These arrests are part of the federal task force’s efforts to target criminal organizations and transnational organizations.
The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted 81 people on drug and weapons violations as part of a crackdown on a Puerto Rican criminal group known as Los Baja Deos (LBD).
Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges Thursday during a visit to Puerto Rico. The day before, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Puerto Rico police arrested 70 defendants.
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“May this serve as a warning to those terrorizing our community,” Blanche said in a statement.
“The National Homeland Security Task Force is united in ending the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations across the United States.”
The mass indictment was part of an effort under President Donald Trump to weaken and dismantle criminal organizations across the Western Hemisphere.
The administration calls the hemisphere “America’s neighborhood.” The government has pledged to take tough, and sometimes deadly, action against those it deems “narco-terrorists” in the region. This word is often used by people suspected of drug trafficking.
According to Thursday’s indictment, LBD members began distributing drugs in and around public housing projects and neighborhoods in Mayaguez, a city in western Puerto Rico, starting in 2021.
They are also suspected of using the U.S. Postal Service to ship drugs from the island, which is a U.S. territory. The substances allegedly trafficked included heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana.
According to the Department of Justice, LBD distributed at least 340 kg of fentanyl or fentanyl-containing drugs and at least 2,200 kg of cocaine over the past five years. The operation generated more than $49 million in revenue.
The indictment also charges that members used violence, including murder and kidnapping, to protect the drug trafficking conspiracy.
Defendants charged with drug-related charges alone could receive at least 10 years in prison. Those charged with both drug and firearm charges could face a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. If the defendants are convicted in either case, the maximum sentence is life in prison.
The Justice Department also announced it is seeking to seize $49.7 million in assets as part of the criminal case.
In an announcement Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel praised law enforcement efforts in the case as “outstanding” and touted the large-scale arrests as a blow to drug trafficking into the continental United States.
“These arrests have disrupted one of the most violent drug trafficking organizations in western Puerto Rico, dismantling its leadership and distribution network, and shutting down yet another critical pipeline of trafficked drugs entering our country,” Patel said.
The arrests were made as part of President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Force, which was established by executive order in 2025 to target cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The Task Force Network includes more than 9,000 federal employees, task force staff, and analysts.
Since taking office for his second term, Trump has sought to strengthen the government’s efforts against drug traffickers.
Early in his term, his administration began designating Latin American criminal organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations,” allowing U.S. authorities to pursue them under antiterrorism laws.
But critics have warned that the designations are being used to justify extrajudicial killings and other abuses of power.
For example, since September 2, 2025, the Trump administration has repeatedly bombed small ships in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean for transporting drugs. Approximately 227 people were killed in this bombing campaign.
No evidence has been presented in the case, and the identity of the victim remains largely unknown.
