DEA Caribbean Division Highlights 70-Month Drug Trafficking Sentence and Other HSTF Case Results in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Caribbean Division, alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico and its Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) partners, announced that three defendants pleaded guilty and two were sentenced in federal cases during the week of October 26–30, 2026. The cases involved drug trafficking, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and evidence tampering.
Sentences
On October 30, Chief U.S. District Judge Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach sentenced Johan Tirado-Agueda to 70 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for drug trafficking offenses. Tirado-Agueda was initially indicted on March 30, 2023. A superseding indictment was filed on December 4, 2025, and he pleaded guilty on February 24, 2026, in Criminal Case No. 23-125 (RAM).
On October 29, U.S. District Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll sentenced Estefanny D. Parra-Rosa to one year of probation for conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute. Parra-Rosa was indicted on June 10, 2025, and pleaded guilty on July 29, 2026, in Criminal Case No. 25-272 (SCC).
Guilty Pleas
On October 27, Jackson L. Nieves-Mercado pleaded guilty to possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Counts One and Three of the indictment in Criminal Case No. 26-236 (MAJ). Nieves-Mercado was arrested on May 30, 2026. Sentencing is scheduled for January 27, 2027.
On October 28, siblings Alvin Lara-Martínez and Alder Lara-Martínez pleaded guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(1) in Criminal Case No. 25-424 (MAJ). The indictment charged them with conspiring to destroy, alter, or conceal evidence. Both were arrested on November 10, 2025, and are scheduled to be sentenced on February 2, 2027.
These prosecutions are part of the HSTF initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. Through HSTF San Juan, the DEA Caribbean Division works with federal prosecutors, the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and federal, territorial, and municipal law enforcement partners to share intelligence and coordinate efforts against drug trafficking and related firearms offenses in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.