On Monday in Miami, Colombian fashion designer Nancy Gonzalez was sentenced to 18 months in prison for exporting products made from the skins of endangered species such as snakes and caimans to the United States. Gonzalez, with tearful eyes, told the court, "I made bad decisions under pressure." The 71-year-old designer has already spent most of her sentence behind bars, having been incarcerated for 14 months. Colombian authorities handed her over to the United States in August 2023.
The designer of handbags and wallets, whose luxury products were sold in stores in Paris, New York, Moscow, Milan, Seoul, Toronto, and Taiwan, was arrested in July 2022 in Cali, southern Colombia, during a search of her home. Nancy Gonzalez's bags, particularly distributed at Harrods in London and Bergdorf Goodman in New York, were sold for up to $4,200. Celebrities such as Salma Hayek, Britney Spears, and Victoria Beckham wore accessories from her brand, according to fashion-related websites.
According to U.S. authorities, Gonzalez paid for plane tickets for several individuals to New York, Miami, and New Jersey so they could transport the products in their personal luggage. Colombian prosecutors indicated that Gonzalez organized the shipment of at least 200 items made from snake and crocodile skins to the United States between February 2016 and April 2019, with skins legally obtained in Colombia. The accessories were later found in the designer's showroom in New York. However, this type of importation requires a license in accordance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which ensures that this trade does not threaten the survival of the species.
