Five indicted for drug trafficking in Puerto Rico, two charged in death of U.S. border agent

A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico has indicted five people with trafficking cocaine into the U.S. territory since 2021, including two connected to the killing last fall of Customs and Border Protection agent Michel Maceda.

The 14-count indictment Thursday follows a joint investigation that included the FBI, Justice Department, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Puerto Rico Police Bureau.

The defendants conspired to import cocaine into the United States from the Dominican Republic from November 2021 through April 2023, according to federal officials. The defendants are:

• Osvaldo Hernández-Camacho, a.k.a. “Shaq/Oso.”
• Nelson Rivera-Suárez, a.k.a. “Papo."
• Edgardo Luis Matos-Santos, a.k.a. “Bebi."
• Xiomarie Marrero-Álvarez, a.k.a. “Xiomy."
• Yahaira Santos-Castillo, a.k.a. “Yaja."

Charges range from Conspiracy to Import a Controlled Substance into the U.S. to Firearm Related Murder in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.

Hernández-Camacho and Matos-Santos helped Joseamid Vázquez-Torre kill Maceda, according to Customs and Border Patrol.

Maceda was fatally shot during a Nov. 17, 2022, maritime narcotics interdiction operation about 12 miles southwest of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.

If convicted, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.