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Puerto Rico Narcotics Officer Ambushed, Killed

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #741)
Drug War Issues
2012 Drug War Killings

Victor Soto-Velez
An off-duty Puerto Rican police officer was shot and killed last Tuesday night in what local news reports are calling an ambush related to his work as a drug agent. Officer Victor Soto-Velez, 37, becomes the 29th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

According to the newspaper Primera Hora, Soto-Velez was driving his Ford Explorer on a highway in Camuy when he was ambushed. He was able to provide information about his assailants before he died.

As police investigated, they encountered a burning vehicle in the vicinity that matched the description of the attackers' vehicle provided by Soto-Velez.

Local police told Primera Hora that almost as soon as the shooting occurred, they received information that the attack had been directed specifically at Soto-Velez, who been an agent of Puerto Rican Police Division of Drugs in Arecibo.

Soto-Velez, a 13-year veteran of the force, left behind two daughters, aged 11 and 19.

No suspects have been arrested so far.

News Brief

This work by StoptheDrugWar.org is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Comments

kickback (not verified)

Imagine if Mexico drug war statistics were added to USA drug war statistics . The drug war encourages collateral damage .

Sun, 07/01/2012 - 12:09am Permalink
Andre Bishop (not verified)

Officer Victor Soto-Velez, you are a true hero and an inspiration in capturing the drug dealers to prevent the increasing number of drug trafficking in the country. Thank you for your great service in your country. I also thank Psmith for sharing this blog.

Fri, 01/09/2015 - 6:37am Permalink

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