On June 21, a routine AMO air patrol spotted a vessel at sea 11 nautical miles south of Isla de Mona. Officials stopped the vessel at sea, searched it, and found narcotics that they brought to the pier in Cabo Rojo. HSI special agents met U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s officers at the pier, seized the narcotics and the vessel, and arrested the subjects, who will be charged with drug smuggling.

On June 22, HSI responded to the discovery of another yola-type vessel abandoned on a Barceloneta-area beach. Special agents seized 45 kilograms of cocaine from the vessel but made no arrests.

So far in fiscal year 2023, HSI has interdicted 53,974 pounds of cocaine in Puerto Rico.

“As law enforcement agents, our mission is to fight the war against drugs. These weekly interdictions are a testament of the success we are having,” said acting Special Agent in Charge Rebecca González-Ramos. "We are vigilant, we are determined, and we are protecting our coasts. It will be hard to go undetected — if you plan to use our shores to bring narcotics, you will be arrested.”

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico will prosecute these cases.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI's workforce of more than 8,700 employees is comprised of more than 6,000 special agents stationed in 237 U.S. cities and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents the largest DHS investigative law enforcement presence overseas and one of the largest in U.S. law enforcement.

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