49 Members of a Violent Gang Charged with Drug Trafficking and Firearms Violations in Bayamón, Puerto Rico (DOJ)

Press Release

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - On September 3, 2025, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging 49 violent gang members from the municipality of Bayamón with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession and distribution of controlled substances, and firearms violations, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. This investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Puerto Rico Police Bayamón Strike Force, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with the collaboration of the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bayamón Municipal Police, the Guaynabo Municipal Police, and Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP AMO).

"Today is the anniversary of 9/11 - the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil that took nearly 3,000 innocent lives. After the attack, Americans came together in unity, resolve, and determination to confront those who sought to harm us.Today, we face another threat to our communities - one that comes to use from criminal cartels - now rightly designated as foreign terrorist organizations - flooding our streets with fentanyl, other deadly drugs, and violence. In recent years, overdose deaths, mostly from fentanyl, have averaged over 100,000 per year. Just as 9/11 demanded a national response, the toll of gang violence and drug trafficking in our communities demands action and unity," said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. "The Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners, including those who participated in this morning's operation, are responding and taking action to make our communities and our streets safer. We are unified and our resolve is firm."

"This investigation, which falls directly under the Attorney General's "Commitment to Targeting Violent Crime" is an example of how working together with our federal, state, and local partners creates an outcome that is positive for the community," said Gordon Mallory, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, Miami Field Division. "The men and women of ATF continuously strive to take the necessary measures to fight violent crime to include the illegal use and possession of firearms. Because of the hard work of these individuals, the residents of this community can take their neighborhood(s) back."

The indictment alleges that from 2019 through the present, the defendants worked as part of a drug trafficking organization known as "Bin Laden Records" that distributed illegal drugs for significant financial gain and profit -- including heroin, cocaine base (commonly known as "crack"), cocaine, marihuana, fentanyl, Oxycodone (commonly known as Percocet), and Alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) - all within 1,000 feet of the Virgilio Dávila Public Housing Project (PHP), and within 1,000 feet of a public or private school and/or playground.

The charging documents further allege that when the members of the gang perceived threats to the organization and/or its members, they incurred in violent acts, including, but not limited to, murder to protect themselves and their organization. They also transported, distributed, and profited from the distribution of kilogram quantities of cocaine into the continental United States. The defendants also engaged in the trafficking of illegal firearms and ammunitions. As part of the operations of the drug points, the defendants and co-conspirators would obstruct and delay the work of law enforcement agents by obstructing the main entrance of the Virgilio Dávila PHP with shopping carts.

The defendants acted in different roles to further the goals of the drug trafficking conspiracy, including acting as leaders, drug point owners, enforcers, runners, sellers, lookouts, and facilitators. The defendants charged in the indictment are:

[1] Jonathan Berríos Rojas, a.k.a. "Manita"

[2] Adalberto Rivera Robles, a.k.a. "Batata/Bata/Gordo/B"

[3] Jonathan Bermúdez Valdés, a.k.a. "Valdes/V"

[4] Jovany Rivera Robles, a.k.a. "Wiliador 1"

[5] Raymond Sánchez Santiago, a.k.a. "Churrun/Peca"

[6] Luis Ramos Oyola, a.k.a. "Homero/Father/Gordo"

[7] Brian Rivera Robles, a.k.a. "Calva/Calvita/Carba/Calvi"

[8] Joseph Siraguza De Jesús, a.k.a. "Joker"

[9] Oscar Rosa Marrero, a.k.a. "Josky/Oski"

[10] Edgar Joel Figueroa Rondón, a.k.a. "Chencho/Edgar"

[11] José Romero Rivera, a.k.a. "Chaleco/Chale/Ñeco/Wiliador 3/Ñecombel"

[12] John Michael Díaz Díaz, a.k.a. "Oxy"

[13] Roberto Hernández Pacheco, a.k.a. "Chino/Pri"

[14] Jonathan De Jesús Bonilla, a.k.a. "Abuelito"

[15] Ángel Gabriel Mojica Valdés, a.k.a. "Tazmania"

[16] Ardwin Fuentes Rojas, a.k.a. "Bartolo/Barto"

[17] Raúl González Santiago, a.k.a. "Mambru"

[18] Luis Esteban Rivera Pérez, a.k.a. "Teta"

[19] José Rivera Nazario, a.k.a. "Jose"

[20] Carlos Victor Ruiz Jiménez, a.k.a. "Bimbo/Bin-B"

[21] Carlos Javier Reyes Núñez, a.k.a. "Dutty/Duty"

[22] Ricardo Rivera Figueroa, a.k.a. "El Viejo"

[23] Ricardo Rivera González, a.k.a. "Ricky/Kiki"

[24] Geraldino Castillo Genao, a.k.a. "El Domi"

[25] Suriel Rivera González

[26] Wilfredo Jesiel Barros Robles, a.k.a. "Wiliador 2/Wilo"

[27] Ángel Ocasio Cancel, a.k.a. "Garabato"

[28] Michael Paredes Tollinchi, a.k.a. "Tonka/Tractor"

[29] William Nieves Díaz, a.k.a. "Willy"

[30] Yeriel Dávila Cosme, a.k.a. "Yiyo/Guillo"

[31] Luis A. Malpica Negrón, a.k.a. "Malpi"

[32] Cristian Reyes Bonilla, a.k.a. "Bebo Magali"

[33] Wesley De Jesús Serrano, a.k.a. "Boss"

[34] Jomar Vélez Bermúdez, a.k.a. "Borra"

[35] Kevin O'neill Rodríguez Rosa

[36] Kiven J. Rodríguez Rosa, a.k.a. "Boli"

[37] Josué Raúl Cantres Ríos, a.k.a. "Bolita"

[38] Rafael González Lastra, a.k.a. "Rafy/Rafi"

[39] Efraín Ramírez Cortés, a.k.a. "Banano"

[40] Orlando Dávila Bonilla, a.k.a. "Alex Magaly"

[41] Christian J. Rivera Maldonado, a.k.a. "Plo Plo"

[42] Christian Malpica Sánchez

[43] Carlos Javier Vázquez Rodríguez, a.k.a. "El Javi/Javi"

[44] Luis Cartagena Cabezudo, a.k.a. "Nenguito"

[45] Edwin Rivera Román, a.k.a. "Zuldo"

[46] Rodney Alexis Maldonado Marquez, a.k.a. "Ronni"

[47] Joel Manuel Vélez Bally

[48]Arnaldo Rivera Rondón, a.k.a. "Nandy"

[49] Taina Michelle Colón De Jesús, a.k.a. "Griselda"

Sixteen of the above-listed defendants also face one charge of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and five of those defendants are facing one count of possession of a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Upon conviction, all defendants are subject to a narcotics forfeiture allegation of $50,735,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and Chief of the Gang Section Alberto López-Rocafort; Deputy Chief of the Gang Section, AUSA Teresa Zapata-Valladares; AUSA Andrés Orr Sevilla, and Puerto Rico Department of Justice Special AUSA Javier Rivera Rivera, are in charge of the prosecution of the case. If convicted on the drug trafficking charges, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison. If convicted of both the drug trafficking and the firearms charges in Count Seven, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life in prison. The defendants charged with possession of machineguns in furtherance of drug trafficking in Count Eight face a mandatory sentence of thirty years in prison to be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the drug trafficking charges.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Updated September 11, 2025