There are lots of beautiful places to visit in Puerto Rico, but like so many spots on earth blessed with overwhelming, sensual gorgeousness, there's a nasty, dangerous, and dark undercurrent constantly in motion beneath all the lushness at the surface.
One always hears about the criminal cartels and gangs of Mexico, El Salvador, and Venezuela, and so rarely about anything on our own US territory. Other than the endemic, homegrown, pervasive corruption that the island is sadly forever associated with, a criminal class on, say, a Tren De Aragua scale would normally never even cross one's mind when thinking of Puerto Rico.
I have just been educated.
I was today years old when I learned about a group called 'La Familia Nunca Muere' (LFNM), or 'The Family Never Dies.' An altruistic civic organization, they are not, and members will never sit on a San Juan school board.
It's like a Who's Who of South and Central American revolutionaries went rogue, made their way to the island, misbehaved independently until the feds cracked down, so they banded together, and set up a professional murder and mayhem shop.
...LFNM is an organization comprised of members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cantera (Las FARC), Cantera New Generation (CNG), and other smaller gangs in San Juan, Bayamón, Carolina, Comerío, and Trujillo Alto. It is believed to have originated in 2006 and remained free of internal conflict until 2017, when “Tonka” and “Kike Cantera” were murdered. Authorities allege that a split within LFNM led to the formation of CNG, and hostilities continued until a federal operation forced them to reconcile and come under the umbrella of LFNM.
I guess things were going along as swimmingly as possible for these sorts of criminal enterprises until last October 6, when one of their LFNM jefes, a man named Héctor Alcántara Domínguez, aka 'Mariachi,' wound up stabbed that night, and died shortly after he got to the hospital in San Juan.
This royally pissed off his amigos, who decided to immediately begin a vengeance hunt, spending the next 36 hours or so wreaking it in Mariachi's name in the gruesomest, most brutal manner possible.
They did remember, however, to have someone tagging along as a clean-up crew to dispose of the victims' cellphones. I mean, this is cold-blooded stuff.
LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR
...According to federal authorities, the death of “Mariachi” sparked a thirst for revenge within the group, who on the very day of the crime began planning to hunt down those they believed were responsible. Segismar Rodríguez Rivera and Rafael Prek Vargas, two of the co-defendants, requested and received permission from Pacheco Marín and Edison Merced Olivera to go out and kill.
For his part, Nefty Oquendo Rosario had a video call with the leaders and explained what happened with "Mariachi," the U.S. Attorney's Office stated. Both gave him permission to commit a crime, but ordered him not to kill "innocent people," according to court documents. Oquendo Rosario also began recruiting people.
Then, Oquendo Rosario and other subjects “drove around Santurce looking for anyone they believed had been involved in the murder of 'Mariachi',” reads part of the document.
Federal prosecutors said Prek Vargas cut off one of the victims' fingers, Oquendo Rosario strangled one to death, and Pedro J. Cintron Alvarez strangled and suffocated one of the victims.
YEESH
There wasn't much news about any of this after the initial horror at the 'massacre' that had been committed when the five bodies and evidence of torture were discovered. Things sort of simmered down until the end of this past March, when the feds announced that a grand jury had indicted 52(!) members of LFNM for a long laundry list of drug and weapons violations.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow , announced on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, that a federal grand jury indicted 52 alleged members of the criminal organization known as La Familia Nunca Muere (The Family Never Dies) for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, drug distribution, and weapons violations in San Juan, Morovis, and Cataño.
And the indictment reads like the script for a movie like Goodfellas or Scarface.
...The indictment alleges that from 2018 to the present, the drug trafficking organization distributed cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and fentanyl within 1,000 feet of the Los Lirios (San Juan), Jardines de Cataño (Cataño), Juana Matos (Cataño), El Coquí (Cataño), and Nemesio Rosario Canales (San Juan) Public Housing Projects (PHPs), and areas near those locations, all for significant financial gain and profit.
The object of the conspiracy was to distribute wholesale quantities and street amount quantities of controlled substances at those PHPs. At times, gang members would pool resources from different areas such as the Luis Lloréns Torres and the Vista Hermos PHPs, Barriada Figueroa and others within the municipalities of San Juan, Morovis, and Cataño. The organization referred to itself as “La Familia Nunca Muere” (The Family Never Dies) (hereinafter “LFNM”), also sometimes referred to as “Los Incorregibles” (The Incorrigibles) or “La Colectora” or “La Cole” (The Collectors). The defendants communicated with each other using two-way radios and cell phones, via instant messaging and social media. Members of LFNM promoted themselves, their narcotics, their firearms, their money, and their gang using social media. Some leaders who were incarcerated participated in meetings using contraband cellular phones, normally via video call.
It is alleged that members of LFNM participated in acts of violence, including shootings and murders, in response to mere perceived threats, without first verifying the veracity of the threats. The defendants carried out shootings and murders in public places, in broad daylight, and in the presence of innocent bystanders, including children. Shootings also took place in public establishments such as bars and nightclubs. During the commission of these shootings, LFNM members would often use bulletproof vests, gloves, face masks and other face coverings. At times, they would use stolen or carjacked cars to evade capture and arrest by law enforcement. The investigation, including investigation regarding murders committed by the gang, remains ongoing.
The defendants acted in different roles to further the goals of the drug trafficking conspiracy, including as leaders, suppliers, drug point owners, enforcers, runners, sellers, lookouts, and facilitators. Forty defendants are facing one charge of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and twenty-one of those defendants are facing one count of possession of a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
That's 52 indicted in one pop that the feds were now looking for.
The murders the previous October, along with other homicides allegedly carried out by the gang, were still under investigation.
Yesterday, the hammer came down on 23 more LFMN members in relation to that investigation.
https://t.co/OvpCWIU5ze | El lunes se diligenciaron 23 órdenes de arresto contra integrantes de la organización criminal 'La Familia Nunca Muere'. pic.twitter.com/g00rSaGRKI
— El Vocero de Puerto Rico (@VoceroPR) May 19, 2026
...On Monday, 23 arrest warrants were executed against members of the criminal organization 'La Familia Nunca Muere'.
They seem nice. And it's the first time I recall seeing the phrase 'transnational.'
...On May 12, 2026, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging 23 members of a racketeering enterprise known as La Familia Nunca Muere (LFNM) with racketeering—murder, drug trafficking, and firearms violations. This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
...The indictment alleges that the defendants were members and associates of a criminal organization engaged in drug distribution and acts of violence, including murder. The transnational criminal organization referred to as La Familia Nunca Muere (LFNM), composed of Las FARC (also known as Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Cantera and Las FARC Company), Cantera Nueva Generación (CNG) and other gangs from the areas of San Juan, Bayamón, Comerío, Trujillo Alto and Carolina including its members and associates, constituted an “Enterprise,” as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4) (“the Enterprise”), that is, a group of individuals associated in fact, whose members functioned as a continuing unit for a common purpose of achieving the objectives of the Enterprise. The Enterprise was engaged in, and its activities affected interstate and foreign commerce.
The fourteen individuals of the twenty-three directly indicted for the October 6-7, 2025, massacre face life imprisonment or the death penalty if they are found guilty.
...If convicted of the RICO charges, the defendants face up to life imprisonment and, as noted above, 14 defendants charged with the murders of N.B., W.J.G.R., J.D.S.M., J.R.P., and E.D.M. are eligible for the death penalty. The penalties for a conviction on drug trafficking charges are a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years up to life imprisonment. Defendants convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking face a mandatory consecutive sentence of five years up to life imprisonment. Defendants convicted of possessing a machinegun in furtherance of drug trafficking face a mandatory consecutive sentence of 30 years up to life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
A lone suspect managed to elude capture during the operation's dragnet and is considered armed and dangerous.
THE LAST SERENADE
🚨 La Fiscalía Federal acusó a 23 miembros de La Familia Nunca Muere (LFNM) por la masacre de cinco personas torturadas y desnudas aparecidas el 7 de octubre de 2025 en Carolina y San Juan. La organización, compuesta por Las FARC de Cantera y otras pandillas, traficaba drogas… pic.twitter.com/wL1U03mNuX
— Jay Fonseca (@jayfonsecapr) May 18, 2026
🚨 The Federal Prosecutor's Office charged 23 members of La Familia Nunca Muere (LFNM) for the massacre of five tortured and naked individuals found on October 7, 2025, in Carolina and San Juan. The organization, made up of Las FARC de Cantera and other gangs, trafficked drugs imported directly from the Dominican Republic.
🔪 It all began when they stabbed Héctor Alcántara Domínguez, alias "Mariachi," a leader of the organization. That same night, the bosses gave the green light to seek revenge, and five people were strangled, tortured, and their bodies left abandoned on the street. The feds clarified that none of the victims had any connection to "Mariachi's" death.
⚖️ Operation "The Last Serenade," carried out by the FBI, the DEA, and the Puerto Rico Police, resulted in 23 federal indictments under the RICO law, the same legal tool used to dismantle entire mafias from the root.
⛓️ Fourteen of the accused directly participated in the massacre and face life imprisonment. They are eligible for the death penalty. The remaining nine face charges of conspiracy, drug trafficking, and illegal possession of firearms.
🚔 Christian López-Díaz, alias "Chris 25," is the only one who escaped the operation. He is presumed armed and dangerous in a wooded area of Toa Alta. If you have information, call 9-1-1 or the Confidential Line at 787-343-2020.
This was, as the FBI Press release notes, another of the incredibly successful 'whole of government' cooperative operations that can be credited to the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Initiative, which was established by one of President Trump's executive orders.
...This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
This interagency collaboration seems to be working out pretty damn well overall.
It makes you wonder why no one ever thought of it before, that 'working together' thing. Almost sounds like a Coke commercial.
Then again, everyone has been so busy protecting their turf - that's another reason they hate Trump.
He doesn't let anyone own theirs when it's America's to begin with.
This was such a 'well done' and kudos to all.
I can't imagine, though, the depth of the problem if they can take out, between the two sets of indictments, seventy-five vicious thugs in one fell swoop.
How much more rot is there to dig through, and who will fill in the holes if they don't keep after it?
Thankless work, and God bless them for doing the job so well.
