25 arrested in drug-trafficking crackdown in Mayagüez

By The Star Staff

A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico has returned an indictment charging 25 violent gang members from the municipality of Mayagüez with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession and distribution of controlled substances, and firearms violations.

The announcement was made by W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. The FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau’s Mayagüez Strike Force were in charge of the investigation of the case, with the collaboration of the U.S. Marshal Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Homeland Security Investigations Special Response Team (SRT), and the Guaynabo Municipal Police SRT collaborated during the arrests.

“The prosecution of this drug trafficking gang demonstrates our determined efforts to protect our communities from the violent crime and gun violence they bring to our streets,” Muldrow said. “Our prosecutors will continue to work with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to make our neighborhoods safe and bring criminals to justice.”

“Today, we sent a clear message: violence, drugs, and organized crime will find no safe haven in Puerto Rico,” said Devin J. Kowalski, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office. “Thanks to the courage of our Special Agents and Police of Puerto Rico Task Force Officers, with the unwavering support of our federal partners, we disrupted a criminal network that terrorized our communities for years. The FBI remains fully committed to protecting our people, restoring peace to our neighborhoods, and holding violent offenders accountable.”

The indictment alleges that from in or about April 2021 through the present, the drug trafficking organization distributed heroin, fentanyl, cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”), cocaine, and marijuana within 1,000 feet of Rafael Hernández (Kennedy) Public Housing Project (PHP), the Manuel Hernández Rosa (Candelaria PHP), the El Carmen (PHP), and other areas nearby in the municipality of Mayagüez, all for significant financial gain and profit.

The goal of the drug trafficking organization was to maintain control of all the drug trafficking activities within the controlled areas using force, threats, violence, and intimidation. In preserving power and protecting territory, the members of the organization engaged in violent acts including but not limited to murder in order to protect themselves and their organization. Members of the criminal organization also transported and distributed kilogram quantities of cocaine.

As part of the conspiracy, the defendants had meetings to discuss strategy and plan of their criminal activities, including but not limited to acts of violence. The co-conspirators held meetings to discuss drug trafficking business and issues between gang members. During the meetings, incarcerated defendants and co-conspirators would participate via phone call. The defendants and their co-conspirators used violence to take over other areas and sell their own narcotics in those areas to increase their power and profits.

The defendants acted in different roles to further the goals of the drug trafficking conspiracy, to include: leaders, drug point owners, enforcers, runners, sellers, drug processors, lookouts, and facilitators. The members of the gang used force, violence, and intimidation to intimidate rival drug trafficking organizations, and to discipline members of their own organization.

Fifteen defendants are charged in Count Seven with possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and seven of those defendants are facing one count of possession of a machine gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

If convicted on the drug charges, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years, and up to life in prison. If convicted of both the drug and firearms charges in Count Seven, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 15 years, and up to life in prison. The defendants charged with possession of machine guns in furtherance of drug trafficking in Count Eight face a mandatory sentence of 30 years in prison to be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the drug trafficking charges. All defendants charged in the drug conspiracy are facing a narcotics forfeiture allegation of $19.7 million.