FBI San Juan Arrests Puerto Rico Resident on Federal Counterterrorism, Child Exploitation Charges
By JOHN McCARTHY / St. Croix Sun News Reporter
SAN JUAN — The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) San Juan Field Office has executed a federal arrest warrant for a Puerto Rico resident following a multi-year counterterrorism and child exploitation investigation.
Federal authorities took Robinson De La Cruz Hilario into custody on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. The arrest comes after federal investigators uncovered a pattern of severe online activity, including explicit threats of mass violence targeting the LGBTQ community and the possession of prohibited material.
According to a criminal complaint and supporting affidavit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, the FBI Counterterrorism Squad began tracking De La Cruz Hilario after he allegedly engaged in a pattern of alarming online conduct between February 2024 and June 2026.
Court documents reveal that in February 2026, federal agents received a critical law enforcement referral indicating that De La Cruz Hilario had transmitted a stylized, "tactical" blueprint map detailing coordinates and logistical preparations for a potential mass casualty event. Subsequent federal search warrants executed on the suspect's digital accounts and physical residence uncovered communications transmitted through interstate networks explicitly detailing planned acts of violence and expressing admiration for past mass shooters.
Digital Forensics Uncover Real and AI-Generated Prohibited Material
During the physical execution of the federal search warrant at the suspect's residence on June 24, FBI agents seized electronic media containing extensive child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to the federal affidavit, digital forensic analysts identified both real and sophisticated, AI-generated visual representations prohibited under federal law. During a subsequent interview with federal law enforcement, De La Cruz Hilario reportedly admitted to operating the targeted digital accounts and acknowledged his posts constituted explicit threats.
De La Cruz Hilario has been formally charged in a criminal complaint authorized by U.S. Magistrate Judge Giselle López-Soler with violations of:
18 U.S.C. § 875(c) — Interstate communication of threats
18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2) — Receiving child pornography, or attempting to do so
18 U.S.C. § 1466A — Receipt and possession of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.
The case is being actively prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Garcia Jimenez of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. The investigation remains ongoing under the direction of the FBI San Juan Counterterrorism Squad.
As a matter of constitutional law, a criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
