Napolitano: More ammo for PR drug fight

Napolitano was in Puerto Rico on Friday to meet with Gov. Luis Fortuño, Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi and other federal officials to discuss strategies to clamp down on the drug-related crime along the nation’s Caribbean border.

Napolitano said she will funnel additional resources to a joint federal-local strategy to tackle the problem. The plan calls for ongoing efforts to be coordinated under a single umbrella, with top federal public security officials being moved in to serve in Puerto Rico.

Napolitano arrived in Puerto Rico after working visits to Brazil and the Dominican Republic, where she signed a security pact on Thursday.

The Homeland Security chief closed out a third and final day of meetings between federal and local authorities in San Juan aimed at cracking down on an increase in the smuggling of drugs and illegal weapons. The Friday meeting was behind closed doors.

Puerto Rico has repeatedly sought the help of U.S. authorities to prosecute cases at a federal level. The territory's government requested more federal agents and an increase in funds during a U.S. congressional hearing earlier this month.