The US federal prosecutor’s office, led by federal prosecutor Myriam Y. Fernández González, requested additional time to reach plea agreements with 34 defendants, including Jensen Medina Cardona, accused of smuggling drugs into Puerto Rico prisons. The request, filed on Friday, October 9, 2026, comes as the deadline set by federal judge Silvia L. Carreño Coll for plea agreements was set to expire.
The prosecutor’s office cited the discovery of new evidence, including disciplinary records from the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections, as the reason for the delay. Only four plea agreements have been presented so far, and they do not include the leader of the prison gang, Juan Carlos Ortiz Vázquez, or Medina Cardona, who was previously convicted of murder.
The defendants are accused of smuggling fentanyl, suboxone, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and synthetic marijuana into prisons using drones, mail, and family visits. The prosecutor’s office has been working to reach plea agreements since January 2026, with multiple deadline extensions granted by the judge.