43 Members of the Criminal Organization known as a Los Vira’o Charged with Drug Trafficking and Firearms Violations in Cayey, Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On September 22, 2025, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging 43 gang members from the municipality of Cayey with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession and distribution of controlled substances, and firearms violations, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. This investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (PRPB) Guayama Strike Force, with the collaboration of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) and Air and Marine Operations (AMO), the U.S.  Marshals Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Today during the arrests, the following agencies provided support: Puerto Rico National Guard, Ponce Municipal Police, Guaynabo Municipal Police, Bayamón Municipal Police, and San Juan Municipal Police.

“Thanks to the great investigative work of our law enforcement partners, the important leaders, enforcers and other members of the violent gang known as Los Vira’o are being taken off our streets,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “These arrests reflect our steadfast determination to remove violent gangs from our communities.”

“We will not tolerate criminal organizations that continue to threaten the safety and well-being of our communities while profiting from the distribution of deadly narcotics on our streets. These groups show nothing but disrespect for our neighborhoods, our children, and the elderly —taking lives at every turn. Let me be clear: the arrests do not end here. Our commitment and resources are fully dedicated to one mission—eliminating transnational criminal organizations. Not disrupting. Not dismantling. Eliminating,” said Rebecca González-Ramos, Special Agent in Charge, HSI San Juan (Puerto Rico & U.S. Virgin Islands).

The indictment alleges that from 2021, the drug trafficking organization distributed heroin,  cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”), cocaine, marijuana, and fentanyl, Oxycodone (commonly known as Percocet), and Alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) within 1,000 feet of the Luis Muñoz Morales and Jardines de Montellano (a/k/a “Greyskull”) Public Housing Projects (PHPs), the Polvorín Ward in Cayey, and other areas throughout Puerto Rico, all for significant financial gain and profit.

The object of the conspiracy was to distribute wholesale quantities and street amount quantities of controlled substances at the Luis Muñoz Morales and Jardines de Montellano PHPs, the Polvorín Ward in Cayey, as well as other areas throughout Puerto Rico and the continental United States. The organization referred to itself as Los Vira’o and used other insignia to identify its membership and loyalty, including jewelry, stickers, or tattoos of the letters “LFNM,” which stands for “La Familia Nunca Muere,” (The Family Never Dies). The top leader of the gang, Efraín A. Planell-Pérez, although incarcerated, used contraband cellular devices to communicate with gang members, hold conference calls and video calls, make electronic fund transfers, and coordinate gang activity. Additionally, Planell-Pérez purchased drugs and guns, gave orders regarding the function of the drug points, ordered murders, resolved disputes, and taught new members how to prepare drugs for sale, among other criminal actions.

According to court documents, members of Los Vira’o posted criminal activities to social media both to raise their own status and intimidate rivals. On occasion, some members of the drug trafficking organization purchased commercially available security cameras, installed them in the PHPs, and downloaded corresponding applications to their cellular devices to monitor activity within those PHPs, looking out for police activity and attacks by rival gangs.

A group of the founding members of Los Vira’o previously belonged to another drug trafficking organization based in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Those members of Los Vira’o turned against the other Caguas-based gang, and since the inception of Los Vira’o in 2021 have been in a turf war with that other organization, to include coordinated shootings in rival gang territory using automatic weapons and squad-like tactics, killing both intended and unintended victims.

It is alleged that members of Los Vira’o carried out violent carjackings using firearms to acquire vehicles to use in murders and other criminal acts. They would refer to those stolen cars as units, and those cars were generally forbidden from being stored inside the PHPs. After use in a murder or other criminal act, gang members would burn the cars or sell them.

The investigation revealed that during the conspiracy the defendants and their co-conspirators created a music label and produced music and music videos with lyrics describing specific gang activity, real coconspirators, and real criminal events. Music videos of Los Vira’o feature real firearms brandished in the videos.

The defendants acted in different roles to further the goals of the drug trafficking conspiracy, including as leaders, enforcers, runners, sellers, facilitators, and lookouts. Twenty-seven (27) defendants are facing one charge of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and fifteen (15) of those defendants are facing one count of possession of a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The defendants charged in the indictment are:

[1] Efraín A. Planell-Pérez, a.k.a. “Gordo Billar/Billar/Simba/Simbad/el Ocho”

[2] David González-Olmo, a.k.a. “Cagüita”

[3] Eliezer Rivera-Otero, a.k.a. “Tiki/Tiky”

[4] Luis D. Maldonado-Berríos, a.k.a. “Guinea/La G”

[5] Miguel Y. Fuentes-Oquendo, a.k.a. “Barba”

[6] José M. Rivera-Fuentes, a.k.a. “Che/Cheque”

[7] Edgar Antonio Santiago-Vázquez, a.k.a. “Mili/Militar”

[8] Julio A. Torres-Roche, a.k.a. “Doctor”

[9] José David Serrano-Santiago, a.k.a. “Hacha Vieja”

[10] Kris L. Vega-González, a.k.a. “Yandel/Kris Llandel”

[11] Miguel A. Olmo-Garcia, a.k.a. “Mine/Bolillo”

[12] Yandel O. Bermejo-Rodríguez

[13] Jouseph De Jesús-Reyes, a.k.a. “Boti”

[14] Juan A. Flores-Lebrón, a.k.a. “Juanki”

[15] Noel Nieves-Lora, a.k.a. “Bulin”

[16] Cristopher Colón-Viera, a.k.a. “Topher”

[17] Joseph A. Torres-Quesada, a.k.a. “Mueca”

[18] Zael Y. Lao-Ortiz, a.k.a. “Vieques”

[19] Jay L. Diaz-Del Valle, a.k.a. “Jay Livan/El Cantante”

[20] Héctor M. Cruz-Ayala, a.k.a. “Gordo Gordo/Gordo Chiquito”

[21] Jeremy Ortiz-Díaz, a.k.a. “Millo”

[22] Victor M. Cruz-Ortiz, a.k.a. “Papa/El Father”

[23] Carlos A. Arroyo-Santel, a.k.a. “Rata/R”

[24] Adrián J. Miranda-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Pilo/Pilotito”

[25] Rubén M. Torres-Reyes

[26] Luis Y. León-Rodríguez, a.k.a. “Ika”

[27] Kevin M. Torres-Rivera, a.k.a. “Kevo”

[28] Edgardo Ortiz-Figueroa, a.k.a. “Pucho”

[29] Michael A. Santiago-Cruz, a.k.a. “Colo/Colorao”

[30] Christopher J. Nieves-Pérez, a.k.a. “Chucho”

[31] José G. Jiménez-Robles, a.k.a. “Joy”

[32] Christopher J. Fontanez-Vega, a.k.a. “Lagarto”

[33] Endel Gabriel Vidal-Malavé

[34] Bryan L. Montalvo-Colón, a.k.a. “Yambra”

[35] Luis A. Trinidad-González, a.k.a. “Chivito”

[36] Mariela E. Santiago-Cuevas

[37] José Orlando Ortiz-Martínez, a.k.a. “Champu de Coco/Vizco”

[38] Kenneth O. Claudio-Vega, a.k.a. “Kenny”

[39] Jonathan A. Ortiz-Martínez, a.k.a. “Cocodrilo/Orejas”

[40] Joseph Vicente-Vázquez, a.k.a. “Joe Cantera”

[41] Alejandro M. Tarafa-Fortuño, a.k.a. “Zombie”

[42] Rosemary Santiago-Serrano

[43] Paola M. Rodríguez-Morales

Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and Chief of the Gang Section Alberto López-Rocafort, Deputy Chief of the Gang Section, AUSA Teresa Zapata-Valladares, AUSA R. Vance Eaton, and AUSA Andrés Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case. 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 machineguns in furtherance of drug trafficking in Count Eight face a mandatory sentence of thirty years in prison to be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the drug trafficking charges. All defendants are facing a narcotics forfeiture allegation of $9,362,160.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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