging to the U.S. Agency for International Development were stolen in South Florida, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release.
According to court documents, the pair stole 192 medical ventilators on Aug. 9, 2020, as they were being transported to Miami International Airport.
USAID had acquired the ventilators, which were en route to El Salvador to treat critically ill patients.
During an investigation, federal agents recovered the majority of the stolen ventilators after Hernandez and Montero stole the trailer from a lot where the driver had parked it overnight.
