DEA Caribbean Division Highlights Major HSTF Guilty Pleas and Sentencings in Puerto Rico
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  • DEA Caribbean Division Highlights Major HSTF Guilty Pleas and Sentencings in Puerto Rico

DEA Caribbean Division Highlights Major HSTF Guilty Pleas and Sentencings in Puerto Rico

September 23, 2026
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For Immediate Release
Contact: Tony Velazquez
Phone Number: (787) 475-4504

Federal actions target cocaine importation, drug trafficking organizations and firearms used in furtherance of drug trafficking

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Caribbean Division highlights significant prosecutorial results achieved through the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) during the week of September 14 through September 18, 2026, including multiple guilty pleas and federal prison sentences involving cocaine importation, drug trafficking organizations, and firearms used in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.

The results include prison sentences of up to 195 months, or more than 16 years, as well as a 15-year federal sentence involving the importation of approximately 250 kilograms of cocaine.

“These results demonstrate that dismantling a drug trafficking organization does not end with an arrest or a seizure—it ends with accountability,” said DEA Caribbean Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Mayer. “Through the Homeland Security Task Force, DEA and our partners are attacking these criminal networks at every level, from international cocaine importation and distribution to the firearms used to protect their operations. Whether these organizations operate on our streets, inside correctional institutions, or across international waters, we will continue working together to identify those responsible, disrupt their operations, and bring them before the U.S. justice system.”

CONVICTIONS THROUGH GUILTY PLEAS

On September 14, Winder José González pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import more than five kilograms of cocaine from Colombia. González was arrested in Colombia on December 9, 2024, and extradited to Puerto Rico on October 31, 2025. Sentencing is scheduled for December 14, 2026.

On September 16, Josué Raúl Cantres-Ríos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. He was arrested on September 9, 2025, and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15, 2026.

Also on September 16, Frambel Rijos-Hernández, a.k.a. “Domi,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. According to the indictment, the organization operated from several public housing projects in Carolina and San Juan, including the Sabana Abajo Public Housing Project. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16, 2026.

On September 17, Steve Vegeli Negrón pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances within prison institutions. Sentencing is scheduled for December 13, 2026.

Also on September 17, Francisco Martínez-Mendoza pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire, bank, and mail fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for December 16, 2026.

Alexander Rodríguez-Luna also pleaded guilty on September 17 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances in the Pedro Rosario Nieves Public Housing Project and other areas in and around Fajardo, Puerto Rico, as well as carrying firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Sentencing is scheduled for December 21, 2026.

SENTENCINGS

On September 14, Ramón Camilo Rodríguez López was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison and four years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute at least two kilograms but less than 3.5 kilograms of cocaine.

On September 15, Luis Pérez Colón was sentenced to 168 months,14 years in federal prison and eight years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Also on September 15, Edwin Correa Toro was sentenced to 120 months, 10 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to import approximately 340 kilograms of cocaine.

Yasiel Morales López was sentenced to 144 months, 12 years in federal prison and eight years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.

On September 16, Ángel L. Sanjurjo was sentenced to 195 months, 16 years and three months in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Also on September 16, Efraín Ramírez-Cortés was sentenced to 54 months in federal prison and six years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

On September 17, Gregorio Sánchez Chala was sentenced to 180 months, 15 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release on narcotics-related offenses involving the importation of approximately 250 kilograms of cocaine.

Also on September 17, Leomar Jesús Capote-Ramos was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for offenses involving conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine aboard a U.S. vessel, as well as conspiracy and attempted importation of cocaine.

On September 18, Dannyshka Tosada-Sánchez was sentenced to time served and five years of supervised release for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

These prosecutions are part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative, a whole-of-government partnership bringing together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat criminal cartels, transnational criminal organizations, trafficking networks, foreign gangs, and other criminal threats operating in the United States and abroad.

DEA Caribbean Division is a member of HSTF San Juan and continues working alongside its federal, state, local, and international law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and throughout the Caribbean region.

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US Department of Justice - Drug Enforcement Administration

Drug Enforcement Administration

Michael C. Mayer Special Agent in Charge - Caribbean
@DEACaribbeanDiv
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