Convictions through Guilty Pleas and Sentencings in Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Prosecutions (June 8 through June 12, 2026) (DOJ)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney, in conjunction with our partner agencies in the Homeland Security Task Force ("HSTF") announce the following prosecutorial results for the week of June 8 through June 12, 2026. The HSTF is a permanent, interagency law enforcement task force created by executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations-including cartels, trafficking networks, and foreign terrorist organizations.

Convictions through Guilty Pleas:

• On June 8, 2026, defendant Noel De León-De La Rosa pleaded guilty to Count 1 in Criminal Case 25-097(GMM). According to the Indictment, the defendant was charged with a conspiracy to import 5 kilograms or more of cocaine into the United States. De León-De La Rosa also pleaded guilty to Count 1 in Criminal Case 25-254 (GMM). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine aboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The defendant was arrested on May 19, 2025. The court set defendant's sentencing date for September 8, 2026. AUSA Antonio J. López-Rivera is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 8, 2026, Juan Gabriel Cruz-Torrens pleaded guilty to Count One and Six in Criminal Case 22-327 (PAD). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiring 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, while also carrying firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The court set defendant's sentencing date for August 28, 2026. AUSA Corinne Cordero-Romo is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 8, 2026, Edwin Lemuel Marcano-Ferrer pleaded guilty to Count One and Six in Criminal Case 22-327 (PAD). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiring 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, while also carrying firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The court set defendant's sentencing date for August 28, 2026. AUSA Corinne Cordero-Romo is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 9, 2026, Charlie J. Dalmau-Román, a.k.a "Tres Deos/Tres Dedos" and Luis R. Pérez-Colón, a.k.a "Mencho/Luisito" pleaded guilty to the charges in counts one and seven of the indictment in case 24-453 (MAJ). According to the indictment, the defendants were charged with participating in a violent drug trafficking organization that operated out of several public housing projects in the Carolina and San Juan areas, including the Sabana Abajo Public Housing Project and with possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Defendants were arrested on December 11, 2024. The court set defendants' sentencing date for September 15, 2026. AUSAs Laura Díaz-González and Joseph Russell are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 9, 2026, José M. Rodríguez-Torres pleaded guilty to Count One in Criminal Case 23-114 (RAM). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, from in or about the year 2019 and continuing up to and until the return of the Indictment, in Majinas Ward, Las Guaras Ward, Cerro Gordo Ward, José A. Castillo Public Housing Project in the Municipality of Sabana Grande, Sabana Eneas Ward in the Municipality of San Germán, Sabana Yeguas Ward in the Municipality of Lajas, Parabueyon Ward in the Municipality of Cabo Rojo and areas nearby. The court set defendant's sentencing date for September 8, 2026. AUSA Corinne Cordero-Romo is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 10, 2026, Raúl González-Santiago pleaded guilty to Count One in Criminal Case 25-365. According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Defendant was arrested on September 11, 2025. The court set defendant's sentencing date for September 8, 2026. Special AUSA Javier Rivera and AUSA Andrés Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 11, 2026, Onix Y. Couvertier-Pollock, a.k.a "Gato/Gatito/Yamil," Ángel L. Sanjurjo, a.k.a "Vaca," Yasiel Morales-López, a.k.a "Pausa/Rubio," and Ángel M. Franqui-González, a.k.a "Blanquito" pleaded guilty to the charges in counts one and seven of the indictment in Criminal Case 24-453 (MAJ). According to the indictment, the defendants were charged with participating in a violent drug trafficking organization that operated out of several public housing projects in the Carolina and San Juan areas, including the Sabana Abajo Public Housing Project and with possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Defendants were arrested on December 11, 2024. The court set defendants' sentencing date for September 16, 2026. AUSAs Laura Díaz-González and Joseph Russell are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 11, 2026, defendant Darío Alexander López pleaded guilty to all drug related charges in Criminal Case 24-429-02 (SCC). According to the indictment on October 13, 2024, the defendant was charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine in excess of 5 kilos aboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, possession with intent to distribute cocaine in excess of 5 kilos aboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and jettisoning bales of cocaine. Defendant was arrested on October 13, 2024. AUSA Luis A. Valentín is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 11, 2026, defendant Jeuris Rodríguez-Payano pleaded guilty to Count One in case 22-520 (RAM). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiring to manufacture and distribute 321 kilograms of cocaine, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the cocaine would be imported into the United States. Defendant was arrested in the Dominican Republic and extradited to Puerto Rico on August 20, 2025. The court set defendant's sentencing date for September 9, 2026. AUSA Camille García-Jiménez is in charge of the prosecution of the case.

Sentencings:

• On June 9, 2026, defendant Raúl O. Matos-De Jesús was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Raúl Arias Marxuach to 84 months (7 years) in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, defendant was charged by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico on May 8, 2024, in Criminal Case 24-170, and pleaded guilty to the charge(s) on February 26, 2026. AUSAs Andrés Orr and Joseph Russell are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 10, 2026, defendant Ángelo González-Farfan was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll to 30 months of imprisonment for conspiring to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States, jettisoning property subject to forfeiture, and related charges. According to court documents, defendant was charged by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico on March 6, 2025, in Criminal Case 25-114 (SCC), and pled guilty to the charges on January 29, 2026. AUSA Lani Lear is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 10, 2026, Josmar Farfan-Guerra was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll to 30 months of imprisonment for conspiring to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States, jettisoning property subject to forfeiture, and related charges. According to court documents, defendant was charged by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico on March 6, 2025, in Criminal Case 25-114 (SCC), and pled guilty to the charges on February 19, 2026. AUSA Lani Lear is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 11, 2026, defendant Michael Miranda-Santiago was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll to 60 months of imprisonment and six years of supervise release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, defendant was charged by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico on June 8, 2023, in Criminal Case 23-238 (SCC), and pled guilty to the charge(s) on February 20, 2026. AUSA Pedro R. Casablanca is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
• On June 11, 2026, defendant Edison Ruiz-Garallua was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge Raúl Arias Marxuach to 51 months of imprisonment and six years of supervise release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, defendant was charged by a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico on April 3, 2023, in Criminal Case 23-132 (RAM), and pled guilty to the charge(s) on March 13, 2026. AUSA Pedro R. Casablanca is in charge of the prosecution of the case.

These prosecutions are part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

HSTF San Juan comprises agents and officers from the following federal partners: FBI, ICE-HSI, CBP (OFO, AMO and Border Patrol), the U.S. Marshals Service for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, DEA, ATF, IRS, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of State, and the U.S. Secret Service, the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands HIDTA, TSA, FAA, and the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Districts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The HSTF also has the following state and local law enforcement partners as participating agencies: the Puerto Rico Police Department; the San Juan, Carolina, Guaynabo, Barceloneta, and Ponce Municipal Police Departments, the Puerto Rico National Guard - Counter Drug Program; the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Service (Hacienda); the Puerto Rico Port Authority; and the Virgin Islands Police Department.

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