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The Miami Police, in collaboration with the FBI, conducted a broad raid on several neighborhoods in the city this Tuesday, which resulted in the dismantling of a large-scale drug trafficking organization and the arrest of at least 20 individuals, several of whom are of Cuban descent.
Around five in the morning on Tuesday, agents arrested about 20 suspects during the so-called “Operation El Primo”, in which they seized more than 22 kilograms of cocaine, over 120,000 dollars in cash, firearms and ammunition in Flagami, Little Havana, and Coral Way, areas where the “sophisticated” drug trafficking network operated, according to a police report.
The authorities classified the operation as one of the most significant blows to drug trafficking in South Florida during 2025, as a result of several months of investigation, which involved intelligence work, undercover surveillance, and financial analysis.
The suspects have been classified as "high-priority defendants" and were named in recent federal indictments, including some who were linked to a murder-for-hire scheme earlier this year, which was thwarted by the police before it could be carried out.
The head of the Miami Police, Manuel Morales, stated that "Operation El Primo" sends "a clear and unequivocal message" that "drug trafficking and the accompanying violence will not be tolerated" in the city.
Morales emphasized the tireless work and dedication of the detectives in his department, as well as the collaboration with the FBI, the Federal Prosecutor's Office for the Southern District of Florida, and State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle and her team from the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.
"Together, we will continue dismantling criminal organizations, removing dangerous criminals from our streets, and protecting the people of Miami," he warned.
The authorities did not reveal the nationalities of those detained, but CiberCuba was able to confirm that several of them are originally from Cuba.
24 people accused of conspiracy for cocaine trafficking in South Florida
A federal jury in Miami issued on the same Tuesday the substitute formal charge that accuses 24 individuals of conspiring to traffic large quantities of cocaine in Miami-Dade County and its surroundings, as well as in other parts of the Southern District of Florida.
The press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office indicates that the following defendants face eight charges of conspiracy for drug trafficking and related offenses:
- Welcome Leo Rodríguez (73 years old), from Miami
- Roberto Rodríguez (52), from Miami
- Alberto Leandro Curiel (72), from Miami
- Pedro González Álvarez (48), from Miami
- Claudio Alberto Barrios (55), from Miami Beach
- Raimundo Antonio Roca Naranjo (72), from Miami Lakes
- Roberto Jiménez (53), from Miami
- Luis Alejandro Salcedo Rey (54), from Miami
- Rolando Rodríguez Lugo (57), from Miami
- Diego Díaz de la Cruz (47), from Miami
- Lucía Cuadrado (65), from Hialeah
- Jorge Mahique Pareta (64), from Hialeah
- Miguel Márquez Romero (29), from Naples
- Heinrich Castillo Díaz (47), from Miami
- José Arnaldo Bermúdez, Jr. (42), from Miami
- Paulo Sabón Montero (54), from Naples
- Valerio Álvarez Abreu (73), from Hialeah
- Santos Saavedra (81), from Miami
- Eustaquio Luis Cardoso Véliz (63), from Miami
- Glenis Pérez Martínez (54), from Miami
- Yovanis Fernández (51), from Hialeah
- Manuel Nuez (55), from Miami
- Liván Padrón Duque (49), from Miami
- Jorge Falla (50), from Miami
Judicial records, including previously filed criminal complaints, indicate that the accused conspired to distribute multikilogram quantities of cocaine throughout southern Florida, official information specified.
During the investigation, the authorities seized approximately seven kilograms of cocaine on April 1 and another 10 kilograms on May 27. Significant profits and firearms were also confiscated.
In Bienvenido Rodríguez's residence, agents found $58,214 in cash and two firearms, while at Roca Naranjo's home, they seized $62,520 in cash, two firearms, and over 100 rounds of various ammunition.
According to the document, Roca Naranjo, a previously convicted criminal, is also charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.
The formal substitute accusation also includes a clause seeking the seizure of the income and property attributable to the crimes charged against the defendants.
If found guilty, Bienvenido Rodríguez, Roberto Rodríguez, Curiel, González Álvarez, Barrios, Jiménez, Márquez Romero, Castillo Díaz, Bermúdez, Jr., Cardoso Véliz, Pérez Martínez, and Fernández face life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Salcedo Rey, Rodríguez Lugo, Díaz De La Cruz, Cuadrado, Mahique Pareta, Álvarez Abreu, and Nuez face up to 40 years in prison if found guilty; and Roca Naranjo, Sabón Montero, Saavedra, Padrón Duque, and Falla could be sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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