The pre-dawn raid in Naguabo, which netted 24 of 29 wanted suspects, was part of a strategy to eliminate trafficking networks in this U.S. Caribbean territory _ a major transshipment point for South American cocaine and heroin bound for the U.S. mainland.

Luis Fraticelli, head of the FBI's office in Puerto Rico, said that the arrested suspects were part of a gang headed by Jaime Davila Reyes, who police accuse of distributing drugs from Cauguas and Naguabo housing projects. He has not been arrested.

The ring is believed to be responsible for the shooting deaths of six rivals, Fraticelli said at a news conference in San Juan.

Drug traffickers in Puerto Rico sometimes exploit public housing projects, many of them fenced off from surrounding communities, as distribution points for cocaine and heroin.

If convicted, the 24 suspects arrested Friday face 10 years to life in prison on drug trafficking and weapons charges.

The public defender's office in Puerto Rico said Friday it did not represent any of the defendants. It was not immediately clear if they had lawyers.

Authorities say Puerto Rico is the most popular transit point in the Caribbean because drugs leaving here do not have to clear customs on the way to the United States. With drug-related violence soaring, authorities set up strike forces involving U.S. and local agents to target the traffickers.