Housing Department Says It Has Recovered 229 Usurped Public Housing Apartments After Weapons and Drug Raid at Ramos Antonini

Housing Secretary Luis Martínez Román confirmed that the agency has recovered a "countless number" of usurped apartments in Puerto Rico's public housing complexes, and figures provided by the Department put the total at 229 units reclaimed since 2025: 44 in 2025 and 185 so far in 2026¹. The announcement comes days after police executed two search warrants at the Ernesto Ramos Antonini public housing complex in San Juan, where authorities are investigating a criminal organization accused of taking over several units to operate from inside them².

Background

The problem of public housing usurpation is not new, but it has taken on urgency in recent months. In March 2026, then-administrator of the Public Housing Administration (AVP), Juan A. Rosario Hernández, confirmed that about 56 apartments across different public housing complexes were being used for unauthorized purposes, a figure he himself described as preliminary while operations continued³. Those findings came in part from referrals by social workers who detected irregularities during routine visits.

That same concern for resident safety led the AVP to announce, in January 2026, a measure requiring mandatory inspections of apartments where minors and elderly residents live across the island's 328 public housing complexes, with a goal of completing roughly 56,000 visits by March 6, 2026⁴. Then-secretary Ciary Pérez Peña explained the initiative stemmed from "genuine concern for residents' quality of life," while Rosario Hernández insisted the agency's priority is ensuring "safe, healthy conditions"⁴.

The most recent operation at Ramos Antonini exposed the other side of the problem: units usurped not just for unauthorized living, but as a base of operations for criminal activity. Inspector Joey Fontánez, director of the Intelligence and Arrests Division, said investigators found "evidence, substances… We have people already arrested in one of the apartments"².

The numbers

• 229 apartments recovered by the Housing Department since 2025: 44 in 2025 and 185 so far in 2026¹.
• 56 apartments confiscated in March 2026 across different public housing complexes for unauthorized use, a figure the agency itself called preliminary³.
• 3 people arrested on September 17 at Ramos Antonini: Ángel David Olmo Díaz, 45; José Arvelo Galván, 36; and Elizabeth Roldán Soto, 55².
• Items seized included firearms, a rifle, ammunition, magazines, cocaine, pills, a ballistic vest, communication radios and firearm components².
• 328 public housing complexes islandwide, with a goal of 56,000 inspection visits completed by March 6, 2026⁴.
• An approximately 80-year-old woman was removed from her assigned unit at Ramos Antonini and relocated within the same complex; the Housing Department described her as "safe"¹².

What this means for you

If you live in a public housing complex, this operation signals that the Housing Department and police are prioritizing verification of who actually occupies each unit, which could mean more visits, inspections and questions from your local administrator in the coming weeks. For the thousands of families on the public housing waiting list, every unit recovered from illegal occupation is, in theory, a unit that could be freed up for an eligible applicant, though the agency has not said how many of the 229 recovered units have already been reassigned. And if you suspect a neighbor is occupying an apartment without authorization, or that a unit is being used for illicit activity, there is now a recent track record showing that referrals — even those from social workers or neighbors — can lead to real operations.

How to do it / Checklist

1. If you suspect usurpation or illegal activity in your housing complex, report it directly to your local AVP administration office or call police; do not confront the situation yourself.
2. If you are a legitimate resident and an inspection visits your unit, ask for identification from Housing Department or police personnel before allowing entry.
3. If you have an elderly or minor family member in the complex, check whether your unit was part of the mandatory visits announced by the AVP, and ask directly at your complex's office whether the corresponding inspection has already been completed.
4. If you were displaced or relocated due to a unit-recovery operation, request written confirmation of your new assignment and keep copies of all communication with the AVP.
5. If you are on the public housing waiting list, ask directly at your regional AVP office whether units recovered from usurpation are being added to the inventory available for new assignments.

What's next

The investigation into the criminal organization at Ramos Antonini continues, and authorities have not ruled out further arrests as they process the seized evidence². The Housing Department also has not specified a timeline for completing the reassignment of the 229 units already recovered, nor has it published a breakdown by complex or region of where those recoveries occurred. With the AVP's inspection goal already past its March deadline, the open question is whether the agency will extend that verification effort on a permanent basis, or whether it will continue to rely, as in the Ramos Antonini case, on police detecting the most serious cases through targeted operations.

Sources: ¹ El Nuevo Día ² El Nuevo Día ³ Telemundo Puerto Rico ⁴ Public Housing Administration (AVP)