Attorney General Todd Blanche visited Puerto Rico this week, meeting with Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon and holding a press conference on a Homeland Security Task Force campaign to reduce violent drug trafficking on the Island. He emphasized that the HSTask Force efforts resulted in the arrest of 81 members of Los Baja Deo, a criminal gang known for dealing drugs and firearms.
Blanche’s remarks
“[W]e’re here today to announce a takedown that took place yesterday following a San Juan Homeland Security Task Force investigation,” Blanche reported in the press conference. “The FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Department successfully led this takedown and arrest of 70 members of a violent drug trafficking organization that had been active for years… These defendants are alleged drug traffickers of Los Baja Deo, also known as LBD. They were charged with the illegal possession and distribution of mass quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and marijuana. 21 of the 81 defendants were also charged with illegal firearms possession in furtherance of the drug trafficking crimes I just described. During this investigation, law enforcement seized 21 firearms, and it’s estimated that during the span of this conspiracy since 2021, tThis organization was responsible for the distribution of at least 340 kg of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics and at least 22,200 kg of cocaine, among other things. This generated an estimated $49 million in proceeds for this drug trafficking organization.”
The Attorney General described Los Baja Deo as a domestic terrorist organization, emphasizing the callous violence of the gang. “The defendants used violence as a means of conducting business, including threats and intimidation to maintain control and power over the drug trafficking operations to secure the proceeds for the participants and members,” he said. “To protect this enterprise, they carried out extreme acts of violence, including murders, drive-by shootings, kidnappings, and physical assaults. They possess firearms including machine guns to protect and advance the organization and recklessly discharge these firearms in public places in broad daylight and in the presence of innocent bystanders. This conduct necessarily reflects an indifference to human life.”
Blanche described recent HSTask Force efforts in Ecuador and Colombia as well, speaking enthusiastically about the concerted actions of multiple government agencies. “It’s a whole government approachand when we do this, when we all stand together, we can deliver the promise of safer and healthier communities,” he concluded. “I want to end by again thanking the fantastic work of our law enforcement partners, the federal agencies involved in yesterday’s successful takedown, the prosecutors that have worked tirelessly on this case, the paralegals and support staff in this office that worked tirelessly on this case, and our great acting U.S. Attorney Hector Ramirez.”
Puerto Rico’s experience
A press release from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration details the effects on the communities in Puerto Rico affected by the gang’s activities. In a number of communities in Mayagüez and western Puerto Rico, the gangsters sold drugs in the neighborhoods of public housing projects and other communities. Using cell phones and social media to communicate, the members of the group built a highly profitable criminal organization. According to the DEA, they stooped to shootings, kidnappings, and murders to sustain the criminal enterprise.
“These 81 violent gang members will now face justice and so will any other that try to take their place,” said Héctor Ramírez-Carbó, the acting U.S. attorney for Puerto Rico, after Blanche’s remarks. “Today, the families of Mayagüez can peacefully enjoy what their communities have to offer without fear of harm.”
Puerto Rico has long asked for greater law enforcement support from the federal government to cope with drug cartels operating on the Island.
Governor Gonzalez-Colon posted, “Immensely proud of the work of the Puerto Rico Police Department and our Homeland Security Task Force law enforcement partners, who successfully dismantled a violent drug trafficking organization that had long threatened communities in western Puerto Rico. This action underscores the importance of strengthening federal-state partnerships, and I’m committed to continuing to work with the Trump Administration to combat violent crime and keep our citizens safe.”
