Authorities arrested in San Juan a young man accused of reporting false crimes using videos manipulated with artificial intelligence (AI).

The arrest was made by agents from the U.S. Marshals and the San Juan Municipal Police, reported Mayor Miguel Romero in written statements.

The official identified the subject as 22-year old Alexis J. Martínez Arizala.

Romero indicated that Martínez Arizala was arrested in the Barrio Obrero area as part of an operation carried out by municipal agents in coordination with personnel from the San Juan office of the U.S. Marshals.

According to preliminary information, Martínez Arizala allegedly approached a San Juan Municipal Police officer who was at a fast food restaurant in Santurce on April 6 and showed him a video altered by artificial intelligence in which he pretended that another person had stolen his patrol car.

According to the statement, the police officer reacted immediately to what he understood to be a real situation. Subsequently, Martínez Arizala told him that it was an alleged prank. He recorded the exchange on video and posted it on social media.

“It is important for the public to understand that our officers are trained to respond quickly, but also with judgment and control. A situation like this could have had greater consequences if it were not for the preparation of our police officers. This type of conduct cannot be taken lightly,” said Juan Jackson Rodríguez, commissioner of the San Juan Municipal Police, in written statements.

Martínez Arizala and the other subject allegedly engage in social media confrontations with police and civilians around the United States that they provoke through altered videos.

Some of the incidents, presented as if they were pranks, consist of showing videos produced by artificial intelligence making it appear that someone is driving or otherwise manipulating a vehicle without authorization. In this way, they seek to provoke reactions from agents or citizens.

In other publications on social networks, they have captured and manipulated, with AI tools, images of people, without their authorization, showing them performing actions that are not real. Some people have reacted violently.

The reason the Marshals Service executed the operation was because Martínez Arizala has a warrant for his arrest in the state of Florida for a similar case.

The charges allege tampering with or fabrication of physical evidence, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, false report to a law enforcement officer and providing false information about the alleged commission of a crime.

After receiving the notification, municipal agents, in conjunction with federal marshals, located and arrested Martínez Arizala, who was staying at a short-term lodging facility in the Barrio Obrero area.

Romero reported that Martínez Arizala will remain in custody while the San Juan District Attorney’s Office is consulted on the possible filing of state charges. Martinez Arizala will then be extradited to the state of Florida.

“We will continue to act with firmness and responsibility in every intervention. Our priority is to protect the citizenry, support our agents and continue to demonstrate with actions that in San Juan there is a government that responds and is present,” said the mayor.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.