What Happened
Jackeline Correa-Vazquez, a Puerto Rico-licensed advanced practice nurse specializing in anesthesia, was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 28, 2026, for tampering with fentanyl citrate vials entrusted to her for patient care. Prosecutors say she removed the fentanyl and refilled the vials with a clear liquid to conceal the diversion, in a scheme beginning no later than March 2023.
According to the indictment, beginning no later than March 28, 2023, Correa-Vazquez — licensed by the Puerto Rico Board of Nursing as an Advanced Practice Nurse with a Clinical Concentration in Anesthesia — repeatedly accessed and illegally obtained vials of fentanyl citrate entrusted to her for legitimate patient care. She tampered with the vials by removing the fentanyl and replacing it with a clear liquid intended to conceal the theft. She was indicted on eight counts on May 28, 2026, and made her initial court appearance June 2, 2026.
What Went Wrong
- A clinician with routine, trusted access to anesthesia-grade fentanyl was able to tamper with vials without immediate detection.
- Substituting a clear liquid for fentanyl defeats simple visual inspection and volume checks, since the vial appears unchanged.
- The scheme ran for an extended period (at least from March 2023) before detection, indicating a gap in waste-verification or vial-integrity controls.
How It Could Have Been Prevented
- Require witnessed waste and vial-return procedures for anesthesia-grade controlled substances, with a second clinician verifying contents.
- Use tamper-evident vial seals or weight-based verification for high-risk injectables like fentanyl citrate.
- Run automated dispensing cabinet and anesthesia-cart reconciliation against surgical case records to catch discrepancies promptly.