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Puerto Rico
Crime rates* (2008)
Violent crimes
Homicide20.4
Rape2.4
Robbery138.3
Aggravated assault78.8
Total violent crime239.9
Property crimes
Burglary484
Larceny-theft837.4
Motor vehicle theft177.1
Total property crime1,498.5
Notes

*Number of reported crimes per 100,000 population.


Source: FBI 2008 UCR data

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. [1] 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. [2]

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.

Drug trafficking

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The Port of San Juan is one of the busiest ports in the Caribbean and Latin America.

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. [3]

Cocaine

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One of the most common ways to smuggle cocaine into the island is through commercial and private maritime 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. [4] 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. [5] In 2005, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seized 1,772 kilograms of cocaine in a cargo ship from Venezuela, during a routine inspection. [6]

Heroin

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In 2001, CBP 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. [7]

Marijuana

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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 Juan was arrested at the airport, when government officials found 12.7 kilograms of marijuana hidden in his luggage. [8]


Police corruption

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In 2008, 4 police officers in Puerto Rico were arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), including a Lieutenant with 33 years on the force, for extortion and distribution of cocaine and heroin. [9] 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. [10] Between 2003 and 2007, 100 officers had been under investigation and 75 others convicted under federal court for police corruption. [11] 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. [12] Between 1993 and 2000, 1,000 police officers in Puerto Rico lost their jobs from the department due to criminal charges. [13] Police corruption in Puerto Rico stems from the fact that police officers make small wages and are so close to the cocaine trade. [14]

Political corruption

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In 2008, Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila of Puerto Rico, was charged with 24 counts of conspiracy, fraud, and tax crimes related to his campaign finances. [15] 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. [16] [17] 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. [18] In 2009, he plead 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. [19] 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. [20]

Gangs

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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 homicide rates in the United States. [21] In the 1970's, 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. [22] 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. [23]

Crime reduction

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The Puerto Rican government has implemented a series of law enforcement operations in relation to the federal "war on drugs" 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 1980's. 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. [24] 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. [25] 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. [26]


References

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  1. ^ National Drug Intelligence Center. "Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Drug Threat Assessment." U.S. Department of Justice. (2003). print.
  2. ^ Montalvo-Barbot, Alfredo. "Crime in Puerto Rico: drug trafficking, money laundering, and the poor." Crime and Delinquency 43.4 (1997): 533-548. print.
  3. ^ National Drug Intelligence Center. "Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Drug Threat Assessment." U.S. Department of Justice. (2003). print.
  4. ^ "Puerto Rico tourism." International Cruise & Ferry Review (2003): 202+. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  5. ^ National Drug Intelligence Center. "Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Drug Threat Assessment." U.S. Department of Justice. (2003). print.
  6. ^ "Two tons of cocaine seized in Puerto Rico." EFE World News Service 5 Oct. 2005. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  7. ^ National Drug Intelligence Center. "Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Drug Threat Assessment." U.S. Department of Justice. (2003). print.
  8. ^ National Drug Intelligence Center. "Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Drug Threat Assessment." U.S. Department of Justice. (2003). print.
  9. ^ "FBI arrests 4 Puerto Rican police for corruption." EFE World News Service 19 Dec. 2008. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Prosecutors charge Puerto Rican police with corruption." Miami Herald [Miami, FL] 23 Aug. 2007. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  11. ^ "Police corruption undermines Puerto Rican drug war." Miami Herald [Miami, FL] 18 July 2007. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  12. ^ Lichtblau, Eric. "The Nation; 28 Puerto Rico Police Caught in Drug Sting." Los Angeles Times 15 Aug. 2001: A-14. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  13. ^ "Police corruption undermines Puerto Rican drug war." Miami Herald [Miami, FL] 18 July 2007. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  14. ^ Lichtblau, Eric. "The Nation; 28 Puerto Rico Police Caught in Drug Sting." Los Angeles Times 15 Aug. 2001: A-14. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  15. ^ "Puerto Rico governor pleads not guilty." UPI NewsTrack 29 Mar. 2008. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  16. ^ "Judge throws out 15 federal corruption charges against Puerto Rico governor." EFE World News Service 1 Dec. 2008. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  17. ^ "Carlton Fields Client Acquitted of Corruption Along With Ex-Governor of Puerto Rico." Marketwire 23 Mar. 2009. InfoTrac Custom Newspapers. Web. 7 June 2010.
  18. ^ "FBI arrests prominent Puerto Rico senator on corruption charges." EFE World News Service 3 Oct. 2008. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  19. ^ "Former Puerto Rico lawmaker pleads guilty to corruption." USA Today 21 Jan. 2009. Web. 7 June 2010.
  20. ^ "Puerto Rican pol sentenced to 3 years for graft." EFE World News Service 20 Apr. 2007. General OneFile. Web. 7 June 2010.
  21. ^ Torres-Rivera, Edil and Phan, Loan T. "The Gang Problem in Puerto Rico." Journal of Addiction & Offender Counseling 25.2 (2005) : 90-96. Print.
  22. ^ Torres-Rivera, Edil and Phan, Loan T. "The Gang Problem in Puerto Rico." Journal of Addiction & Offender Counseling 25.2 (2005) : 90-96. Print.
  23. ^ Torres-Rivera, Edil and Phan, Loan T. "The Gang Problem in Puerto Rico." Journal of Addiction & Offender Counseling 25.2 (2005) : 90-96. Print.
  24. ^ Montalvo-Barbot, Alfredo. "Crime in Puerto Rico: drug trafficking, money laundering, and the poor." Crime and Delinquency 43.4 (1997): 533-548. print.
  25. ^ Montalvo-Barbot, Alfredo. "Crime in Puerto Rico: drug trafficking, money laundering, and the poor." Crime and Delinquency 43.4 (1997): 533-548. print.
  26. ^ Montalvo-Barbot, Alfredo. "Crime in Puerto Rico: drug trafficking, money laundering, and the poor." Crime and Delinquency 43.4 (1997): 533-548. print.

External links

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