Amazon’s new last-mile delivery station in Dorado, Puerto Rico, where the company has begun operations at its first delivery center in the Caribbean, bringing faster package handling closer to the USVI.
Amazon has begun operating its first last-mile delivery station in Puerto Rico, a more than $37 million investment in Dorado designed to accelerate package deliveries on the island and establish the company's own delivery infrastructure in a market less than an hour by air from St. Thomas and St. Croix.
The facility began partial operations in early August after roughly two years of development. Located in the Maguayo sector of Dorado, the approximately 100,000-square-foot station represents Amazon's first delivery station in Puerto Rico. Invest Puerto Rico said when construction began that the project was expected to create about 100 direct jobs and opportunities for roughly 200 drivers.
Puerto Rico's Department of Economic Development and Commerce described the project at groundbreaking as Amazon's first delivery center in the Caribbean. Amazon also operates an air-cargo operation at Las Américas International Airport in the Dominican Republic, but that facility serves a different function and is not a last-mile delivery center.
Faster Delivery, But Not a Traditional Amazon Warehouse
Although the Dorado operation has frequently been described locally as a warehouse or distribution center, Amazon's own employment materials identify the operation as part of its last-mile network.
Amazon divides its package journey into three stages: the first mile, where products are stored and prepared for orders; the middle mile, when packages are transported into a customer's region; and the last mile, when they are delivered to the customer's door. The Dorado operation is focused on that final stage.
That distinction is important when assessing reports that the facility means Puerto Rico now broadly has same-day Amazon delivery.
Local reporting confirms that some Puerto Rico customers are expected to receive packages faster because of the new station. Amazon, however, has not announced Puerto Rico-wide same-day service tied to the Dorado facility. Its Same-Day program elsewhere depends on the customer's ZIP code, the item ordered and whether inventory is positioned within the company's rapid-delivery network.
The Dorado station nevertheless removes part of a longstanding logistical limitation by giving Amazon a company-operated base from which local delivery partners can begin and complete routes in Puerto Rico. Delivery drivers working for Amazon Delivery Service Partners are already being recruited to start and finish their routes at the Dorado station.
What it Means for Virgin Islanders
The development does not mean Amazon has launched same-day or next-day delivery from Dorado to St. Thomas, St. Croix or St. John, and the company has made no announcement that the new station will directly serve USVI addresses.
Its proximity, however, gives Virgin Islanders another practical option when traveling to Puerto Rico.
San Juan is roughly a 35-minute nonstop flight from St. Thomas, while direct flights between San Juan and St. Croix generally take about 39 to 50 minutes. Virgin Islanders traveling to Puerto Rico for business, medical care, shopping or other purposes who have access to a Puerto Rico delivery address could therefore take advantage of faster local Amazon delivery when eligible, making it easier to obtain products during relatively short stays.
Puerto Rico also already plays a role in the supply chain for some Amazon packages destined for the Virgin Islands.
In 2024, the Consortium reported that Amazon packages had previously been flown to San Juan for further distribution to the USVI. After Amazon shifted certain shipments to USPS Parcel Select, Delegate Stacey Plaskett's office said the Postal Service agreed to hold affected packages in Puerto Rico and move them to St. Thomas and St. Croix by weekly barge rather than routing them back through Jacksonville, Florida.
There is currently no indication that those USVI-bound packages will pass through Amazon's new Dorado station. Still, the earlier arrangement illustrates how closely Puerto Rico is already connected to the territory's e-commerce supply chain.
Amazon Builds a Larger Presence in the Caribbean
The Dorado investment also places Amazon-operated delivery infrastructure significantly closer to the Virgin Islands at a time when the company is continuing to shorten delivery times across the United States.
Amazon said in May that Same-Day Delivery had expanded to more than 10,000 U.S. cities and towns, while its newer Amazon Now operation provides 30-minute delivery in selected markets. The company delivered more than 8 billion items to U.S. Prime members on the same or next day during 2025.
The Puerto Rico operation remains considerably different from those large mainland fulfillment networks, but its establishment marks a significant change from Amazon relying solely on outside carriers for the final leg of many deliveries on the island.
For Virgin Islanders, that regional expansion comes with both consumer benefits and broader economic implications.
Governor Albert Bryan Jr. has previously warned that increased online purchasing is putting pressure on traditional USVI retailers. During a 2025 revenue conference, he specifically cited Amazon and other online sellers while arguing that increasingly streamlined shipping and reduced delivery times were changing local shopping habits.
For Virgin Islanders, the immediate benefit is proximity: Amazon's new Dorado operation gives residents traveling to Puerto Rico easier access to faster local deliveries when eligible, while also bringing the company's physical logistics network closer to the territory than before.
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