Nelson Torres-Delgado, Violent Drug Trafficking, Puerto Rico 2024

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal grand jury issued a superseding indictment on August 21, 2024, charging 52 violent gang members from the municipality of Caguas with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession and distribution of controlled substances, firearms violations, murder, and money laundering, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

The initial federal indictment charged 38 individuals with drug trafficking, firearms violations, and one murder. The superseding indictment supplants the initial indictment, charges 14 additional defendants, and charges money laundering offenses and four more shootings involving 8 victims — including the December 7, 2021, shooting in Cidra where five victims were killed.

“A year ago, we announced the arrests of some of the members of this violent gang, but our investigation did not end with those arrests. Today, we announce that through the efforts of our law enforcement partners and prosecutors, additional defendants have been arrested and charged with additional murders,” said United States Attorney Muldrow. “We will continue to hold violent gang members accountable for their crimes. Although the leader of this violent gang remains a fugitive from justice, we will continue to pursue him and his criminal associates, no matter where they hide or how long it takes.”

“Our communities are being torn apart by the devastating impact of drug trafficking. It’s crucial to understand that everyone involved, from the kingpins to those who support their criminal operations, share responsibility for the destruction and violence that follows in their wake. We will not rest until those responsible for perpetuating this cycle of suffering are brought to justice,” said Joseph González, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s San Juan Field Office. “In the FBI, we are committed to pursuing every avenue to dismantle this criminal network, which includes seizing and forfeiting all ill-gotten gains and assets acquired through drug trafficking. This will encompass everything from boats and cars to houses and businesses, and even the arrest of those who are making it possible for fugitives of this organization to remain at large. There will be no safe haven for those who profit from this illegal activity.”

The superseding indictment alleges that from 2017 through the present, the drug trafficking organization distributed heroin, cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”), cocaine, marihuana, Fentanyl, Oxycodone (Percocet), and Alprazolam (Xanax) within 1,000 feet of the Brisas del Turabo, the Raúl Castellón, the Turabo Heights, and the Juan Jiménez García Public Housing Projects; and at the Barriada Morales, Barriada La Pajilla, and Bunker Wards in Caguas, and other areas throughout Puerto Rico, all for significant financial gain and profit.

Defendant Nelson Torres-Delgado, the alleged leader of the violent drug trafficking organization charged in this Superseding Indictment, has held power over drug trafficking in the Caguas area since the early 2010s. He has been a federal fugitive since 2017 and has maintained control over the organization as a fugitive through deadly violence and intimidation, and by engaging in violent turf wars against rival drug trafficking organizations. His methods of avoiding capture while controlling his gang include limiting face-to-face contact to only the highest and most trusted leaders in his organization.

The defendants allegedly acted in different roles to further the goals of the drug trafficking conspiracy, to include: leaders, enforcers, runners, sellers, facilitators, and lookouts. The members of the gang allegedly used force, violence, and intimidation to maintain control of the areas in which they operated.

The defendants charged in the drug trafficking conspiracy are:

Nelson Torres-Delgado, a.k.a. “El Burro/Burro/Nelson Torres-Delgado/Father/Nelsito/Cuatro Patas/El Animal/El Animal de Cuatro Patas.”

The superseding indictment charges the defendants with:

Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession and distribution of controlled substances.
FIREARMS VIOLATIONS
MURDER
MONEY LAUNDERING

This case is being investigated by the FBI, with the assistance of the Puerto Rico Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wanda A. Fernández, Mariana V. Bauzá, and Jorge E. Vega-Pacheco, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico.

The defendant’s current status is: Fugitive.

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