The Illegal drug trade in Puerto Rico is a problem from a criminal, social, and medical perspective. Located in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, Puerto Rico has become a major transshipment point for drugs into the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Violent and property crimes have increased due in part to dealers trying to keep their drug business afloat, using guns and violence to protect themselves, their turfs, and drug habits.Montalvo-Barbot, Alfredo. "Crime in Puerto Rico:

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

, and the poor." Crime and Delinquency 43.4 (1997): 533–548. print. Crimes related to drugs are not the only crimes plaguing the island. Along with gang violence the island has also been victim to

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

and

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary, but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, in ...

Chronology

1970–2008

The

Government of Puerto Rico The government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government with separation of powers, subject to the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States.War on Drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

". Though drug use was uncommon in Puerto Rico in the 1950s, it markedly increased in the late 1960s. In the 1970s the increase in drug use, particularly among those under the age of 25, became a major concern in Puerto Rico. During this era, a person named Rafy Dones surfaced as one of the first, alleged major drug traffickers operating in Puerto Rico; he was sentenced to a jail term on 30 September 1977. A number of drug cartels have used Puerto Rico as a transfer point for trafficking cocaine to the mainland United States. Many Puerto Ricans have attributed the increase in crime to the drug trade. This led to a major focus on crime and drugs in Puerto Rican politics. In response, federal and local law enforcement agencies have attempted to integrate their efforts to fight drug crime. Strategies used by the government of Puerto Rico include long sentences for criminals, increased funding for law enforcement equipment, and the construction of new prisons. At times, however, the

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...

and the Puerto Rican police have struggled to work togetherGriffith 2000, p. 176 and some commentators have questioned the effectiveness of government drug policy. In the early 1990s, law enforcement began targeting

white collar White collar may refer to: * White-collar worker, a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales-coordination tasks, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor ...

drug users.

2009–present

The start of the "Drug Wars" in Puerto Rico was in 2009 in a conflict between Police and drug dealers which police wounded and killed two men. This occurred in Naranjito, Puerto Rico, the place where the drug dealers distributed their drugs to many places in Puerto Rico. In the house they found AK-47, M9 pistols and the drugs. Also they found that they were working with corrupt politicians to approve marijuana legalization and the export of exotic animals. In 2010 police captured 16 drug dealer "clans" that had the same information and they worked together to defeat opposing dealers. They also started to "clean house" in 2010, when they killed about 44 men attached to some drug dealers or those that were compromising the dealer. In 2011 the death toll was 1,266 at one point, due to many big drug arrests different gangs went into war with each other for the control of drugs in the island. In 2011 it was discovered that many of the killings were to cover up some corrupt politicians. In 2012, around 1,000 murders were reported. Also in Bayamon, a major city of Puerto Rico, many drug cartels started to defend their dealers by getting snipers and attackers on rooftops. "Sikarios" would be put on the rooftops to defend their drug turf in different housing projects due to wars against rival gangs that would try to take over the drug turf. Police captured a sniper in late 2011, the sniper had a Dragunov Caliber Sniper Rifle and was arrested with 5 other drug dealers. In early 2012, two assassinations occurred in Humacao involving the Carteli. The FBI, with its field office in San Juan, along with the Department of Homeland Security, and the DEA have multiple task forces working on the illegal drug trade in Puerto Rico.

Drug trafficking

As early as 1978, Puerto Rico had already become a transshipment point for illegal drugs that are smuggled from source countries like

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

into the U.S. mainland. Most of it is transported to and through the island from drug trafficking organizations in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and Colombia, and

criminal organizations Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

in Puerto Rico.

Cocaine

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...

(CBP) seized 1,176.74 pounds of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

in 2001 from commercial maritime vessels and 14, 932.53 pounds of cocaine from private maritime vessels in Puerto Rico.

Go-fast boats A go-fast boat is a small, fast power boat designed with a long narrow platform and a planing hull. During the United States alcohol prohibition era, these boats were used in "rum-running", transferring illegal liquor from larger vessels wai ...

are the most favorable, as they are fast and stealthy, and have been used to intercept drug shipments that have been dropped off into the open water from other larger ships or airdropped from aircraft. In June 2012, 36 people were arrested in Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland for smuggling 61,000 pounds of cocaine into the U.S through Puerto Rico's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport aboard flights operated by

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

. The smuggling had been taking place since 1999. In 1996, a group of researchers from Puerto Rico's Mental Health and Anti Addiction Services Administration, published the results of a study involving 849 out-of-treatment drug users in the San Juan area. Their study found that 36.5% of the drug users in the study were crack cocaine users only, 42.4% were drug injectors only and 21.1% were both drug injectors and crack users. In April 2021, a shipment of cocaine with an estimated value of $50 million was intercepted in Yabucoa.

Heroin

In 2001,

in Puerto Rico seized 56 kilograms of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

from commercial aircraft at airports and 28 kilograms of heroin from commercial maritime vessels in Puerto Rico. That same year, government officials arrested seven individuals in Puerto Rico, for swallowing between 36 and 98 condoms full of heroin, when they arrived from

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

on a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

. In June 2002, drug detecting dogs detected and CBP seized 24 kilograms of heroin in a cargo storage area on a pier in San Juan. That same year federal law enforcement officials in San Juan seized 1.4 kilograms of heroin from a passenger arriving from Aruba on a cruise ship. Addicts "shooting up" with dirty needles has created a public health emergency in Puerto Rico with an HIV positive rate that is 4 times higher than the U.S. national average. Hogares CREA is one of the few organizations offering addicts rehabilitation services.

Marijuana

In 2001, CBP confiscated 205 kilos of marijuana at airports throughout Puerto Rico. In 2002, a resident of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

was arrested at the airport, when government officials found 12.7 kilograms of marijuana hidden in his luggage.

Police corruption

In 2008, four

police officers A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

in Puerto Rico were arrested by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI), including a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

with 33 years on the force, for

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...

of cocaine and heroin. In 2007, 9 police officers and their lieutenant were arrested for

planting Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area or object that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and leg ...

drug evidence, including cocaine, heroin, and crack, on people living in the city's low-income housing projects, prompting Puerto Rico's

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

's office to review previous cases, making sure no innocent people were put in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

. Between 2003 and 2007, 100 officers had been under investigation and 75 others convicted under federal court for police corruption."Police corruption undermines Puerto Rican drug war." ''Miami Herald'' iami, FL18 July 2007. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010. In 2001, one of the biggest police corruption busts in U.S. history took place in Puerto Rico, when 28

state police State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...

officers in Puerto Rico were arrested for drug-running charges. The yearlong undercover operation was initiated by the FBI, after authorities got a tip about the police possibly being involved in drug dealing, and protecting cocaine dealers and shipments and movement throughout the island. Between 1993 and 2000, 1,000 police officers in Puerto Rico lost their jobs from the department due to criminal charges. Police corruption in Puerto Rico stems from the fact that police officers make small

wages A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', ''prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remuner ...

and are so close to the

cocaine trafficking Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

Operation Guard Shack Operation Guard Shack was a two-year Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into corruption within the law enforcement of Puerto Rico. The operation came to a conclusion on 6 October 2010, with a series of pre-dawn raids that led to o ...

was a two-year FBI investigation into law enforcement corruption in Puerto Rico. The operation came to a conclusion on 6 October 2010 with a series of pre-dawn raids that led to over 130 arrests of members of the Puerto Rico Police Department, various municipal departments, and the Puerto Rico Corrections Department. The operation began at 3 a.m., when 65 tactical teams, including FBI SWAT and the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), fanned out across the island in a series of sneak attack arrests. On hand were a range of Bureau personnel—crisis negotiators, evidence response team members, canines and their handlers, and 80 medical personnel from first responders and nurses to a trauma surgeon and a veterinarian. The central thread of the corruption was law enforcement officers providing protection and other services to drug traffickers. Over 1,000 agents of the FBI conducted the raids. Many of them were flown in secretly. The agency characterized the action as, "likely the largest police corruption case in the FBI's history."

Gangs

It is cheap and easy to buy and deal to the public in housing projects in Puerto Rico, leading to the second highest

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

rates in the United States or its territories. New gangs like

La ONU The Organizacion de Narcotraficantes Unidos (ONU, or La ONU) (in English: United Drug Traffickers), is a Puerto Rican criminal organization based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It is an organization dedicated to drug dealing and unifying various well- ...

and Rompe ONU are also prominent in Puerto Rico. They are in the illegal drug trade.

Crime reduction

The Puerto Rican government has implemented a series of law enforcement operations in relation to the federal "

war on drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...

" in order to minimize drug-related crimes and trafficking on the island. In 1985, the government started Operation Greenback, an investigation by the FBI,

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

(IRS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...

(DEA), into the inconsistencies between the drastic increase of cash flow into the Puerto Rican economy and the double digit unemployment rate and bad economy in the 70s and early 1980s. The operation uncovered money laundering schemes from within financial institutions and from the sale of illegal lottery tickets. Federal agents raided 10 banks and arrested 17 people on money laundering charges. In 1990, Operation Lucky Strike was put in motion by the FBI and local law enforcement officials, when residents of

Vega Baja Vega Baja (, ) is a town and municipality located on the coast of north central Puerto Rico. It is north of Morovis, east of Manatí, and west of Vega Alta. Vega Baja is spread over 13 barrios. The population of the municipality was 54,414 at t ...

unearthed $20 million on a nearby farm. They tried to stop the circulation of the illegal money and mobilized to arrest the individuals connected to the money.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Illegal drugs in Puerto Rico Crime in Puerto Rico Economic history of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...