News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2002

DEA LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE FOR PUERTO RICO REGION
Includes Local, Regional and National News Updates, Intelligence on Drug Trends Specifically in Puerto Rico as Well as the State's Most Wanted Drug Fugitives

The DEA today unveiled a newly revised website dedicated to providing new information about the fight against drug crimes and traffickers, as well as information on battling the misery of addiction, in the Puerto Rico region.

The newly revised national website provides information on everything from drug facts and descriptions (including photographic identifiers) to statistics on drug trends throughout the country. The website also highlights significant drug operations and takedowns, the country's Most Wanted Drug Fugitives, intelligence reports on international trafficking, and the latest information on new drug trends, such as the exploding use of drugs like Ecstasy among the nation's youth and the rising problem of Predatory (or Date Rape) Drugs.

Moreover, the DEA national website now hosts separate webpages for each of the 21 DEA Regional Field Divisions, which provide local news, state-by-state fact sheets and statistics, each state's Most Wanted lists, and information on state initiatives to reduce the demand for drugs.

"The idea was to make it easy for the public to find out what's going on in the fight against drugs-not just nationally but locally," said DEA Special Agent in Charge Jerome M. Harris. "The regional sites provide the latest information we have on a state-by-state basis, informed not by folks in Washington but by our agents here on the streets of Puerto Rico."

From DEA's main website at www.dea.gov, you can link to Puerto Rico webpage by clicking on "Local News" icon at the left-hand side of the page. A map will appear, allowing visitors to select the Puerto Rico region, which includes the news and state Fact Sheets for Puerto Rico.

Visitors can get regional news and state drug trends for any of the following DEA Field Divisions:

Atlanta - Covering Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

Newark - Covering New Jersey

Boston - Covering Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont

New Orleans - Covering Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi

Caribbean - Covering Barbados, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Virgin Islands

New York - Covering NewYork

Chicago - Covering Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin

Philadelphia - Covering Delaware and Philadelphia

Dallas - Covering Oklahoma and North Texas

Phoenix - Covering Arizona

Denver - Covering Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Utah

San Diego - Covering Southern California

Detroit - Covering Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio

San Francisco - Covering Northern California

El Paso - Covering New Mexico and Southwest Texas

Seattle - Covering Idaho, Oregon and Washington State

Houston - Covering South Texas and the Gulf Coast

St. Louis - Covering Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota

Los Angeles - Covering Central California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada and Saipan

Washington - Covering the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia

Miami - Covering the Bahamas and Florida

Another addition to the DEA website is the new Electronic Newsletter, which is distributed free each month via e-mail to subscribers. The newsletter compiles the month's most significant news regarding Drug Enforcement operational activities, intelligence reports, new drug patterns and trends, and regional news. To sign up for DEA's E-Newsletter, visitors can simply visit the DEA website at www.dea.gov and click on the "DEA Update" icon and enter their e-mail addresses. The newsletter will then be delivered automatically on a monthly basis.

If you have questions or need further information, please call Special Agent Waldo P. Santiago, Carribean Division News Media Representative, at 800-718-0781.