José Figueroa Agosto

Federal Bureau of Prisons records indicate that Figueroa Agosto was released from Terre Haute federal prison on 27 March 2020, after approximately ten years in custody since his 2010 arrest. His release came well before the nominal end of a 30-year sentence.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Figueroa Agosto pleaded guilty in 2012 to drug trafficking and money laundering in the case against his transnational organisation. A 30-year sentence was reported in 2017, at the lower end of the range negotiated with prosecutors and taking account of time already spent in custody.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused

Federal authorities prosecuted Figueroa Agosto as leader of an organisation importing cocaine from the Dominican Republic into Puerto Rico and then the United States. In 2012, he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and money laundering, providing a definitive judicial basis for the core activities of the network.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Figueroa Agosto was finally arrested in the San Juan area by US and Puerto Rican agents after a pursuit. His arrest ended the flight that had begun with his 1999 escape and opened a series of additional federal proceedings.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Testimony presented in Puerto Rican proceedings renewed the challenge to Figueroa Agosto's involvement in the kidnapping and murder underlying part of his 209-year sentence. His defence argued that the new testimony did not name him among the perpetrators.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused

After his escape, Figueroa Agosto settled in the Dominican Republic and used several identities, notably Cristian Almonte Peguero and Felipe Rodríguez de la Rosa. Investigators also described changes to his appearance and surgery intended to make identification more difficult.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

While serving his sentence, Figueroa Agosto left Río Piedras penitentiary by presenting a fraudulent release order. The escape was not fully detected and made public until several months later, exposing serious failures in prison controls.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

José David Figueroa Agosto received an aggregate sentence of 209 years in Puerto Rico following a kidnapping and murder case. Documents and lawyers cited by the press specify that the 1995 conviction concerned conspiracy to kidnap, first-degree murder and firearms, not a drug trafficking conviction.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused