SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ More than 200 Puerto Rican police and federal agents stormed a housing project early Friday, arresting two dozen drug trafficking suspects in an operation intended to halt bloody turf battles between gangs.

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.

CAYMAN ISLANDS: British governor to depart post in UK territory next month

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP) _ The Cayman Islands says that outgoing Gov. Stuart Jack will leave his post in the three-island Caribbean grouping on Dec. 2.

The British territory announced Friday that Deputy Gov. Donovan Ebanks will act as governor until career diplomat Duncan Taylor is sworn in as the next U.K.-appointed administrator in January.

Taylor was tapped by the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office in April. He is currently the British high commissioner for Barbados and the eastern Caribbean and has held diplomatic positions in West Africa, Japan, Cuba and Hungary.

The governor sets the agenda for the islands' Cabinet and must sign all laws approved by the territory's government.

The islands' top official is Premier McKeeva Bush.

DOMINICA: PM calls early elections for next month amid Caribbean island's public spending surge

ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) _ Dominica's prime minister has called early elections for the Caribbean island.

Roosevelt Skerrit announced the Dec. 18 elections at a Thursday night rally of his Dominica Labor Party. He says he is confident the party will retain its majority in parliament.

The DLP has 14 seats to seven for the main opposition United Workers Party.

Elections are constitutionally required by October 2010. Skerrit is expected to benefit from an earlier vote because the government has undertaken major infrastructure projects on the Caribbean island known for its rugged natural beauty.

Those projects include improvements to the airport that will allow night landings for the first time.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Shell subsidiary sells 137 gas stations to Barbados-based fuel supplier

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) _ A Dominican subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC has sold its 137 gas stations across the Caribbean country to a Barbados-based fuel supplier.

Friday's statement from Shell does not reveal the cost of its deal with the Sol Group, which was formed in 2005 through the purchase of Shell's petroleum distribution and marketing businesses in several Caribbean nations.

It will allow the Sol Group to continue using the Shell brand under a licensing agreement.

Last year, the Dominican Republic paid $110 million for Shell's stake in the Refidomsa refinery on the outskirts of the Dominican capital in a bid to stabilize fuel prices.

PUERTO RICO: ACLU calls for hate crime charges for suspect accused of slaying gay teen

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Puerto Rico's American Civil Liberties Union is calling for hate crime charges to be filed against a suspect accused of slaying and mutilating a gay teenager.

Local ACLU director William Ramirez said Friday that first-degree murder charges aren't enough for the suspect, considering his alleged victim, gay 19-year-old Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, was found decapitated and burned. Lopez's body was found last Friday in Cayey.

U.S. authorities have said they are still considering whether to make it a hate crime case.

Gay activists have expressed disappointment that suspect Juan Martinez Matos, 26, wasn't immediately charged with a hate crime, saying authorities in Puerto Rico have never invoked a law covering crimes based on sexual orientation.

BASKETBALL: Lawal, Favors lead No. 21 Georgia Tech to 70-62 victory over George Mason

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ A friendly rivalry between teammates Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors means trouble for opponents of No. 21 Georgia Tech.

The two big men each score 18 points and added three blocks apiece Friday to lead the Yellow Jackets (2-1) to a 70-62 victory over George Mason on Friday in the consolation round of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

"We push each other to see who can get the most rebounds, score the most points," Favors said. "Me and Gani just try to play hard."

Favors scored six of his points in a 13-0 run, capped by one of his dunks, that gave the Yellow Jackets a 43-23 lead with 15 minutes to play. The Patriots (2-2) got no closer than six points the rest of the way.

George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said he could not remember a game in which his team had been dunked on so many times.

"The two big guys just manhandled us inside," he said. "I'll have to watch the tape to see how they were able to do it so easily."

Georgia Tech tallied 12 assists and coach Paul Hewitt said his team made fewer mistakes compared with its first-round performance in a 63-59 loss Thursday to No. 18 Dayton.

"The big thing today is our point guards played with poise and got the balls in to them in the right spots," Hewitt said.