Legalize drugs and treat the addictions as medical, not legal problems.
La receta para los epidemia de drogas en Puerto Rico: Legalice las drogas y trate las adicciones como problemas médicos, no legales.
The (Urgent) Prescription for: The Puerto Rico Drug Problems
During the last two weeks or longer, the US and Colombian agents broke up the large drug ring, according to the reports by the VOA and other media outlets.
Thank you, PR Coast Guard (we should and will always be thankful to you), and all the others involved. It is a good news and it is a good operation. But with all the due respect to you and others, the warriors in this never-ending, and becoming more and more important “War on Drugs“, let me try to address some general, conceptual issues and the strategies of this war.
This operation, although impressive, appears to be also a smokescreen, a drop in a bucket, a tip of the huge iceberg, preferred to be not-seen and ignored by the mainstream political elites of Puerto Rico: “out of sight, out of mind”. It also looks like a check-mark on the PR “Drug War” List, mostly for the FBI career advancements, long planned, hatched and developed by the local PR FBI (San Juan) branch (most likely under its previous leadership, among the others), whose colorful history and very questionable reputation I would love to study in details, and will.
Get to the bottom of this and ask yourselves the question:
Q.: What fuels the drug wars and its immeasurable, tragic, and many-faceted casualties?
A.: Prohibitions, of various sorts, kinds, and natures, very similar to the alcohol prohibition of 1920s. Learn its lessons.
Solutions:
Legalize drugs and treat the addictions as medical, not legal problems; not in prisons, but in the special therapeutic communities. And Puerto Rico can take a lead of this on the world stage.
Generally speaking, the solutions to the FBI’s many and disabling problems are two: Intelligence, of various kinds, types, and sorts (the excess of it never hurts), and Science, (which is a solution to almost everything), which should help with developing of the efficient strategies and the multitude of other issues. Essentially, these two directions are one and the same.
In Puerto Rico, where the physicians, as the professionals with the unique skills, were always valued in this quite practical and pragmatic society (“survival” was above all on this Island in the middle of nowhere), and where they produced quite a number of the prominent politicians, they can play more active roles in educating the public and developing the rational and healthy social policies which make sense.
The benefits of drugs legalization are evident from some practical examples: In Portugal, where “Drug Use Is Treated As A Medical Issue, Not A Crime”, it was a “resounding success”. “Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success,” says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. “It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does.”
The data shows that decriminalization does not result in increased drug use.
Since that is what concerns the public and policymakers most about decriminalization, he says, “that is the central concession that will transform the debate.”
In short, the problems of drugs deserve some free-thinking, creative, and well-informed attitudes. The resolution, at least partial, of the drug situation and the pressures of supply in PR, will, most importantly, relieve these pressures on the re-export of drugs to the mainland, and might serve as the model for the pilot studies and testing the new strategies in the many intertwined wars on drugs and the related problems, such as the hostile intelligence operations which use the “drug invasions” for their own ends, goals, and purposes.
Besides all that above, the ($35 Billion a year) drug addictions treatments industry, just like any other industry, generates jobs and revenues. It remains up to the economists and other specialists to explain and to demonstrate the potential economic and economic-political benefits of drugs legalization and/or liberalization policies in Puerto Rico.
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References, Links and Quotes
9:25 AM 3/13/2018 – M.N.: A smokescreen, a drop in a bucket, a tip of the huge iceberg, preferred to be not-seen, a check-mark on the PR “Drug War” List: US dismantles criminal network that imported cocaine from Colombia to Puerto Rico | Desmantelan red que importaba cocaína de Colombia a Puerto Rico – Noticias RCN
See also: Solutions for Puerto Rico Drug Problems – GS
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| EE.UU desmantela red criminal que exportaba cocaína de Colombia a Puerto Rico – ElEspectador.com | ||
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| De Colombia a Puerto Rico: arrestan a narcotraficantes de cocaína – Telemundo Puerto Rico | ||
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Reunido con el secretario @DeptSaludPR , Rafael Rodríguez y el equipo de @prstateits , @prstatecio y @prstatecino – 12:37 PM 3/14/2018
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Links: Drugs in Puerto Rico: Problems and Solutions – 3.14.18
- 9:25 AM 3/13/2018 – US dismantles criminal network that imported cocaine from Colombia to Puerto Rico | Desmantelan red que importaba cocaína de Colombia a Puerto Rico – Noticias RCN | The Puerto Rico News & Times
- US, Colombian Agents Break Up Large Drug Ring
- Desmantelan red que importaba cocaína de Colombia a Puerto Rico | Noticias RCN
- Colombian and Puerto Rican drug lords arrested for cocaine | Meter
- local.pdf
- cocaine from Colombia to Puerto Rico – Google Search
- News – cocaine from Colombia to Puerto Rico – Google Search
- Puerto Rico Drug Problems – Google Search
- puerto rico drug abuse statistics – Google Search
- Solutions for Puerto Rico Drug Problems – Google Search
- solutions to drug problems – Google Search
- legalization as solution to drug problems – Google Search
- therapeutic communities for drug addictions – Google Search
- Was Puerto Rico a penal colony? – Google Search
- penal colony – Google Search
- alcohol prohibition 1920’s – Google Search
- lessons of alcohol prohibition 1920’s – Google Search
- Marcus Aurelius opioids – Google Search
- Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez – Google Search
- Puerto Rico physicians – Google Search
- Rafael Pujals – Google Search
- Colombia’s new, legal drug lords hope to sell medical marijuana to the world – The Washington Post
8:45 AM 3/14/2018
Rafael Pujals – Wikipedia
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See also: penal colony – GS | Was Puerto Rico a penal colony? – GS:
The single most important route of convict transportation linked the Atlantic port of Cadiz, in southern Spain, to Havana in Cuba and San Juan in Puerto Rico, …
Spanish Empire | Convict Voyages – convictvoyages.org/expert-essays/the-spanish-empire
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In Portugal, Drug Use Is Treated As A Medical Issue, Not A Crime – NPR
Apr 18, 2017 – So people came home from war with some [drug] habits,” says João Goulão, Portugal’s drug czar.
“It’s cheaper to treat people than to incarcerate them,”
says sociologist Nuno Capaz. “If I come across someone who wants my help, I’m in a much better position to provide it than a judge would ever be. Simple as that.”
Capaz’s team of 10 counselors handles all of Lisbon’s roughly 2,500 drug cases a year. It may sound like a lot, but it’s actually a 75 percent drop from the 1990s. Portugal’s drug-induced death rate has plummeted to five times lower than the European Union average.”
“For every person in Portugal who cannot escape addiction, there’s daily methadone, counseling and free treatment. A generation ago, these addicts were put in jail. Now they’re on the street.
But polls show the Portuguese — having lived through the ravages of a heroin epidemic — overwhelmingly support this policy.”
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Inside The $35 Billion Addiction Treatment Industry – Forbes
3 Face Long Jail Terms if Found
Guilty in Cocaine Seizure at Sea
By MARIA MIRANDA SIERRA
mirandasanjuanstar@gmail.com
A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico
returned a three-count indictment against three
defendants charged with conspiracy to possess
a controlled substance on board a vessel subject to
the jurisdiction of the United States, U.S. Attorney for
the District of Puerto Rico Rosa Emilia Rodríguez announced
Monday.
The defendants, Erix Manuel Rodríguez López,
Juan Carlos Castillo Vasquez and José Nicolas Auitian
Bohorquez, conspired to possess with intent to distribute
fi ve kilograms or more of a mixture or substance
containing a detectable amount of cocaine, a Schedule
II controlled substance, on board a vessel subject to
the jurisdiction of the United States.
On March 1, the crew of a patrolling U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) maritime patrol aircraft
from the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch (CAMB)
detected a suspicious 30-foot go-fast vessel with visible
packages on deck transiting without navigational
lights, some 50 nautical miles south of Ponce. The United
States Coast Guard (USCG) Cutter Horsley conducted
the interdiction of the suspicious boat. Upon
boarding the vessel, USCG found the defendants in
possession of 30 bales containing approximately 900
kilograms of cocaine. The three individuals were detained
by USCG and turned over to FBI agents from
the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF) for processing,
along with the seized narcotics.
The interdiction was the result of ongoing, multiagency
federal law enforcement eff orts in support
of Operation Unifi ed Resolve, Operation Caribbean
Guard and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force
(CCSF).
The FBI is in charge of the investigation along with
agents from the CCSF, with the collaboration of the
USCG, CBP Offi ce of Field Operations, CBP Air and
Marine Operations, CBP United States Border Patrol,
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and PR Joint
Forces of Rapid Action (FURA).
If convicted the defendants face a minimum sentence
of 10 years, and up to life in prison.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Gajewski is
in charge of the prosecution of the case, under the supervision
of Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Díaz Rex,
deputy chief of the International Narcotics Unit.
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Full circle – Drugs trafficking in the Caribbean – The Economist – Print edition | The Americas
cocaine from Colombia to Puerto Rico – Google Search
Detienen capos colombianos y boricuas por cocaína
EEUU desmantela un grupo criminal que importaba cocaína de …
Cocaine from Colombia to Puerto Rico – GS – 3.13.18
US, Colombian Agents Break Up Large Drug Ring
International–Washington Times–20 hours ago
US Coast Guard nabs suspected drug smugglers in Caribbean Sea
3 suspected smugglers nabbed, 900 kilograms of cocaine seized
They Say They Have Found the Submarine that Pablo Escobar …
US dismantles criminal network that imported cocaine from Colombia to Puerto Rico
The operation was coordinated with the Colombian authorities. AFP
The operation, coordinated with the Colombian authorities, took place through the filing of two accusations in the Federal District Court of Puerto Rico.
Through the first of the formal accusations, charges were filed against Aureliano Acevedo-Hernández, John Edinson García-Rodríguez, Dalbelto Rincón, Tulio Sánchez-Muñoz, Julio Aníbal González-Compres, Jairo Andrés Cruz-Coronel, Julio César Rojas-Betancourt, Field Edison Quintero-Arturo, Luis Alberto Jaimes-Nuñez and Jairo Gómez-Guerra.
Puede leer: Muere en tiroteo exnarco colombiano miembro de la banda Los Miami
Los cargos presentados fueron, entre otros, conspiración para poseer, fabricar o distribuir sustancias controladas con fines de importación ilegal a Estados Unidos.
La acusación contenía, asimismo, una petición de confiscación de los ingresos obtenidos como resultado de las actividades ilegales de la organización y los bienes utilizados para cometer o facilitar la comisión del delito.
La segunda acusación formal está dirigida contra Miguel Ángel Agosto-Pacheco, Jerry Omar Hernández-Peña, Anthony Jael Abreu-Matos, Luis Ángel Ramos-Cordero, Juan Tapia-Soto y otra persona, cuya identidad no ha sido facilitada, con cargos similares.
Le recomendamos: Las trampas de los hermanos Rodríguez Orejuela para quedarse con dineros del narcotráfico
Los acusados fueron arrestados en las localidades puertorriqueñas de Vieques, Fajardo y Levittown.
“Estos arrestos son una clara indicación del éxito del programa del Grupo de trabajo contra el crimen organizado y el narcotráfico (Ocdetf, en inglés)”, dijo la fiscal estadounidense Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez.
“The arrests dismantled an organization that coordinated the importation of thousands of kilograms of cocaine into Puerto Rico from Colombia, and the persons named in these accusations now face long periods of incarceration,” he added.
Rodriguez-Velez also assured that the United States will continue to “maximize” its international efforts and the coordination of multiple agencies to “investigate and prosecute” those who do not respect US laws and smuggle drugs.
From Colombia to Puerto Rico: they arrest cocaine drug traffickers
They produced the drug in the jungle and transported it to the island by boat.
By CYBERNEWS
Published Monday, March 12, 2018
Desmantelan red que importaba cocaína de Colombia a Puerto Rico – Noticias RCN |
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Mon, 12 Mar 2018 20:29:12 GMT
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Desmantelan red que importaba cocaína de Colombia a Puerto Rico
Las autoridades de EE.UU. desmantelaron una organización internacional de narcotráfico mediante el arresto de 14 personas en Puerto Rico.
De Colombia a Puerto Rico: arrestan a narcotraficantes de cocaína
Telemundo 52all 10 news articles »
From Colombia to Puerto Rico: they arrest cocaine drug traffickers
They produced the drug in the jungle and transported it to the island by boat.
By CYBERNEWS
Published Monday, March 12, 2018
An agreement with Colombia allowed the arrest of 15 people who are attributed the distribution of multiple kilograms of cocaine through Venezuela, said Monday the federal prosecutor, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez Velez.
“These individuals organized, directed and financed the importation of multiple kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Puerto Rico, participating in the production of cocaine in the jungle of Colombia, the transportation of cocaine from Colombia to Venezuela through vehicles and mules. – and the maritime transport of cocaine from northern Venezuela to Puerto Rico, “said the federal prosecutor at a press conference. In Colombia, the authorities held a press conference to give details of the joint operation.
He explained that in Venezuela they used fishing vessels that in turn dragged dinghies, which individuals on the high seas exchanged for bringing to Puerto Rico.
The 10 defendants arrested in Colombia face charges of conspiracy to possess, manufacture or distribute controlled substances for the purpose of importing into the United States, and for the possession, manufacture or distribution of cocaine for the purpose of importing it into the United States.
These are: Aureliano Acevedo-Hernández known as “Ciro / Morado”, John Edinson García Rodríguez, known as “Pirata”; Dalberto Rincón, known for “Bambam / Marco, Tulio Sánchez-Muñoz, Julio Aníbal González-Compres, known for” Winston “, Jairo Andrés Cruz Coronel, known for” Jairo / Jairito “, Julio César Rojas-Betancourt, known for” Strawberry “Campo Edison Quintero-Arturo, known as” Coronel “; Luís Alberto Jaimes Núñez, known for “Beto” and Jairo Gómez-Guerra, aka “Jairito”.
The five defendants arrested in Puerto Rico under the other accusation face charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to import controlled substances, and attempt to import controlled substances.
These are: Miguel Ángel Agosto-Pacheco, aka “Chino”; Jerry Omar Hernández-Peña; Anthony Jael Abreu-Matos; Luis Angel Ramos-Cordero, and Juan Tapia-Soto.
According to the accusation, August-Pacheco directly controlled from Puerto Rico with subjects in Colombia and Venezuela the movement of drug smuggling. The other individuals in this indictment received the cocaine on the high seas and moved it in small boats to Puerto Rico.
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