Crime in Puerto Rico
Encyclopedia
Crime
in Puerto Rico
has been linked to the insurmountable amount of drugs
that come in and out of the island
. Located in the Caribbean
, it has become a major transshipment
point for drugs into mainland United States
. Violent
and property crimes have increased due in part to dealers trying to keep their drug business afloat, using guns and violence to protect themselves, their turfs
, and drug habits.
Drugs is not the only crime that has plagued the island. Police
and political corruption
has also been a problem as has gangs, which contribute to the drug problem and crime in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico has become a transshipment point for illegal drugs that are smuggled from source countries like Colombia
and Peru
, into the U.S. mainland. Most of it is transported to and through the island from Drug Trafficking Organizations in the Dominican Republic
and Colombia, and criminal organizations in Puerto Rico.
, and container terminals such as the Port of San Juan. It is the busiest port in the Caribbean and the second largest in the west. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 1,176.74 pounds of cocaine
in 2001 from commercial maritime vessels and 14, 932.53 pounds of cocaine from private maritime vessels in Puerto Rico. Go-fast boats are the most favorable, as they are fast and stealthy, and have been used to intercept drug shipments that have been dropped off into the open water from other larger ships or airdropped from aircraft. In 2005, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seized 1,772 kilograms of cocaine in a cargo ship from Venezuela
, during a routine inspection.
in Puerto Rico seized 56 kilograms of heroin from commercial aircraft at airports and 28 kilograms of heroin from commercial maritime vessels in Puerto Rico. That same year, government officials arrested seven individuals in Puerto Rico, for swallowing between 36 and 98 condoms full of heroin, when they arrived from Aruba
on a cruise ship
. In June 2002, drug detecting dogs detected and CBP seized 24 kilograms of heroin in a cargo storage area on a pier
in San Juan. That same year federal law enforcement officials in San Juan seized 1.4 kilograms of heroin from a passenger arriving from Aruba on a cruise ship.
was arrested at the airport, when government officials found 12.7 kilograms of marijuana hidden in his luggage.
(FBI), including a Lieutenant
with 33 years on the force, for extortion
and distribution of cocaine and heroin. In 2007, 9 police officers and their lieutenant were arrested for planting drug evidence, including cocaine, heroin, and crack
, on people living in the city's low-income housing projects, prompting Puerto Rico's attorney general's
office to review previous cases, making sure no innocent people were put in prison
. Between 2003 and 2007, 100 officers had been under investigation and 75 others convicted under federal court
for police corruption.
In 2001, one of the biggest police corruption
busts in U.S. history took place in Puerto Rico, when 28 state police officers in Puerto Rico were arrested for drug-running charges. The yearlong undercover operation was initiated by the FBI, after authorities got a tip about the police possibly being involved in drug dealing, and protecting cocaine dealers and shipments and movement throughout the island. Between 1993 and 2000, 1,000 police officers in Puerto Rico lost their jobs from the department due to criminal charges. Police corruption in Puerto Rico stems from the fact that police officers make small wages and are so close to the cocaine trafficking.
Operation Guard Shack was an two-year FBI investigation into law enforcement corruption in Puerto Rico
. The operation came to a conclusion on 6 October 2010 with a series of predawn raids that led to over 130 arrests of members of the Puerto Rico Police Department, various municipal departments, and the Puerto Rico Corrections Department. The operation began at 3 a.m., when 65 tactical teams, including FBI SWAT and the Hostage Rescue Team
(HRT), fanned out across the island in a series of sneak attack arrests. On hand were a range of Bureau personnel—crisis negotiators, evidence response team members, canines and their handlers, and 80 medical personnel from first responders and nurses to a trauma surgeon and a veterinarian. The central thread of the corruption was law enforcement officers providing protection and other services to drug traffickers. Over 1,000 agents of the FBI conducted the raids. Many of them were flown in secretly. The agency characterized the action as, "likely the largest police corruption case in the FBI’s history."
Anibal Acevedo Vila
of Puerto Rico, was charged with 24 counts of conspiracy
, fraud
, and tax crimes related to his campaign finances. During his trial, the judge threw out 15 of the 24 federal corruption charges due to insufficient evidence by the prosecution, and was eventually acquitted of all charges against him due to lack of evidence. The same year, Puerto Rican Senator Jorge de Castro Font
, member of the New Progressive Party
(NPP), was arrested by the FBI and charged with 32 criminal counts of extortion
, bribery
, fraud
, and money laundering
, stemming back as early as 1996.
In 2009, he pled guilty to federal corruption charges. In exchange for his plead, prosecutors agreed to drop 10 of the original charges against him and are recommending a prison sentence of between 9 and 11 years. In 2007, Jose Granados Navedo, the former deputy speaker of Puerto Rico's lower house
from 1992–2000, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, and was sentenced to 3 years in prison for accepting kickbacks from contractors and using his influence in getting the builders to work on the Superaqueduct of the North.
rates in the United States.
In the 1970s, Los Ñetas, an adult prison gang
, may have been the origin of gangs in Puerto Rico when they banded together for protection against prison guards and horrible conditions in Puerto Rican prisons. Los Ñetas have spread to U.S. prison systems in Florida
, New York
, New Jersey
, Rhode Island
, Connecticut
, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, and have been known to be involved in drug and weapons trafficking, extortion, robbery
, assault
, money laundering, and murder
.
Other gangs like, El Grupo 25 de Enero del 1981, was created in response to protection from Los Ñetas, in the prison system. El Grupo 27, is a closely related gang to El Grupo 25 de Enero del 1981, as its members are juveniles
who have family members in 25 de Enero gang. They have been known to be involved in the selling of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in Puerto Rico.
" in order to minimize drug related crimes and trafficking on the island. In 1985, the government started Operation Greenback, an investigation by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA), into the inconsistencies between the drastic increase of cash flow into the Puerto Rican economy
and the double digit unemployment rate and bad economy in the 70s and early 1980s. The operation uncovered money laundering schemes from within financial institutions and from the sale of illegal lottery ticket sales. Federal agents raided 10 banks and arrested 17 people on money laundering charges.
In 1990, Operation Lucky Strike, was put in motion by the FBI and local law enforcement officials, when residents of Vega Baja
unearthed $20 million dollars on a nearby farm. They tried to stop the circulation of the illegal money and mobilized to arrest the individuals connected to the money. In 1993, the Puerto Rican government used the National Guard to help local police in controlling street crime
, and later used the military to invade about a dozen public housing projects in and around San Juan, that police deemed as "hot spots" for drug-related crimes. The operation produced the seizure of 1,200 bags of cocaine, 216 bags of marijuana, 369 capsules of crack, 1,142 bags of heroin, 3 kilos of rock cocaine, and 1 kilo of heroin.
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
has been linked to the insurmountable amount of drugs
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
that come in and out of the island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
. Located in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, it has become a major transshipment
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
point for drugs into mainland United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Violent
Violent crime
A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...
and property crimes have increased due in part to dealers trying to keep their drug business afloat, using guns and violence to protect themselves, their turfs
Turf war
According to Wordnet the definition of a turf war is "a bitter struggle for territory or power or control or rights". For example: a turf war erupted between street gangs; the president's resignation was the result of a turf war with the board of directors. In larger companies Turf wars could...
, and drug habits.
Drugs is not the only crime that has plagued the island. Police
Police corruption
Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits, other personal gain, or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest....
and political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
has also been a problem as has gangs, which contribute to the drug problem and crime in Puerto Rico.
Drug trafficking
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, into the U.S. mainland. Most of it is transported to and through the island from Drug Trafficking Organizations in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and Colombia, and criminal organizations in Puerto Rico.
Cocaine
One of the most common ways to smuggle cocaine into the island is through commercial and private maritime vesselsWatercraft
A watercraft is a vessel or craft designed to move across or through water. The name is derived from the term "craft" which was used to describe all types of water going vessels...
, and container terminals such as the Port of San Juan. It is the busiest port in the Caribbean and the second largest in the west. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 1,176.74 pounds of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
in 2001 from commercial maritime vessels and 14, 932.53 pounds of cocaine from private maritime vessels in Puerto Rico. Go-fast boats are the most favorable, as they are fast and stealthy, and have been used to intercept drug shipments that have been dropped off into the open water from other larger ships or airdropped from aircraft. In 2005, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seized 1,772 kilograms of cocaine in a cargo ship from Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, during a routine inspection.
Heroin
In 2001, U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionU.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...
in Puerto Rico seized 56 kilograms of heroin from commercial aircraft at airports and 28 kilograms of heroin from commercial maritime vessels in Puerto Rico. That same year, government officials arrested seven individuals in Puerto Rico, for swallowing between 36 and 98 condoms full of heroin, when they arrived from Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
on a cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
. In June 2002, drug detecting dogs detected and CBP seized 24 kilograms of heroin in a cargo storage area on a pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
in San Juan. That same year federal law enforcement officials in San Juan seized 1.4 kilograms of heroin from a passenger arriving from Aruba on a cruise ship.
Marijuana
The primary transporters of marijuana into the island, are from crime organizations within Puerto Rico, transporting the drugs as couriers aboard commercial aircraft, hidden in suitcases, and delivered by package delivery services through the mail. In 2001, CBP confiscated 205 kilos of marijuana at airports throughout Puerto Rico. In 2002, a resident of San JuanSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
was arrested at the airport, when government officials found 12.7 kilograms of marijuana hidden in his luggage.
Police corruption
In 2008, 4 police officers in Puerto Rico were arrested by the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI), including a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
with 33 years on the force, for extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
and distribution of cocaine and heroin. In 2007, 9 police officers and their lieutenant were arrested for planting drug evidence, including cocaine, heroin, and crack
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
, on people living in the city's low-income housing projects, prompting Puerto Rico's attorney general's
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
office to review previous cases, making sure no innocent people were put in prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. Between 2003 and 2007, 100 officers had been under investigation and 75 others convicted under federal court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
for police corruption.
In 2001, one of the biggest police corruption
Police corruption
Police corruption is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits, other personal gain, or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest....
busts in U.S. history took place in Puerto Rico, when 28 state police officers in Puerto Rico were arrested for drug-running charges. The yearlong undercover operation was initiated by the FBI, after authorities got a tip about the police possibly being involved in drug dealing, and protecting cocaine dealers and shipments and movement throughout the island. Between 1993 and 2000, 1,000 police officers in Puerto Rico lost their jobs from the department due to criminal charges. Police corruption in Puerto Rico stems from the fact that police officers make small wages and are so close to the cocaine trafficking.
Operation Guard Shack was an two-year FBI investigation into law enforcement corruption in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. The operation came to a conclusion on 6 October 2010 with a series of predawn raids that led to over 130 arrests of members of the Puerto Rico Police Department, various municipal departments, and the Puerto Rico Corrections Department. The operation began at 3 a.m., when 65 tactical teams, including FBI SWAT and the Hostage Rescue Team
Hostage Rescue Team
The FBI Hostage Rescue Team is the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's counter-terrorism paramilitary tactical team. The HRT is trained to rescue U.S. citizens and allies who are held by a hostile force, either terrorist or criminal...
(HRT), fanned out across the island in a series of sneak attack arrests. On hand were a range of Bureau personnel—crisis negotiators, evidence response team members, canines and their handlers, and 80 medical personnel from first responders and nurses to a trauma surgeon and a veterinarian. The central thread of the corruption was law enforcement officers providing protection and other services to drug traffickers. Over 1,000 agents of the FBI conducted the raids. Many of them were flown in secretly. The agency characterized the action as, "likely the largest police corruption case in the FBI’s history."
Political corruption
In 2008, GovernorGovernor of Puerto Rico
The Governor of Puerto Rico is the Head of Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Since 1948, the Governor has been elected by the people of Puerto Rico...
Anibal Acevedo Vila
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the eighth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law,...
of Puerto Rico, was charged with 24 counts of conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
, fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, and tax crimes related to his campaign finances. During his trial, the judge threw out 15 of the 24 federal corruption charges due to insufficient evidence by the prosecution, and was eventually acquitted of all charges against him due to lack of evidence. The same year, Puerto Rican Senator Jorge de Castro Font
Jorge de Castro Font
Jorge Adolfo de Castro-Font is a former Puerto Rican Senator and former member of the House of Representatives. Originally, he was a member of the Popular Democratic Party but became an independent representative in 2001 after inner disputes with his party...
, member of the New Progressive Party
New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico
The New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that advocates for Puerto Rico's admission to the United States of America as the 51st state...
(NPP), was arrested by the FBI and charged with 32 criminal counts of extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
, fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, and money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, stemming back as early as 1996.
In 2009, he pled guilty to federal corruption charges. In exchange for his plead, prosecutors agreed to drop 10 of the original charges against him and are recommending a prison sentence of between 9 and 11 years. In 2007, Jose Granados Navedo, the former deputy speaker of Puerto Rico's lower house
House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico...
from 1992–2000, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, and was sentenced to 3 years in prison for accepting kickbacks from contractors and using his influence in getting the builders to work on the Superaqueduct of the North.
Gangs
The development of gangs in Puerto Rico has been attributed to the drug trafficking on the island giving them control to most of the trafficking points on the island. Because drugs are trafficked through and into the island from other source countries, they are less expensive than in any other place in the United States, attracting gangs on the island. It is cheap and easy for them to buy and deal to the public in housing projects in Puerto Rico, leading to the second highest homicideHomicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
rates in the United States.
In the 1970s, Los Ñetas, an adult prison gang
Prison gang
Prison gang is a term used to denote any type of gang activity in prisons and correctional facilities. Prison officials and others in law enforcement use the term security threat group or STG...
, may have been the origin of gangs in Puerto Rico when they banded together for protection against prison guards and horrible conditions in Puerto Rican prisons. Los Ñetas have spread to U.S. prison systems in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, and have been known to be involved in drug and weapons trafficking, extortion, robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, money laundering, and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
Other gangs like, El Grupo 25 de Enero del 1981, was created in response to protection from Los Ñetas, in the prison system. El Grupo 27, is a closely related gang to El Grupo 25 de Enero del 1981, as its members are juveniles
Juveniles
Juvenile may refer to:* Juvenile * Minor * Children's literature* Children's clothing...
who have family members in 25 de Enero gang. They have been known to be involved in the selling of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in Puerto Rico.
Crime reduction
The Puerto Rican government has implemented a series of law enforcement operations in relation to the federal "war on drugsWar on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
" in order to minimize drug related crimes and trafficking on the island. In 1985, the government started Operation Greenback, an investigation by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
(IRS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
(DEA), into the inconsistencies between the drastic increase of cash flow into the Puerto Rican economy
Economy of Puerto Rico
The Economy of Puerto Rico is one of the most diverse in the Caribbean region. Services and industrial production have surpassed agriculture as the primary focus of economic activity and income. Encouraged by duty-free access to the US and by tax incentives, United States firms have invested...
and the double digit unemployment rate and bad economy in the 70s and early 1980s. The operation uncovered money laundering schemes from within financial institutions and from the sale of illegal lottery ticket sales. Federal agents raided 10 banks and arrested 17 people on money laundering charges.
In 1990, Operation Lucky Strike, was put in motion by the FBI and local law enforcement officials, when residents of Vega Baja
Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
Vega Baja is a municipality in north central Puerto Rico located in the northern coast, north of Morovis; east of Manatí; and west of Vega Alta. Vega Baja is spread over 13 wards and Vega Baja Pueblo...
unearthed $20 million dollars on a nearby farm. They tried to stop the circulation of the illegal money and mobilized to arrest the individuals connected to the money. In 1993, the Puerto Rican government used the National Guard to help local police in controlling street crime
Street crime
Street crime is a loose term for criminal offences taking place in public places. It has moved to occupy the place once held by mugging. According to London's Metropolitan Police Force, street crime is:...
, and later used the military to invade about a dozen public housing projects in and around San Juan, that police deemed as "hot spots" for drug-related crimes. The operation produced the seizure of 1,200 bags of cocaine, 216 bags of marijuana, 369 capsules of crack, 1,142 bags of heroin, 3 kilos of rock cocaine, and 1 kilo of heroin.