17 Members of an Aguadilla, Puerto Rico Drug Trafficking Organization Indicted on Heroin, Fentanyl and Firearms Charges, with a $4.33 Million Forfeiture Allegation
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico announced that a federal grand jury has indicted 17 members of a drug trafficking organization in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession and distribution of controlled substances, and firearms violations. The indictment alleges the organization distributed heroin, cocaine base (crack) and fentanyl from 2022 within 1,000 feet of the Las Muñecas Public Housing Project in Aguadilla, participated in shootings and murders to further the operation, and faces a narcotics forfeiture allegation of $4,334,375.
The indictment was returned on October 21, 2026. Acting U.S. Attorney Héctor Ramírez Carbó said drug trafficking organizations like the one alleged inflict profound harm on communities, fueling addiction, poisoning youth, sowing fear and endangering innocent lives, and that the arrests send a clear message. Michael Mayer, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Caribbean Division, said the operation, called Los Tíos, shows the DEA's mission extends throughout Puerto Rico.
According to the indictment, the organization operated drug points out of housing projects and wards in and around Aguadilla, communicating by two-way radios, cell phones, instant messaging and social media, with leaders holding meetings to resolve issues and give instructions. Members acted as leaders, drug point owners, enforcers, runners, sellers, lookouts and facilitators.
Six of the 17 defendants face a charge of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one of them also faces a count of possessing a machine gun in furtherance of drug trafficking. The defendants include Alexander Torres Cintrón, Jonathan Pérez Cintrón, Fernando M. Pagán Flores, Wesley Ortiz-Soto and Jesús Román Marrero.
If convicted on the drug charges, the defendants face a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison; if convicted of both the drug and firearms charges, a minimum of 15 years; and the machine-gun count carries a mandatory minimum of 30 years to be served consecutively. The investigation was led by the DEA and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau's Aguadilla Strike Force as part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：波多黎各 San Juan 老城的莫罗城堡（Castillo San Felipe del Morro）瞭望塔（资料图）。Godot13 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The sentry turret of Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico (file photo). Photo by Godot13, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
