Police in Puerto Rico arrested at least 380 people and charged them with crimes in a new sweeping operation across US territory.
Puerto Rico is a Caribbean island and unincorporated U.S. territory with a landscape of mountains, waterfalls, and the El Yunque tropical rainforest. In San Juan, the capital and largest city, the Isla Verde area is known for its hotel strip, beach bars, and casinos.
Puerto Rico’s population is ethnically mixed because of centuries of immigration and cultural assimilation. There is little overt racial discrimination, although people of Spanish and other European ancestry are still esteemed among most elite members of society. Between 20,000 and 50,000 Taino Indians inhabited the island when Columbus arrived there in 1493, but
European diseases and maltreatment largely decimated them. The Spanish brought only a limited number of African slaves to Puerto Rico compared with other islands in the region because the local plantations remained relatively small and unimportant. Spanish males, who constituted the largest group of immigrants, freely intermarried with indigenous women and Africans. When slavery was abolished in 1873, only about 5 percent of the population was of entirely African ancestry. Some Chinese, Italians, Corsicans, Lebanese, Germans, Scottish, and Irish also found their way to the island in the mid-19th century, a time when the population was growing steadily. Additional immigrants arrived from the United States after 1898.
According to the Associated Press, SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico police arrested at least 380 people on Tuesday in the department's biggest crackdown on crime in recent years.
Police Commissioner Antonio López said 12 gangs dedicated to the sale of drugs and weapons were targeted after receiving tips from residents who had complained about violence in their communities.
Police also seized 78 firearms, more than 50 vehicles, and nearly $100,000 in cash, along with a variety of unspecified drugs.
Among the arrested are couples, families, and women who ran criminal organizations linked to various killings, said Police Col. Carlos Cruz.
The FBI and other federal agencies were involved in the operation.
Puerto Rico police have arrested hundreds in the department’s biggest crackdown on crime in recent years https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/police-puerto-rico-arres…