SAN JUAN – From July 25, 2021 to July 29, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Deputy Under Secretary in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), Stephanie Dobitsch, met with federal, territorial, and local homeland security, law enforcement, and emergency management partners in Puerto Rico to discuss priority threats impacting sa
fety and security in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. State and local partners from the Department of Public Safety, including Puerto Rico’s Homeland Security Advisor (HSA), and the National Security State Information Center, discussed efforts to better integrate federal, territorial, and local information on threats to the area. The rise in drug trafficking, gun violence, and human smuggling were highlighted as key threats in the region. DHS and I&A will continue to strengthen the partnership and information sharing among federal and local officials to improve how threats are identified and can be mitigated.
I&A continues to support Secretary Mayorkas’s commitment to increasing the Department’s collaboration with our partners by identifying opportunities to enhance information sharing related to threats impacting local communities.
“We are working to improve our partnerships by deploying more resources and providing timely and actionable intelligence that addresses the wide range of threats impacting our partners,” said Deputy Under Secretary Dobitsch. “Strong partnerships are necessary to ensure our adversaries cannot exploit vulnerabilities and we must work together effectively to enhance the safety and security of our communities.”
This is the first time in nearly 10 years that I&A leadership has traveled to Puerto Rico in support of I&A’s mission to ensure that partners at all levels across the Homeland Security Enterprise have the intelligence and information necessary to safeguard the Homeland and the American people.
While meeting with the Puerto Rico Fusion Center, Dobitsch also met with representatives from the Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG) and the Caribbean Transportation Intelligence & Action Group (CTIAG) that sit in and work closely with Puerto Rico’s Fusion Center. Across the country, the National Network of Fusion Centers brings critical context and value to homeland security and law enforcement that no other federal or local organization can replicate. Fusion Centers accomplish this by providing partners with a unique perspective on threats to their state or locality and being the primary conduit to share threat information across all levels of government.