Task Force (HSTF) Prosecutions (August 31 through September 4, 2026)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, Héctor Ramírez-Carbó, Acting United States Attorney, in conjunction with our partner agencies in the Homeland Security Task Force (“HSTF”) announce the following prosecutorial results for the week of August 31 through September 4, 2026. The HSTF is a permanent, interagency law enforcement task force created by executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations—including cartels, trafficking networks, and foreign terrorist organizations.
Convictions through Guilty Pleas:
On September 1, 2026, Álvaro Ortiz-Callejas pleaded guilty to narcotics importation conspiracy and narcotics importation aiding and abetting in Criminal Case 23-085 (PAD). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiring to import and aiding and abetting the importation of five kilograms or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine. Defendant was arrested on October 18, 2024. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for December 7, 2026. AUSA Lani Lear is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 2, 2026, Edgar Santiago-Vázquez pleaded guilty to Count One of the Indictment in Criminal Case 25-215 (SCC) and to Counts One and Seven of the Indictment in Criminal Case 25-392 (SCC). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Defendant was arrested on September 25, 2026. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for December 4, 2026. AUSA R. Vance Eaton is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 2, 2026, Enrique Falcón-Lopez pleaded guilty to Count One in Criminal Case 25-275 (RAM). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with a conspiracy to commit wire, bank and mail fraud. Defendant was arrested on June 17, 2025. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for January 12, 2027. SAUSA Vanessa Bonano is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 3, 2026, Lucas José Pérez pleaded guilty to Count One in Criminal Case 22-520 (RAM). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiracy to manufacture or distribution of cocaine for purpose of unlawful importation. Defendant was arrested on July 10, 2025, in the Dominican Republic and extradited to Puerto Rico on August 21, 2025. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for December 2, 2026. AUSA Camille García Jiménez is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 4, 2026, Yariel Enrique Morales-Fuentes pleaded guilty to Count One in Criminal Case number 25-272 (SCC). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Defendant was arrested on July 10, 2025. The court set defendant’s sentencing date for December 4, 2026. AUSAs Laura Díaz-González and Andrés Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
Sentencings:
On September 1, 2026, Josué Isaac-Febus, a.k.a. “Tonto/Doble T” was sentenced by United States District Court Judge María Angongiorgi-Jordán to nine (9) years of imprisonment to be followed by eight (8) years of supervised release for his participation in a violent drug trafficking organization that worked out of various Public Housing Projects in the Carolina and San Juan areas, principally the Sabana Abajo Public Housing Project. According to court documents, defendant was indicted on December 5, 2024, in Criminal Case 24-453 (MAJ), and pleaded guilty on May 13, 2026. AUSAs Laura Díaz-González and Joseph Russell are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 2, 2026, Defendant Jesús M. Cruz Martínez, was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Raúl Arias-Marxuach to 30 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release for a conspiracy to commit bank, wire, and mail fraud. According to court documents, defendant was indicted on June 12, 2025, in Criminal Case 25-275 (RAM), and pleaded guilty on June 4, 2026. SAUSA Vanessa Bonano is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 2, 2026, Ángel Ocasio-Cancel was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach to 60 months of imprisonment and eight (8) years of supervised release for a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, defendant was indicted on September 3, 2026, in Criminal Case 25-365 (RAM), and pleaded guilty on June 4, 2026. AUSA Andrés L. Orr is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 3, 2026, Jeuris Rodríguez-Payano was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Raúl Arias Maxuach to a term of imprisonment of 118 months and five (5) years of supervised release for conspiring to manufacture or distribute 323 kilograms cocaine for the purpose of unlawful importation. According to court documents, defendant was indicted on December 5, 2022, in Criminal Case 22-520 (RAM), and pleaded guilty on June 11, 2026. AUSA Camille García Jiménez was in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 3, 2026, Raúl González-Santiago was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach to 84 months of imprisonment—24 months as to Count One and 60 months as to Count Seven, to be served consecutively—and six (6) years of supervised release for a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, defendant was indicted on September 3, 2025, in Criminal Case 25-365 (RAM), and pleaded guilty on June 10, 2026. AUSA Andrés L. Orr is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 4, 2026, Robert Martínez-Limas was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Pedro A. Delgado Hernández to a term of six (6) months in home incarceration and four (4) years and six (6) months in probation for possessing with intent to distribute 10 kilograms of cocaine. According to court documents, defendant was indicted on August 22, 2024, in Criminal Case 24-280 (PAD), and pleaded guilty on April 20, 2026. AUSA Camille García Jiménez was in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 4, 2026, Rodney Alexis Maldonado-Márquez was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach to time served and six (6) years of supervised release for a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, defendant was indicted on September 3, 2025, in Criminal Case 25-365 (RAM), and pleaded guilty on June 18, 2026. AUSA Andrés L. Orr is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
On September 4, 2026, Barbara Valentín-Rivera was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Pedro A. Delgado to time served and three years of supervised release for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and to launder the drug trafficking proceeds. According to court documents, defendant was indicted on September 29, 2021, in Criminal Case 21-359, and pleaded guilty on May 18, 2026. AUSA Ricardo Imbert Fernández is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
These prosecutions are part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
HSTF San Juan comprises agents and officers from the following federal partners: FBI, ICE-HSI, CBP (OFO, AMO and Border Patrol), the U.S. Marshals Service for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, DEA, ATF, IRS, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of State, and the U.S. Secret Service, the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands HIDTA, TSA, FAA, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The HSTF also has the following state and local law enforcement partners as participating agencies: the Puerto Rico Police Department; the San Juan, Carolina, Guaynabo, Barceloneta, and Ponce Municipal Police Departments, the Puerto Rico National Guard – Counter Drug Program; the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Service (Hacienda); the Puerto Rico Port Authority; and the Virgin Islands Police Department.
