Reaffirming the Extraterritorial Reach of the MDLEA: United States v. Wilmer Payan (11th Cir. 2025)

1. Introduction

In United States v. Wilmer Payan, the Eleventh Circuit revisited the constitutionality and jurisdictional scope of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA), rejecting attacks that the Act exceeds congressional authority and confirming that vessels deemed “without nationality” fall squarely within U.S. jurisdiction—even where there is no nexus to the United States. While the panel did not announce an entirely new doctrine, it solidifies and harmonises a trilogy of recent circuit cases—Alfonso, Canario-Vilomar, and Dubois—and sends three powerful signals:

District courts must decide MDLEA constitutional challenges on the merits, but an erroneous “mootness” ruling will be harmless if the challenge is foreclosed by binding precedent.
Congress’s Felonies Clause power (Art. I, §8, cl.10) is not limited by customary international law when defining “stateless” vessels.
Drug quantity, even in an MDLEA case involving typical multi-ton loads, remains a valid and weighty §3553(a) sentencing factor.

The appellant, Colombian fisherman Wilmer Orobio Payan, was intercepted 50 nautical miles off Isla de Malpelo with 1,315 kg of cocaine. He pled guilty but preserved facial and as-applied challenges to the MDLEA and argued his 135-month sentence was substantively unreasonable. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed both the convictions and the sentence.

2. Summary of the Judgment

The court (Branch, Abudu & Anderson, JJ., per curiam) held:

Constitutionality. Prior precedent upholds the MDLEA as a valid exercise of Congress’s power to “define and punish…Felonies on the high Seas.” Accordingly, the statute is constitutional on its face and as applied—even without a U.S. nexus.
Jurisdiction. Payan’s vessel was “without nationality” under 46 U.S.C. §70502(d)(1)(B) because the master made no claim of registry when asked. This sufficed for subject-matter jurisdiction.
Sentence. The 135-month term—well below the 210-262 month guideline range and the life-maximum—was substantively reasonable. The district court properly weighed aggravating (drug quantity) and mitigating (safety-valve eligibility, role, cooperation) factors.

3. Analysis

3.1 Precedents Cited and Their Influence

United States v. Alfonso, 104 F.4th 815 (11th Cir. 2024). Held EEZ waters are “high seas” for Felonies Clause purposes and that international law does not confine congressional definitions under the MDLEA. Impact in Payan: foreclosed any argument that 50-nm waters off Colombia lie outside high-sea jurisdiction.
United States v. Canario-Vilomar, 128 F.4th 1374 (11th Cir. 2025). Confirmed Congress may deem a vessel “stateless” where the asserted flag state offers no unequivocal confirmation. Impact: buttressed the statelessness finding here.
United States v. Campbell, 743 F.3d 802 (11th Cir. 2014); Wilchombe, Cabezas-Montano, Hernandez. Each rejected the “nexus” requirement. Impact: compelled rejection of Payan’s as-applied challenge.
United States v. Dubois, 139 F.4th 887 (11th Cir. 2025). Restated panel-precedent rule; cited to emphasise that only the Supreme Court or an en banc Eleventh Circuit may abrogate earlier panels.
Sentencing precedents: Butler, Irey, Rosales-Bruno, Keene. Guided abuse-of-discretion review and illustrated “ballpark of permissible outcomes.”

3.2 Court’s Legal Reasoning

Constitutional Power. Drawing on Art. I § 8 cl. 10, the panel reiterated that the Felonies Clause allows Congress to legislate extraterritorially over drug-felonies on the high seas, independently of international-law limitations. Thus, the MDLEA’s broad language—“this act applies even though the conduct is committed outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States”—is squarely within congressional competence.
Statelessness Determination. The MDLEA defines a vessel as stateless when the master fails to declare nationality. Payan’s own admission at the plea colloquy provided a factual basis for jurisdiction; parties may stipulate to facts, even if they cannot stipulate to jurisdiction itself (Iguaran).
No Nexus Requirement. The court re-endorsed the line of cases rejecting a nexus prerequisite, underscoring Congress’s intent to police the global commons against drug trafficking irrespective of the cargo’s destination.
Sentencing Discretion. Applying Butler, the panel found no abuse of discretion. The district court:
- Correctly calculated the guideline range.
- Granted safety-valve relief.
- Considered, but did not credit, a minor-role reduction; it nevertheless varied downward 75 months.
- Explained reasons: enormous drug quantity, need for parity with codefendants, truthfulness, and limited aggravating conduct.

3.3 Impact on Future Litigation

Though incremental, Payan matters for several reasons:

Precedent Layering. Each successive decision that reaffirms the MDLEA’s extraterritorial constitutionality makes en banc or Supreme Court reconsideration increasingly unlikely.
Practical Guidance to District Courts. The panel flagged the trial court’s procedural misstep (treating the motion to dismiss as “moot” after a plea) but deemed it harmless. The implicit message: district courts should expressly resolve MDLEA constitutional attacks even after a guilty plea.
Sentencing Benchmarks. A 135-month term for 1.3 metric tons—post-safety valve—serves as a reference point in future MDLEA sentencings; it demonstrates that substantial downward variances remain available despite large quantities.
International Relations. The ruling further clarifies to foreign governments that failure to confirm vessel registry (or to respond at all) will expose suspect craft to U.S. jurisdiction. This may motivate flag-states to adopt quicker verification procedures.

4. Complex Concepts Simplified

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Waters extending up to 200 nautical miles from a coastal state’s baseline. Coastal states have resource rights but not full sovereignty. The Eleventh Circuit treats EEZ waters as the “high seas” for Felonies Clause purposes.
Vessel Without Nationality (“Stateless Vessel”): A craft that flies no flag and whose master either makes no nationality claim or whose claimed nation does not confirm registry. Stateless vessels enjoy no flag-state protection and are fair game for any nation’s enforcement.
Felonies Clause: Part of the “Define and Punish” Clause empowering Congress to criminalise felonies on the high seas, separate from piracy or offenses against international law.
Safety Valve (18 U.S.C. §3553(f)): Allows certain non-violent, low-history defendants to escape otherwise mandatory minimum sentences if they truthfully provide all information to the government.
Substantive Reasonableness: An appellate standard asking whether a sentence, in light of §3553(a) factors, falls within the “range of reasonable.” The inquiry is deferential; appellate courts will disturb sentences only when clearly outside the permissible “ballpark.”

5. Conclusion

United States v. Wilmer Payan fortifies the Eleventh Circuit’s unwavering stance that the MDLEA, as written, is constitutionally sound and that its broad reach over stateless vessels does not depend on any U.S. territorial or nexus requirement. By re-affirming that Congress’s Felonies Clause authority is not hemmed in by international law and by approving a substantial downward variance without endorsing a minor-role reduction, the decision offers both doctrinal clarity and practical sentencing guidance. Practitioners should treat Payan as the latest—and currently unassailable—brick in the Eleventh Circuit’s robust MDLEA wall: challenges to jurisdiction or constitutional validity are, absent Supreme Court intervention, foreclosed. Litigants’ energy is therefore better invested in factual disputes (e.g., statelessness claims) or in nuanced sentencing advocacy rather than in facial or nexus-based constitutional attacks.