SAN JUAN — For the first time in its history, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) selected a woman as special agent in charge of the San Juan office to lead operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
With a career spanning more than 20 years in law enforcement and following multiple field and headquarters positions, Rebecca González-Ramos represents Puerto Rico in the federal government’s Senior Executive Service.
“My priorities as the special agent in charge are to secure our borders from money laundering, drug smuggling and weapon smuggling activities, and to identify and judicially process all those who try to exploit our children,” González-Ramos said. “For that purpose, I will assign resources and further strengthen our relationships with our federal, state and local counterparts to deter drug trafficking organizations from using Puerto Rico as a trans-shipment point for narcotics. It is my mission to deter violent organizations from using our streets to commit senseless murders, putting at risk our community.”
As the first woman to lead HSI Puerto Rico, González-Ramos is committed to diversity aligned with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s goal of having a 30% representation of female special agents by the year 2030.
“My role will be focused on the efficiency of the management structure — collaboration between agencies while maintaining our diverse and inclusive workforce. Through history we have seen how women have made a direct impact for a better future, and that is exactly what I want to do: to create a diverse and prepared force to make a difference in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. I am very honored by this new assignment and hope that my appointment is just the beginning of breaking ground in fields traditionally dominated by men,” said González-Ramos.
Since October 2022, González-Ramos served as HSI San Juan’s acting special agent in charge, where she had served as the deputy special agent in charge since June 2022. She returned to the island in 2021 as an assistant special agent in charge, overseeing the Public Safety Group, the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Human Exploitation and Document Fraud Group.
Before returning to HSI San Juan, González-Ramos was an assistant special agent in charge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, overseeing all HSI operations in Broward County. Before serving with HSI Miami, she was the operations chief in HSI Headquarters, overseeing the nation’s southwest border.
González-Ramos dedicated most of her career to investigating crimes against children. She collaborated with HSI’s victim-centered approach initiative, the launch of the internet safety i-Guardian outreach program and the development of international sextortion investigations at the national level.
As the former group supervisor of the Child Exploitation Investigations Group in San Juan, González-Ramos was the driving force behind the creation of the Puerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force established in June 2011. Through the task force, federal, local and state law enforcement agencies pool their resources to jointly investigate crimes committed against children in Puerto Rico.
González-Ramos is a San Juan native who graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree in communications. In 2010, she completed a Juris Doctor from the Interamerican School of Law in Puerto Rico. She currently lives in San Juan with her husband, who is a retired federal agent and a current public servant for the government of Puerto Rico. She enjoys spending time with her three daughters, son and granddaughter.
“As a native from Puerto Rico, I have a strong commitment with the progress of my island and a personal engagement with the initiatives that further develop our youth, part of my agenda is to solidify the ties to all communities so HSI has an active involvement with our citizens,” said González-Ramos. whose work agenda will be focused on results that solidify the security of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands by expediting investigations and reducing the crime rate.
HSI’s mission is to investigate, destabilize and disrupt terrorist organizations, transnational corporations and other criminal networks that threaten or seek to exploit U.S. customs and immigration laws. González-Ramos has supervisory and leadership responsibility of close to 250 law enforcement officers, criminal analysts, administrative professionals and manages all HSI’s federal law enforcement investigative programs.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’ largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.