National Drug Intelligence Center   Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009   April 2009

Drug Threat Overview

Cocaine smuggling into and transportation through Puerto Rico and the USVI pose the greatest drug threat to the PR/USVI HIDTA region. Cocaine usually is readily available because of the region's proximity to reliable international sources of supply. Successful interdiction efforts and increased cocaine transportation to lucrative markets in Europe and West Africa, however, contributed to cocaine shortages and price increases in Puerto Rico during 2008, according to officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Caribbean Field Division. Cocaine prices were higher in October 2008 ($28,000 to $30,000 per kilogram) than in August 2008 ($15,000 to $19,000 per kilogram). Moreover, reporting from PR/USVI HIDTA Initiatives1 indicates that more than 17,000 kilograms of powder cocaine were seized from investigations in the HIDTA region in 2008. (See Table 1.)

Source: Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, data reported on November 24, 2009.

Cocaine is typically smuggled directly from South America and is destined for drug markets in the CONUS and other areas, including Africa, Canada, and Europe. A secondary flow of cocaine from South America through the Dominican Republic to the HIDTA region accounts for a significant portion of the cocaine that is smuggled into the region for local distribution. Cocaine destined for the HIDTA region is frequently seized by law enforcement officials from vessels traversing the high seas in the South Atlantic/Caribbean. Cocaine seizures on the high seas in the South Atlantic/Caribbean increased 93 percent, from 8,230 kilograms in 2007 to 15,911 kilograms in 2008.2 Law enforcement officials report that the increased seizures are due in large part to successful enforcement operations in the area, principally Operation Broken Bridge and the Caribbean Corridor Initiative (CCI), which is now known as the Caribbean Corridor Striker Force (CCSF) and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG).

Heroin distribution and abuse are significant threats to the HIDTA region. Heroin is the primary drug identified in drug-related treatment admissions to publicly funded facilities in Puerto Rico. Traffickers transport wholesale quantities of SA heroin into Puerto Rico, almost exclusively into San Juan, by means of commercial air directly from Colombia or Venezuela or by maritime conveyances from Colombia through the Dominican Republic--most of this heroin is further transported to drug markets in the CONUS and other drug markets in Africa, Canada, and Europe. Additionally, some traffickers who transport wholesale quantities of SA heroin to the CONUS break the heroin into retail lots after arriving in the CONUS. Most is left for distribution in CONUS drug markets; however, some is transported by the traffickers back to the HIDTA region for local distribution and abuse.

Marijuana is a serious threat, while other dangerous drugs (ODDs), primarily MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy), controlled prescription drugs (CPDs)3, and methamphetamine, pose lesser threats to the PR/USVI HIDTA region. Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently abused drug in the region. Most marijuana available in the HIDTA region is produced in Mexico and is typically smuggled by Mexican traffickers through the southwestern United States into Puerto Rico and the USVI. PR/USVI HIDTA officials report that marijuana is primarily transported into the region from sources in California and Texas, using the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and other overnight parcel delivery services. Some marijuana available in the HIDTA region, including high-potency marijuana, is produced from cannabis cultivated in Puerto Rico and the USVI. ODDs, primarily MDMA, and CPDs are distributed and abused in the region, but to a lesser extent than cocaine, heroin, or marijuana. Methamphetamine is not produced in the HIDTA region; distribution and abuse of the drug rarely occur.

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Drug Trafficking Organizations

Puerto Rican, Colombian, Caribbean, Dominican, and Caucasian DTOs and gangs, as well as USVI-based gangs, transport and distribute a variety of drugs throughout the region. In 2008 law enforcement officials affiliated with PR/USVI HIDTA Initiatives targeted 52 DTOs and 4 money laundering organizations operating within the region; 3 of these organizations were dismantled, and 25 others were disrupted. Many of the organizations (27 of the 56 targeted) operated internationally, 19 operated in the local HIDTA region, and 10 operated in multiple states/territories. The organizations identified through the HIDTA Initiatives were Puerto Rican, Colombian, Caribbean, Dominican, Caucasian, and Venezuelan.

Colombian DTOs dominate wholesale cocaine and SA heroin trafficking into and through Puerto Rico and the USVI; these DTOs figure prominently in most law enforcement investigations in the region. Colombian DTOs rely heavily on other Caribbean-based traffickers, including Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Venezuelan DTOs and criminal groups, to transport drugs from South America into the PR/USVI HIDTA region. For instance, Colombian DTOs often employ Dominican DTOs to smuggle cocaine and SA heroin into the HIDTA region; the Dominican DTOs typically receive a percentage of the drugs as payment for their services. Furthermore, the DEA Caribbean Field Division reports that Colombian DTOs frequently rely on Venezuelan traffickers to smuggle cocaine and SA heroin into the HIDTA region on their behalf. Such associations result largely from Colombian DTOs' use of Venezuela as a departure zone for drug shipments.

Dominican DTOs are increasingly controlling drug distribution in Puerto Rico; they are the principal transporters of illicit drugs into and through Puerto Rico and the USVI. Dominican DTOs operate extensive transportation networks, often using the Netherlands Antilles, other Dutch territories, and their home island of Hispaniola as staging areas. Dominican DTOs also distribute wholesale, midlevel, and retail quantities of cocaine, SA heroin, and marijuana throughout the HIDTA region. Additionally, Dominican DTOs often work closely with Puerto Rican DTOs, sometimes including members from Puerto Rican DTOs in their organizations. Dominican Republic-based DTOs are more effectively controlling drug trafficking in Puerto Rico by using Dominican nationals who reside in the commonwealth. For example, in 2008 a Dominican Republic-based DTO hired a Dominican alien resident in Puerto Rico to transport drugs onto Mona Island, located between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico; Mona Island is under Puerto Rican jurisdiction. The Dominican trafficker hired a Puerto Rican trafficker to assist him in transporting the drugs onto the main island of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rican DTOs and gangs are the primary retail drug distributors in Puerto Rico. These traffickers typically distribute powder and crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and MDMA at public housing projects located in the San Juan metropolitan area and in larger municipalities such as Aguadilla, Fajardo, and Ponce. To illustrate, in October 2008 a federal grand jury in the U.S. District of Puerto Rico indicted 40 members of a DTO for drug trafficking and firearms offenses. DTO members had been operating from a public housing project in the municipality of Canóvanas, where they distributed powder and crack cocaine, marijuana, and CPDs. The 40 individuals indicted during this investigation had fulfilled different roles within the organization, sometimes simultaneously, such as supervisors, drug distribution site operators, suppliers, enforcers, runners, sellers, and facilitators.

Puerto Rican DTOs and gangs also coordinate drug shipments on behalf of Colombian and Dominican DTOs from the commonwealth to the CONUS and other areas, such as Africa, Canada, and Europe. In addition, some Puerto Rican DTOs maintain extended distribution cells in the CONUS that sell drugs at the retail level in Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Prison gangs are active throughout Puerto Rico; however, the extent to which these gangs distribute drugs outside the prison system is an intelligence gap.4 Ñeta, also known as Asociación Pro-Derechos de Confinados, is the largest and most violent prison gang in Puerto Rico. The group was initially formed in the Puerto Rico prison system to address issues pertaining to prisoner rights; it quickly involved itself in criminal activity. Ñeta membership in correctional facilities in Puerto Rico exceeds 10,000. Ñeta chapters in Puerto Rico exist exclusively inside prisons; members are commonly involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, murder, and public corruption. Once members are released from prison, they are no longer considered to be part of the gang. Ñeta is the primary rival of other prison gangs, known in Spanish as Grupo or "G" gangs (G-25, 27, and 31), that also operate in Puerto Rico.5 The G-27 prison gang is the largest and most influential G gang, according to Puerto Rican correction officers. The G-27 gang has intensified recruitment among the inmate population and is also attempting to control some retail drug distribution sites outside the prison system in Puerto Rico.

Local gangs are the primary retail-level drug traffickers in the USVI; they typically distribute powder and crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and MDMA. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) San Juan Field Division, gang activity is widespread in the USVI and fuels much of the criminal activity on the islands. Local gang members generally distribute drugs in lower-income neighborhoods in St. Thomas and St. Croix and are frequently involved in weapons trafficking. Gang members in the USVI, similar to gang members in Puerto Rico, frequently use weapons to enforce or provide security at drug distribution sites, frighten or kill competitors, and intimidate customers who are indebted to them.

Footnotes

1. Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands (PR/USVI) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) funds are allocated to 11 initiatives in the following program areas: Puerto Rico Fugitive Task Force; Fuerza Unida de Rápida Acción (FURA); Blue Lightning Strike Force; Caribbean Corridor Strike Force; Fajardo Major Organization Investigations; Money Laundering Initiative; Ponce Major Organization Investigations; Safe Neighborhoods Initiative; San Juan Major Organization Investigations; St. Croix Major Organization Investigations; and St. Thomas Major Organization Investigations.
2. Cocaine seizure amounts on the high seas in the South Atlantic/Caribbean were reported by the Federal-wide Drug Seizure System (FDSS) as of September 2, 2009. A portion of these seizures may also be included in PR/USVI HIDTA seizure data.
3. Not all prescription drugs are listed as controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). However, many prescription drugs are listed in Schedules I through V of the CSA because of their high potential for abuse or addiction. Schedule I through V prescription drugs are primarily narcotic pain relievers and central nervous system depressants and stimulants. A complete list of CPDs, by schedule, is available on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Office of Diversion Control web site at http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/schedules/schedules.htm.
4. There are 28 state penal institutions in the PR/USVI HIDTA--27 in Puerto Rico, and one in the USVI; the sole federal institution is also located in Puerto Rico.
5. The number associated with a Grupo or "G" gang usually represents the day of the month when the gang was organized.

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