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Former Transnational Criminal Enterprise Leader Sentenced to 30 Years in Puerto Rico

José Julio Rodríguez-Cumba received a 360-month prison sentence for running a continuing criminal enterprise, according to court records.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 20, 2026, 11:14 a.m. ET
Developing · checked 17h ago

This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.

We last searched for new coverage of this at Aug 19, 2026, 7:42 p.m. ET — checked 17h ago.

According to official court records from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico, United States District Court Judge Pedro A. Delgado José Julio Rodríguez-Cumba to 360 months (30 years) of imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release on August 19, 2026. Rodríguez-Cumba pleaded guilty on April 14, 2026, to running a continuing enterprise after being arrested in the District of Puerto Rico on October 4, 2021. Official records state that Rodríguez-Cumba directed an organization that used land and sea assets to import multi-hundred-kilogram shipments of cocaine from South America into Puerto Rico and the continental United States, with Rodríguez-Cumba admitting responsibility for more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine. Court documents further state that he directed members to use violence and possess firearms, including machine guns, and caused individuals to introduce buprenorphine into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo from about July 2023 until May 22, 2024. As part of the case, Rodríguez-Cumba agreed to forfeit firearms, cash, real property, personal property, and a 62-foot 2014 Pershing vessel named "El Ancla". Acting U.S. Attorney Héctor Ramírez-Carbó for the District of Puerto Rico said, "The sentence imposed reflects the severe consequences for those who choose to dedicate their lives to crime and poison our streets and communities with harmful drugs." HSI San Juan Acting Special Agent in Charge Yariel Ramos said, "By working together to build a comprehensive case against him, we have successfully removed a violent from our streets for decades." The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ricardo Imbert Fernández of the Transnational Organized Crime Section as part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative.

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  1. Version 120 Aug 2026, 15:14current

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