The US Embassy in Argentina has confirmed: 'You can go to jail and lose your visa.' This social media X post is clearly a reference to the actions of five Argentines at the Dolphin Mall, located in the Doral area near Miami International Airport. The publication also specifies: 'The US continuously monitors visa holders: respecting the law allows you to keep it.'
According to Argentine News Agency, citing local media sources, 46-year-old Mendoza native Diego Luis Xiccato; 49-year-old Mauricio Ariel Aparo; 41-year-old Sebastián Luis Moya; 49-year-old Juan Manuel Zuloaga; and 45-year-old Juan Pablo Rua were charged with retail theft and orchestrating a fraud scheme.
The suspects began their criminal spree in western Miami, stealing suitcases from one store and then continuing to various stores where they stole items that they packed into the same suitcases until they were full.
During the first hearing, the defendants appeared before Judge Mindy Glazer, who set a bail of $4,000 for each of them.
After making off with over $2,000 worth of merchandise, the five were discovered as the Sweetwater police received a series of theft complaints from the outlet and reviewed the security cameras, which showed the Mendoza natives.
The five were apprehended on Sunday, November 30th, when officers arrested them at a bus stop near the same shopping center where they had used various distraction techniques to commit the thefts.
'The US Embassy issued a strong message this Wednesday following the detention of five Argentine tourists, who were accused and jailed for stealing various items at a well-known shopping center in Miami,' the agency NA reported from Buenos Aires.
The post, illustrated with an AI-generated photograph of the five Mendoza natives, reads:
'Do you think it's fun to steal at a mall in Miami?'
