Puerto Rico conducts major operation against 43 members of the criminal group “Los Viraos”

San Juan.- Federal authorities in Puerto Rico carried out 43 arrest warrants this Thursday in different parts of the island against alleged members of the criminal organization “Los Viraos”, linked to drug trafficking and murders. Part of the operation was carried out in the public housing complexes (popular neighborhoods) Luis Muñoz Morales and Jardines de Montellano, both in Cayey (center of the island). Agents from the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) made the arrests. A dozen members of ‘Los Viraos’ remain fugitives. According to a statement from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the drug trafficking organization distributed heroin, cocaine base (commonly known as ‘crack’), cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl, oxycodone (Percocet), and alprazolam (Xanax) since 2021. He conducted his business in the aforementioned public housing projects -Luis Muñoz Morales and Jardines de Montellano-, as well as in the Polvorín neighborhood in Cayey and other areas of Puerto Rico. The organization called itself ‘Los Viraos’ and used other insignias to identify its members, such as jewelry, stickers, or tattoos of the letters LFNM, which mean ‘The Family Never Dies’. The main leader of the group, Efraín A. Planell-Pérez, although in prison, used smuggled cell phones to communicate with gang members, as well as to make electronic fund transfers and coordinate the band’s activities. In addition, Planell-Pérez bought drugs and weapons, gave orders about the operation of drug sales points, ordered assassinations, resolved disputes, and taught new members how to prepare drugs for sale, among other criminal actions.

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According to court documents, members of ‘Los Viraos’ published criminal activities on social media both to increase their prestige and to intimidate their rivals. The defendants also created a record label to produce music with lyrics that describe gang activities and real criminal acts, as well as music videos that show firearms. If they are found guilty, they can be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment, depending on the charges. All defendants face a narcotics forfeiture charge of more than $9 million. The Prosecutor’s Office pointed out that a group of the founding members of ‘Los Viraos’ previously belonged to another drug trafficking organization based in Caguas, with which they have maintained a territorial war, including shootings and murders. According to the Police, that organization they separated from is the one led by Nelson Torres Delgado, known as ‘El Burro’, who was captured on October 17, 2024.