He joined the Puerto Rico National Guard in December 2007 and was deployed to Iraq from April 2010 to February 2011.

Along the way, he earned a number of awards, including the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Good Conduct Medal, according to his service record.

A senior law enforcement official said that Santiago walked into the Anchorage FBI field office in November 2016, after his discharge from the military and said he was under mind control by a U.S. intelligence agency