Jose Lopez Rosario

Jose "Coquito" Lopez Rosario (1976-July 29, 2006) was a Puerto Rican who is alleged to have been a drug dealer. Lopez Rosario's death caused a political scandal in Puerto Rico.

Biography

Lopez Rosario grew up in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He enjoyed baseball and became known for his ability to play that sport as a teenager.

During the late 1980s and through the 1990s, a drug war ensued in Puerto Rico. Under Pedro Rossello's government and Pedro Toledo's commands, the Puerto Rican police arrested many well-known people who were suspected of being drug traffickers, while others died.

According to police records, Lopez Rosario rose to prominence in the underworld after the alleged former Puerto Rican mafia bosses were sent to jail or killed. He lived in a Carolina neighborhood known as "Villa Carolina", but supposedly set up business in a caserio, "Torres de Sabana". At "Torres de Sabana", Lopez Rosario was supposedly well known, and he organized reggaeton concerts for the community. He was the owner of Blin Blin Music.

Not much is known about Lopez Rosario, except for police reports about his life. He was accused on several occasions of various crimes but never found guilty. Puerto Rican police suspect he trafficked drugs to the Dominican Republic as well.

Death and scandal

On July 23, 2006, Lopez Rosario was shot nine times in different parts of his body. He did not die instantly, but he was taken to Centro Medico hospital, where he remained under a coma state in an intensive care area for six days until he died. While he was hospitalized, the Puerto Rican police, once again led by Pedro Toledo, guarded him. This caused members of the general public to criticize the police, but it was later explained that it is a requisite to deploy police personnel to Puerto Rican hospitals where a gunshot victim is being treated.

It was later disclosed that one PNP senator, Hector Martinez and two PNP legislators, Lornna Soto and Epifanio Jimenez, had called the hospital to ask for his condition. Soto acknowledged to have known Lopez Rosario from his music activities, but many PNP supporters believe that the calls to the hospital were not much more than a fabrication by PNP party's main rival, the governing PPD party.

Centro Medico personnel, meanwhile, spoke to Puerto Rican newspapers about their perceived lack of security at the hospital and requested the police to establish a station there to complement the hospital's own security team. This was asked for after allegations that about 11 or 12 of Lopez Rosario's friends were on constant vigil outside of his room, while carrying guns, supposedly making patients and visitors fear for their safety. The police have not ruled out the possibility of establishing an office at Centro Medico, but this remains to be seen. If a police station is eventually opened at Centro Medico hospital, it would be the first time that a Puerto Rican hospital has a police station inside.

Lopez Rosario's death and his alleged connections to political figures were controversial in Puerto Rico, as local newspapers such as "El Nuevo Dia" and "El Vocero" covered the story for days after he died, and television characters or personalities commented on the matter. Kobbo Santarrosa's doll, "La Comay", spoke about the situation on her television show, "SuperXclusivo", while famed news reporter Luis Francisco Ojeda actually called senator Martinez a "drug trafficker", also on live television.

On August 3, 2006, the FBI became involved in Lopez Rosario's death's case, looking for records pertaining to him and his activities.

External links

* [http://www.laraza.com/news.php?nid=35486&pag=0 Laraza.com, in Spanish]