Agosto's arrest means nothing in the PR drug world

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO. The statistics handled by federal agencies estimate that the drug trafficking operations in Puerto Rico move between US$10 and US$15 billion per year and are the cause of 75% of the crimes that occur on the island. All this, in spite of the advertizing campaign by the Police called "Hit the Point"(Golpe al Punto in Spanish) and the constant operations carried out by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

Jose Raul Cepeda Borrero and Gary Gutierrez, criminologists interviewed by Diario Libre, were in agreement that the arrest of Jose Figueroa Agosto (Junior Capsula) "means nothing" in the drug trafficking world in Puerto Rico "because we have the same number of drug users, the same access to the black markets and the same weaknesses of the system that existed before they arrested him".

The high degree of complexity that the criminal industry has acquired in Puerto Rico makes the work of anti-narcotic organizations difficult, especially for obtaining evidence that will allow judicial processing for the heads of the groups when they are arrested. One month after the arrest of Figueroa Agosto, the Federal Prosecutor's office in Puerto Rico continues to be involved in the difficult job of putting together the puzzle of the evidence against him and they have still not charged him for the crimes of drug trafficking and money laundering.

Meanwhile, the violence and the crimes associated with the sale of drugs on the island maintain a climate of concern in the citizenry. Paradoxically, the worry seems to become greater each time a criminal organization is dismantled because of the war that is unleashed between rival groups to control the areas that are left without any controls.

Cepeda warned that violence on the island is guaranteed "because the drug consumption on the island continues to grow, while the quality of life of the population deteriorates because of the economic crisis and joblessness".

The black market for the sales of narcotics grows spontaneously, with millions in income and a long trail of associated crimes, such as robberies, kidnappings, murders, gangsterism, corruption and money laundering.

This is an illegal industry with a large economic impact in Puerto Rico. The economist Gustavo Velez explained that if the economic value of the US$15 billion estimated by the federal agencies is takes as a parameter, "drug trafficking occupies the second most important item in the Puerto Rican economy, after manufacturing. In this situation, the narco-economy represents 16% of the GDP", the professional explained in his analysis of the issue.

Nonetheless, far from these calculations-and with the idea of defending the anti-crime policies that the security organizations carry out-the governor Luis Fortuño, accompanied by the Chief of Police Jose Figueroa Sancha, reported that in the last seven months 78 drug sales points had been dismantles through the initiative called "Golpe al Punto", and more than 300 persons have been arrested. Likewise, US$203,969, some 540 vehicles and 9060 bags of cocaine and other amounts of marijuana, heroin and crack have been seized.

But the numbers offered by the authorities do not change the perception of many persons that feel that the "bad guys" are winning the war on drugs on the island. Above all, when one considers the speed with which each day the number of murders increases, many of which carry the unmistakable seal of paid assassins. Violent deaths so far this year number 563, some 33 more than at the same time in 2009.

Both specialists consulted by Diario Libre minimized the merits of the current anti-drug policy that the authorities are carrying out due to "the low effectiveness" and for "not contributing in a convincing way to achieve the objectives that give life to the law against drug trafficking".

Regarding this issue, Gary Gutierrez pointed out that the three principle objectives of the law are to eliminate the production, reduce the consumption and rehabilitate the drug users, "but nothing of this is being done since the anti-narcotic policies are only aimed at arresting persons and seizing drugs, without attending the basic social problem, which is based on the exclusion of social sectors, poverty, marginalization, the lack of opportunities, violence, family conflicts and social abandonment".

He explained that in the case of Puerto Rico, the problem of drug consumption is getting more serious and the illegal sale of narcotics does not seem to be reduced in spite of the constant operations that are jointly carried out by the Puerto Rican Police and the United States drug control agencies such as the DEA and the FBI. "They carry out hundreds of operations but the crimes associated with drug trafficking continue maintaining the crime rate on the island in the red".

Several weeks ago, the government of Puerto Rico, through its representative in Washington, Pedro Pierluisi, made a request to the Obama administration for increased federal resources to fight crime, alleging that the high murder rate on the island is very worrisome. The official also suggested the need that the United States Coast Guard assign an aircraft "for permanent coastal patrol", to fight illegal activities.

Nevertheless, for the criminologist Gary Gutierrez, the problem of drug trafficking will not be resolved with more surveillance or with more policies of criminalization, since, according to what he said, the "Junior Capsulas" reproduce in Puerto Rico every day inside the marginal communities where the opportunities to succeed are scarce and drugs promise to provide a great economic leap.

"The problem is here, inside, in the social and economic deterioration in which Puerto Rico finds itself; where studying in the university is for those that can pay US$2500 to US$3000 per semester, where jobs and the opportunities for personal progress are scarce. There are a bunch of guys here that are waiting to have the opportunity to occupy the vacancy left by Figueroa Agosto".

He said that in the current setting, drug trafficking is an escape valve for the marginal or surplus population "because here the poor and those that have no great opportunities either join the military, the police or become drug traffickers".

In this context, he explained that the arrest of Junior Capsula, more than being a big blow against drug trafficking on the island as it was called by the authorities, has been "an excellent public relations media platform for those interested in substituting him".

For his part, Jose Raul Cepeda indicated that about every ten years there is a new generation of drug traffickers in Puerto Rico. "When a capo is arrested, there are soon new leaders that try to place their infrastructure of command and control on the sale of drugs. There are statistics that indicate that the young men enter drug trafficking at around 15 years of age and have a life expectancy of around 25 to 30 years of age".

Both experts were in agreement in indicating that the path to follow is seen in the proposals contained in the initiative of the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy which brings together a group of Latin American countries, including Mexico and Colombia and that proposes "to abandon the repressive models of zero tolerance since they have not been efficient and begin to go forward with policies that approach the consumption of narcotic drugs as an issue of public health".

Three objectives

The three main objectives of the law are to eliminate production, reduce the consumption and rehabilitate the users of narcotics "but nothing of this is happening since the anti-drug strategies are only aimed at arresting persons and seizing drugs, without attending the underlying social problem, which is seen in the seclusion of social sectors, the poverty, the marginalization, the lack of opportunities, the violence, the family conflicts and the social abandonment", says Gary Gutierrez.