Drug Raids In Puerto Rico Target Rural Areas

Drug raids in Puerto Rico target rural areas

The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 27th 2008, 4:00 AM

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Federal agents arrested 59 alleged members of a drug trafficking ring Monday in coordinated raids in small-town Puerto Rico, where some housing projects are under siege by gangsters.

The early-morning raids targeted housing projects in the mountain towns of Cayey, Coamo, Jayuya and Santa Isabel and the coastal enclaves of Guayama and Salinas.

The raids were carried out by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, National Guard and local police.

"The outlying towns and cities of Puerto Rico, like Cayey, are no longer sheltered from drug trafficking, gangs and violent crime," said Luis Fraticelli, chief of the FBI in the U.S. island territory.

Fraticelli said the arrested suspects included suppliers and enforcers. The trafficking group's alleged leader, Ismael Vazquez Larrauri, was still at large.

A grand jury indictment alleges the Puerto Rican gang distributed heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and prescription drugs in housing projects in the six rural areas.

Manuel Oyola Torres, chief of the island's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, said the spread of the drug scourge into Puerto Rico's small towns can be attributed partly to recent improvements in roads leading from urban centers to the countryside.

Officials say Puerto Rico's problems with drug crime began in the mid-1980s, when drug traffickers, hurt by U.S. efforts to cut off the flow of drugs to Florida and the Bahamas, began smuggling through Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Raids on drug trafficking centers in Puerto Rico then pushed drug gangs into other areas, setting off fighting between rival gangs and causing the homicide rate to soar.

Puerto Rico, home to nearly 4 million people, has a homicide rate more than three times the U.S. national average.

Authorities say drug trafficking is behind the majority of the killings.

Raids on drug trafficking centers in Puerto Rico then pushed drug gangs into other areas, setting off fighting between rival gangs and causing the homicide rate to soar.

Puerto Rico, home to nearly 4 million people, has a homicide rate more than three times the U.S. national average.
Authorities say drug trafficking is behind the majority of the killings.


thats what this gay ass war dose its fucking dumb

In GUAYAMA??? Holy shit. If you knew the place, knew how small it is, how quiet, and how hot and dry. Wow, I have some familia to call. Por que no en El Yunque, eh?

wow, i suprised i didnt hear about this. ive got lots of family in PR.

my father in law lives in Cayey, the moutains n watnot, i think he said he had a few herb plants growin on his land

Ay, carajo.

I looked at a place nearby San German, in Sabana Grande. They had a lot of property, a large house, lots of things growing (you know how it is there, that's why I was so surprised in Guam when I saw that no one seems to even pick what's growing!). I could grow some seriously kick-ass herb there. Cayey gets a lot more rain, too, don't they?

yea, im sure Cayey gets more rain... more of the jungle area, up higher on the mountains.

aaaahhhhh i cant wait to go!!!

but another thing about PR, it is REAL out there... ive never been tested out there, but they are quick to kill! my father in law cut a guys throaght cuz the guy tried to kill him.. he was only in jail a couple days, they let him go on self defense. i know the tourist areas are nice, just watch wat you and where you go...

aiee i was all set to go until about 5 seconds ago...

sb101 said:

aiee i was all set to go until about 5 seconds ago...

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NO YOU SHOULD GO YOU WILL LOVE IT.

its like any other place you go, there are the nice places, and then there are the places you shouldnt go to if your not from there.

wow what the feds don't realize is everytime they pop a drug kingpin another one pops up.they should give up. legalize all drugs.

yea of course i've traveled extensively and there are scary places everywhere you go. you just can't be dumb in another country cause you might get your throat slit

Traveled all over the island , numerous times the people are fantastic and the food the best. Around Rincon the woman are the prettiest, I have ever seen ! hang with locals an even try speaking Spanish and they will except you with open arms . This is the worlds best kept secret.

fukdapolice said:

yea, im sure Cayey gets more rain... more of the jungle area, up higher on the mountains.

aaaahhhhh i cant wait to go!!!

but another thing about PR, it is REAL out there... ive never been tested out there, but they are quick to kill! my father in law cut a guys throaght cuz the guy tried to kill him.. he was only in jail a couple days, they let him go on self defense. i know the tourist areas are nice, just watch wat you and where you go...

Click to expand...

I know how it is, why do you think everyone who lives there is packing? My mother's side of the family, which is large, "we're" all over the place.

fukdapolice said:

NO YOU SHOULD GO YOU WILL LOVE IT.

its like any other place you go, there are the nice places, and then there are the places you shouldnt go to if your not from there.

Click to expand...

Absolutely agreed, however, the author of the article was correct when they said that the crime is reaching into areas where it wasn't before. In San German it was a small, small town for a long time. Everyone knows everyone else, so if you did anything, your family would know. But, yes, I think a visit is good. There is a lot of history there, and it's just beautiful. MOST of the island is pretty good, especially if continentals try to use at least some Spanish (since the public schools are no longer required to teach in English). Since my grandparents are in San German, and that's where I've spent most of my time there (and in La Parguera), that's where I like to go. Ponce has some rough areas, basically, anywhere you have too many stupid tourists and desperately poor people you're going to have encounters. You just have to be smart about how you do things.

Oh, and what's the name of that shanty-town in front of El Morro? Stay away from there.

I went while in college for two weeks with a spicy Puerto Rican girl I was dating...woohoo! Wow...I can't even recall her name now!

It was 15 years ago, but I think the coastal town was called Mayaquez.

And, being a pretty good Spanish speaker who has lived in multiple Latin countries, I had a blast. Everyone is right...even a little bit of vocabulary and a good attitude will take you very far down there.

I hope everyone's family is doing well and that there weren't any with the recent raids...