EARTHQUAKES PUERTO RICO 2020 UPDATED

A 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit Puerto Rico a day after another quake rocked the island
SINCE JAN 2 PR HAS HAD EARTHQUAKES WEEKLY AND THEY HAVE BEEN GETTING STRONGER AS QUAKES, AFTERSHOCKS AND AS TREMBLORS SINCE THEN AWAITING THE BIG ONE, A CENTURY 
AFTER A 7.1 QUAKE HIT THE ISLAND IN 1918

By Joe Sutton and Hollie Silverman, CNN
Updated 4:47 AM ET, Tue January 7, 2020

(CNN)A 6.5 magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico early Tuesday morning, just one day after a 5.8 magnitude quake shook the island, according to the United States Geological Service earthquake map.

The 6.5 quake struck at 3:24 a.m. local time about 10 kilometers south of Indios, Puerto Rico USGS said.
The Authority of Electrical Energy, the power company for Puerto Rico, said that power plants have activated an auto protective mechanism and are out of service following the earthquake.

On Twitter, Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez Garced told citizens to remain calm as the government responds to the most recent quake.

"I hope all are well. We are getting our information from @NMEADpr and @DSPnoticias," the tweet said. "The entire government is active and in action. I ask our people to remain calm and urge you to remain safe."

No tsunami is expected following the earthquake, the US National Tsunami Warning Center said.

There were no immediate reports of damage following Tuesday's quake.

Geologists warned that more earthquakes, known as aftershocks and tremors, would follow Monday's quake.

"When there are more earthquakes, the chance of a large earthquake is greater which means that the chance of damage is greater," the USGS said.

On Monday, the early morning quake in the same area caused some damage, including a home collapse in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, Director of Emergency Management Carlos Acevedo said.

Acevedo also said that rock slides along Route 2 were reported.

This is a developing story and CNN will update as more information becomes available.

CNN's Roxanne Garcia-Bell contributed to this report

Twitter

Bill Karinsverified_user

BillKarins

#PuertoRico is no stranger to strong #earthquakes. 100 years ago the island was devastated by a 7.1 magnitude quake. This morning's quake was 6.4 magnitude. https://t.co/d0MPdmY5Fy https://t.co/9tTSoL6E0v

Twitter3:33 a.m.

https://viconsortium.com/vi-community_center/virgin-islands-earthquake-in-puerto-rico
-affects-virgin-islands-other-caribbean-islands-no-tsunami-threat-warning-center-says

PHOTO: Another Strong Earthquake Hits Puerto Rico
By Julie Gargotta Puerto Rico
PUBLISHED 4:47 AM EST Jan. 07, 2020 UPDATED 6:04 AM ET Jan. 07, 2020

A collapsed building with car crushed underneath, following an 

earthquake in Yauco, Puerto Rico, Tuesday Jan. 7, 2020. All the occupants 

of the home are reported to be uninjured. A 6.5-magnitude earthquake 

struck Puerto Rico, the largest in a series of quakes in recent days, 

and caused heavy damagein some areas. (J. Miguel Santiago Twitter via APA)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Another earthquake struck Puerto Rico before

 dawn on Tuesday and it is considered a strong quake, even more powerful 

than the one that struck the U.S. territory on Monday.

RELATED stories:
Puerto Rico Struck by 5.8-Magnitude Quake
Central Florida Puerto Ricans Concerned after Earthquake Hits Island

The U.S. Geological Survey originally stated that Tuesday's quake registered 

as a magnitude 6.56, but it was downgraded to 6.5. Since then, the quake has 

been downgraded again to 6.4, with several aftershocks ranging at 5.6, 5.2, 4.5

, two at 4.3 and 4.1.

There have been a series of quakes on the island in the last two weeks.

Early Tuesday morning, Puerto Rico's Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced tweeting out in 

Spanish that the government is activated and ready to assist.

Espero que todos estén bien. Estamos recibiendo la información de @NMEADpr y 

@DSPnoticias. Todo el componente gubernamental está activado y en ejecución. 

A nuestro pueblo calma y les exhortamos a que permanezcan seguros.— 

Wanda Vázquez Garced (@wandavazquezg) January 7, 2020

On Monday, a 5.8-magnitude quake struck the island, with its epicenter by Indios. 

It lead to widespread power outages and small landslides, with cars crushed and 

boulders blocking highways.

For those in Florida with family back on the island, getting in touch with loved ones 

was critical after seeing images of the aftermath.

"Sad, it's very sad for all the families that are suffering from this catastrophe," 

said Aldofina Ortiz who lives in Orlando and who has family living in Puerto Rico.

 

Puerto Rico earthquake: Huge 6.6 quake rocks Caribbean island - ‘God help us’
PUERTO RICO has been hit by an earthquake measuring a huge 6.6 in magnitude just one day after a quake destroyed the island's Playa Ventana rock formation.

By LAURA MOWAT
PUBLISHED: 08:37, Tue, Jan 7, 2020 | UPDATED: 13:01, Tue, Jan 7, 2020

The earthquake struck 87km south west of San Juan in Puerto Rico, had a depth of 10km and at 4:24am local time - it triggerd a small tsunami. At least eight people have been injured by the quake. The tourist hotspot has lost its power following the incident but there is no tsnuami warning. It is believed other countries including The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Dominica and Antigua could also be affected by the earthquake. 

Locals have already taken to the internet to express how they felt the phenomenen. One witness said: “God help us” and another said “It moved the beds, the front door was nearly forced open and fell on the floor”.

A Twitter user said: “Whole country is awake. High earthquake felt all over the island. Electrical grid collapsed. Aftershocks currently being felt allover the place.”

The United States Geological Society has warned of further aftershocks expected and has advised people to be wary when close to big buildings.

They have said they believe there is a four per cent chance of one or more aftershocks larger than magnitude 6.5.

There have been no reports of any damage followed Tuesday's quake.

An earthquake has occurred in Puerto Rico (Image: USGS)

An earthquake destroyed the island's rock formation yesterday (Image: GETTY )

Puerto Rico, a popular tourist destination, lies between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates leaving it open to earthquakes.

The USGS said: "When there are more earthquakes, the chance of a large earthquake is greater which means that the chance of damage is greater.

This comes after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the island yesterday followed by several aftershocks.

Th earthquake yesterday caused damage to buildings, landslides and power cuts.

The quake struck a day after another 5.8 one off Puerto Rico (Image: USGS )

The popular tourist rock formation Punta Ventana was also destroyed when the quake hit.

On Monday the quake cuased a home collapse in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, Director of Emergency Management Carlos Acevedo said.

Dr. Sindia Alvarado, who lives in Peñuelas, told AP she was petrified by the quake.

She said: "My whole family woke up screaming.

Some of the other islands in the area could also be affected (Image: USGS)

"I thought the house was going to break in half."

Puerto Rico was a victim of the Category 5 storm Hurricane Maria which struck in September 2017.

The hurricane killed almost 3,000 people in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico attracts around 3.7 million tourists each year.

Puerto Rico's natural wonder Punta Ventana collapses

 after earthquake

Jeremiah Rodriguez

CTVNews.ca

Published Monday, January 6, 2020


This combo of two photos shows "Punta Ventana," or Window Point, in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico 
on Jan. 27, 2019, top, before it fell, and after it fell on Jan. 6, 2020 due to an earthquake. 
(Edgar Gracia Portello via AP, top, and AP Photo by Jorge A Ramirez Portela, bottom)

TORONTO -- Popular tourist attraction Punta Ventana, a natural rock formation, appears to have been destroyed by a 5.8-magnitute earthquake in Puerto Rico.

The temblor has destroyed homes and buildings in the U.S. territory’s southern end and appears to have affected the local landmark natural rock archway, which was shaped by centuries of ocean waves.

Tourists had regularly snapped pictures of videos atop of Punta Ventana in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico.

Related Stories
5.8-magnitude quake strikes Puerto Rico, damaging homes

Read more about the Puerto Rican earthquake here

In a Facebook post, Guayanilla press official Glidden López Torres touched upon the destruction and wrote, “today our icon remains in the memory of all.”

On Monday, side-by-side images of the destruction of the iconic wonder were widely shared on social media.


[GUAYANILLA] Desaparece la ventana natural en Punta Ventana, Guayanilla. pic.twitter.com/IN0LI7XuKK— UPRM Meteorological Laboratory (@UPRMetLab) January 6, 2020

Glid López

14 hours ago

Luego del sismo de esta madrugada personal del Municipio visitó las diferentes comunidades para verificar viviendas afectadas.

Hasta el momento el informe señala una vivienda colapsada en el barrio Playa, una residencia en el barrio Indios desalojada por prevención.

La carretera PR-335 hubo deslizamiento de terreno que fue resuelto temprano en la mañana. 

...See More

10

3

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Some of these included a tweet from a student-run meteorological laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Translated from Spanish, their tweet read in part: “The Punta Ventana (Window Point ) has disappeared.”

The New York Times, NPR and The Miami Herald have also reported on the rock formation appearing to collapse after the earthquake.

The Herald spoke to a 22-year-old Guayanilla resident Denniza Colon who said she walked by the arch on Monday and noticed it was gone. “This is really sad,” she told the outlet.

NPR reported that a “string of recent seismic movements had already knocked a large chunk out of the window.”

QUAKE HIT EARLY MONDAY MORNING

This latest quake hit at about 6:32 a.m. local time and led to homes being destroyed, loss of power across swaths of the island and rockslides covering entire roads.

No casualties have been reported.

But this devastating quake is simply the latest in a flurry of earthquakes -- ranging from 4.7 to 5.1 on the Richter Scale -- that have rocked the U.S. territory since Dec. 28.

There is no public earthquake warning system in Puerto Rico except for the sirens that are supposed to ring in case of a tsunami.

With files from The Associated Press

Puerto Rico earthquakes destroy tourist landmarks Punta Ventana, Cueva Ventana and Ruinas del Fara
Sara M Moniuszko
USA TODAY
A popular tourist landmark in Puerto Rico, Punta Ventana, was destroyed in the Puerto Rico earthquakes Monday..

Additionally, the Puerto Rico Tourism Company confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY that two other sites, Cueva Ventana and Ruinas del Faro, also suffered irreparable damage.

A 5.8-magnitude quake hit the Caribbean island before dawn Monday, unleashing small landslides, causing power outages and severely cracking homes. It was one of the strongest quakes yet to hit the U.S. territory, which has been hit by temblors for the past week.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The tourism company said no damage was reported in most other regions of the island.

The head of the organization encourages tourists and locals to stay calm and review their action plans in case of emergencies.

The beachside rock formation was located in the town of Guayanilla and was aptly named Punta Ventana (or "Window Point") as it resembled a stone window that looked out to a beautiful view of the ocean behind it.

According to The New York Times, Mayor Nelson Torres Yordán said "it finally fell" on Monday after the formation started to look vulnerable when smaller temblors began hitting the area a week earlier.

Denniza Colon, a 22-year-old resident of Guayanilla, told the Miami Herald that she was shocked when she saw the arch had vanished.

“This is really sad,” she told the outlet in a telephone interview. “It was one of the biggest tourism draws of Guayanilla.”

A tourism draw, indeed. Some of the over 16,000 Instagram results for the hashtag #Guayanilla feature shots of Punta Ventana.

Side-by-side images of the destruction are also being shared around social media, though USA TODAY was unable to verify the photos' authenticity.

User @savingpuertorico shared a post along with the caption: "One of Puerto Rico’s iconic natural wonders — a soaring stone arch along the southern coast known as Punta Ventana or Window Point — collapsed early Monday"

Contributing: Danico Coto, The Associated Press

More:'Panic' in Puerto Rico as two strong earthquakes strike within hour

EARTHQUAKES SWARM PUERTO RICO
5.8 magnitude earthquake rocks Puerto Rico
It's the latest in a string of earthquakes to hit the island's southern region.

By Morgan Winsor
6 January 2020

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Puerto Rico early Monday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Service.




A house is seen collapsed on its foundation after an earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Jan. 6, 2020.A house is seen collapsed on its foundation after an earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Jan. 6, 2020.Ricardo Ortiz/Reuters


The quake struck off the southern coast of the U.S. territory in the Caribbean Sea at a shallow depth of 6 kilometers, or under 4 miles. The epicenter was recorded just 8 miles south of Indios, Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
(MORE: Already bracing for tropical depression, Puerto Rico rocked by 6.0 earthquake)

It's the latest in a string of earthquakes to hit the island's southern region over the past several days.
(MORE: FEMA official accused of bribery, fraud following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico)

Angel Vazquez, the emergency management director for the city of Ponce, 17 miles east of Indios, told The Associated Press that the shaking from Monday's quake "lasted a long time."




A Puerto Rican flag hangs from the porch of a home that collapsed on top of parked cars after an earthquake hit Guanica, Puerto Rico, Jan. 6, 2020.A Puerto Rican flag hangs from the porch of a home that collapsed on top of parked cars after an earthquake hit Guanica, Puerto Rico, Jan. 6, 2020.Carlos Giusti/AP

"This is one of the strongest quakes to date since it started shaking on Dec. 28," he said.

PUERTO RICO 

A Pair of Earthquakes Shake Puerto Rico

A 5.8-magnitude earthquake was felt throughout Puerto Rico on Monday morning after a shallow quake originated just south of the Island. A 5.1-magnitude earthquake was felt shortly after the initial quake.

Mayor Bill de Blasioverified_user

NYCMayor

Our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico have endured so much pain these past few years, and today's earthquake has brought even more. We're standing with our sixth borough tonight. And we'll be there for them as they recover. https://t.co/jZX8UI9GqS

Jan. 6, 2020

ENTERING THE NEW YEAR AND NEW DECADE 
WITH A SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL, A HARBINGER
OF THINGS TO COME 
4.5-magnitude earthquake hits Puerto Rico amid rare seismic activity
UPDATED ON: JANUARY 2, 2020 / 7:18 PM / AP

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake hit Puerto Rico on Thursday in the latest of a rare string of quakes that has frightened many in the U.S. territory. The most recent quake occurred eight miles south of Guayanilla at a shallow depth of four miles and was felt in the capital of San Juan and elsewhere in Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No immediate damage was reported.


"We haven't stopped shaking," said Ángel Vázquez, emergency management director for the southern coastal town of Ponce. "It's the first time something like this happens."

The flurry of quakes began the night of December 28, with a 4.7-magnitude quake followed by a 5.1-magnitude one that hit near Puerto Rico's south coast and sent dozens of panicked people into the streets. Goods fell off supermarket shelves, cracks in homes were reported in some coastal towns, and a large rock fell and blocked a road. No injuries were reported.

Earthquake jolts Puerto Rico, causing damage and "state of panic"

Since then, more than 1,100 earthquakes have occurred in that region. The majority have not been felt, except for the 4.2-magnitude one that hit December 31 and the one on Thursday.

"I've spent 29 years with Puerto Rico's Seismic Network, and it's the first time I observe this kind of activity," director Víctor Huérfano told The Associated Press. "There's no way to predict when it's going to end, or if it's going to lead to a major event."

He said the flurry of quakes have been extremely superficial and have occurred along three faults in Puerto Rico's southwest region: Lajas Valley, Montalva Point and the Guayanilla Canyon.

"In general, the force behind all of this is the North American plate and the Caribbean plate squeezing Puerto Rico," he said.

A similar cluster of quakes occurred last year along Puerto Rico's northwest coast following a 6.0-magnitude earthquake in late September that led to more than 1,200 quakes in that area, Huérfano said. One of the largest and most damaging earthquakes to hit Puerto Rico occurred in October 1918, when a 7.3-magnitude quake struck near the island's northwest coast, unleashing a tsunami and killing 116 people.

First published on January 2, 2020 / 7:13 PM

© 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. 

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=PUERTO+RICO

STATEHOOD OR INDEPENDENCE
Jasmine Camacho-Quinn wins gold for Puerto Rico, sparking another identity debate

Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, left, celebrates after defeating the United States’ Kendra Harrison, center, for gold in the 100-meter hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics 
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

BY JORGE CASTILLO

STAFF WRITER 

AUG. 2, 2021 

TOKYO —

For just the second time in history, an Olympian representing Puerto Rico, a small Caribbean island territory of the United States, stood on a podium with the Puerto Rican flag raised above two others as “La Borinqueña” played.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn wiped away the tears flowing down her face and under her white mask during Puerto Rico’s national anthem on Monday at Olympic Stadium. She wore a large crimson flor de maga, the national flower, in her hair, above her left ear. Later, minus her mask, she broke into a glowing smile at officials in the stands waving a Puerto Rican flag.

Earlier in the day, she won gold in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. In Sunday’s semifinals, she set an Olympic record. She made it look easy.

“I’m pretty sure everybody’s excited,” Camacho-Quinn said after the race, still finding her breath. “Just to put on for such a small country, to give little kids hope. I’m just glad I’m the person to do that. I’m pretty happy with that.”

She then burst into tears.

Puerto Rican hurdler Jasmine Camacho-Quinn poses with her gold medal after winning the 100-meter hurdles on Monday.
(Francisco Seto / Associated Press)

The historic performance concluded a redemption tale — Camacho-Quinn failed to qualify for the final at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — and sparked celebrations across Puerto Rico, the diaspora, even in the air.

It also triggered naysayers who have maintained she isn’t Puerto Rican enough to represent the island, shedding light on the island’s complex national identity and its ambiguous position within the international sports landscape.

Camacho-Quinn, 24, comes from the expansive Puerto Rican diaspora; nearly 6 million people who live in the U.S. identify as Puerto Rican while the island’s population has dropped to 3.2 million.

She is the daughter of a Puerto Rican-born mother and a Black American father, born and raised in South Carolina not speaking Spanish. She starred at the University of Kentucky, winning three NCAA championships. She could have chosen to run for the United States but opted for Puerto Rico ahead of the 2016 Games as an homage to her mother.

Critics surfaced with her decision. She’s addressed them over the years, and offered a response from Japan in a tweet Saturday.

“You see my mommy? The PUERTO RICAN woman that birthed me?” Camacho-Quinn wrote above a video of her mother and other family members celebrating her preliminary first-place finish.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, left, wins the women’s 100-meter hurdles on Monday.
(David J. Phillip / Associated Press)

On Monday, before Camacho-Quinn’s gold-winning race, tennis player Gigi Fernández, the most accomplished Puerto Rican-born Olympic athlete in history, questioned Camacho-Quinn’s credentials in tweets that were later deleted. Camacho-Quinn is working to learn Spanish, an issue Fernández addressed.

“And is she Puerto Rican?” Fernández wrote in Spanish. “Does she speak Spanish? Was she raised in Puerto Rico? Hhmm. How curious.”

The comments elicited swift backlash, prompting Fernández to deactivate her Twitter account. It was not the first time Fernández tweeted controversial takes about Puerto Rican Olympians. In 2016, she questioned why wrestler Jaime Espinal, who was born in the Dominican Republic and won silver for Puerto Rico at the 2012 Olympics, was chosen as the nation’s flag bearer at the Rio Games.

On Monday, Sara Rosario, the president of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee, dismissed the disapproval.

“I respect their opinions, but I think they’re wrong,” Rosario said in Spanish. “Every four years when the Olympic Games arrive, they give these opinions. I don’t see it as a necessary issue.”

Camacho-Quinn’s victory came five years after Monica Puig won women’s singles at the Rio Games for Puerto Rico’s long-awaited first Olympic gold medal. Until then, Puerto Rico had claimed two silvers and six bronzes since the island’s debut in 1948. Puig, however, wasn’t the first Puerto Rican-born person — or women’s tennis player — to win Olympic gold. That was Fernández.


OLYMPICS
From suicidal thoughts to Olympic dreams: Tara Davis finds peace in pursuit of gold
Aug. 2, 2021

Fernández earned gold medals at the 1992 and 1996 Games in women’s doubles for the United States, not Puerto Rico. She represented Puerto Rico in previous international events, but Puerto Rico couldn’t offer a doubles partner in the top 240 of the world rankings for the Olympics.

So Fernández, who rose to No. 1 in doubles in 1991, chose to compete in 1992 for the U.S. alongside Mary Joe Fernández, the No. 9-ranked doubles player in the world, to improve her odds of winning. The decision provoked scorn.

Fernández was given a choice because people born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. Puerto Rico has been under the United States’ jurisdiction since the U.S. invaded the island and seized control from Spain in 1898 as part of the Spanish-American War but has maintained its own distinct culture and customs, with Spanish and English as the official languages.

The Jones Act of 1917 declared that any person born in Puerto Rico after April 24, 1898, was a U.S. citizen without the right to vote in presidential elections. Puerto Rico was given more autonomy — but remained under U.S. control — when Congress approved the Constitution of Puerto Rico in 1952.

Four years earlier, the International Olympic Committee, pursuing more participants, recognized the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee in time for the London Games. The U.S. did not intervene. Puerto Rico has sent its own delegation to every Summer Games since 1948, including the 1980 U.S.-boycotted Moscow Games.

“For us, it’s an honor to be here,” Pamela Rosado, the captain of Puerto Rican women’s basketball team, said in Spanish. “Having Puerto Rico on our chests, I think, is most important.”

Juan Venegas won Puerto Rico’s first medal — a bronze in boxing — at the 1948 Games. In 1984, boxer Luis Ortiz won Puerto Rico’s first silver. At the 2004 Games, Puerto Rico handed the United States men’s basketball team its first Olympic loss with NBA players.

Puig broke through for gold in 2016. On Monday, Camacho-Quinn followed. How many more times “La Borinqueña” is heard on the world’s biggest sporting stage could depend on the island’s political future.

Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States dominates its politics. The island’s three prominent political parties are divided by the three leading status choices: the status quo, statehood and independence.

Statehood would likely end Puerto Rico’s sovereignty within the Olympics and Pan American Games under the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, which established that only one Olympic Committee can exist within the United States.

During his campaign last fall, Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, the president of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, said he’d hope that Puerto Rico could continue fielding its own delegations at other international competitions if the island was admitted into the union.

Both the IOC and United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee declined to comment on the matter.

“Everyone here is behind Puerto Rico,” said Esteban Pagán Rivera, the sports editor of El Nuevo Día, the biggest newspaper in Puerto Rico. “There aren’t many people paying attention to the United States.”

On Monday, Pierluisi tweeted congratulations to Camacho-Quinn. He thanked her for uniting the nation, giving Puerto Ricans happiness, filling them with pride and for representing Puerto Rican women in front of the world.

Puerto Rico votes in favor of statehood. But what does it mean for the island?

As Puerto Ricans voted on Tuesday for their local leaders, there was another decision they had to make: Whether or not the island nation should be admitted as the newest U.S. state.

© Joe Raedle/Getty Images, FILE

 In this June 30, 2015, file photo, an American flag and Puerto Rican flag fly next to each other in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The non-binding referendum was not expected to change Puerto Rico's status anytime soon but was still seen as a barometer of Puerto Ricans' appetite for statehood.

At Tuesday’s plebiscite, residents narrowly favored statehood with 52% of the vote while about 47% of voters were against it, according to the election commission's website.

This was actually the sixth time Puerto Ricans had a choice to make on statehood.

In past plebiscites, independence and Commonwealth have been included as options for Puerto Rican voters to choose.

Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since 1898. In 1952, the island's governor at the time, Luis Muñoz Marín, proclaimed the establishment of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico with the idea that the island would have a relationship with the U.S., while still having some independence.

For years, groups in favor of breaking the relationship with the U.S. have tried to push for Puerto Rico to become independent and self-sufficient without success.

Puerto Rico has been unincorporated territory since then, something that will likely not change, experts say.

“It is unlikely that the question of Puerto Rico as a state will be taken up by the Congress,” says political scientist and researcher Carlos Vargas Rsamos.

Although the U.S. mainland still sees Puerto Rico as a commonwealth, many Puerto Ricans, including the island's Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González, a Republican, say the island is constantly treated as a colony.

"Sometimes it's a little bit ironic that the beacon of democracy in the world, which is the United States, is fighting for equality and fighting for democracy and yet you get it in your own backyard -- the oldest colony, with more than 120 years without allowing Puerto Ricans to vote for president, to vote in Congress or to even have federal laws apply equally to American citizens on the island," said González, who was reelected as commissioner last Tuesday.

The resident commissioner is Puerto Rico's sole representative in Congress, but does not have a vote.

In the 2012 and 2017 referendums, statehood prevailed. But the legitimacy of the results were questioned due to the confusing configuration of the status question and voter turnout.

The Republican commissioner said she is ready to take this year's referendum results to Congress.

"We're gonna push for this now, but we're gonna push for this in January, as well. ... It doesn't matter who is the president-elect," Gonzalez told ABC News on Wednesday. "We're gonna move with Republicans and Democrats as well, because it's a bipartisan issue in law."

The commissioner, who actively supported Donald Trump for reelection, recently reacted on Twitter to Joe Biden's victory as President Elect of the United States saying that she is ready to work with him and "find common goals & reach bipartisan solutions" for Puerto Rico.

Although González said she is ready to start working with Congress to push statehood forward, Ramos Vargas is sure Congress will not act on this referendum.

"Congress is just looking for any pretext not to have to take up the question of the status for Puerto Rico," said political scientist and researcher Carlos Vargas Rsamos.

Aside from being a nonbinding referendum, Ramos said voter turnout in this referendum could still be an issue for Congress.

As of September 2020, there were around 2.3 million eligible voters on the island, according to the election commission's website. From those eligible voters, nearly 1.2 million people answered the statehood plebiscite.

"It's gonna be difficult for advocates of statehood to argue that this is a clear mandate to push for statehood, particularly when you have a Congress that is reluctant to take up the question," added Vargas Ramos.

Democratic New York Reps. Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez recently raised the issue of Puerto Rican statehood in Congress. In August 2020, the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act 2020 was introduced in the House of Representatives.

This bill would allow Puerto Ricans to "exercise their natural right to self-determination" through a status convention created by the island's legislature and with delegates chosen by residents.

Some Puerto Ricans believe that becoming a state should be the No. 1 priority on island politicians' agenda. But it's still an open debate as Puerto Rico grapples with several internal issues: the recovery from Hurricane Maria, devastating earthquakes on the island's southern coast and the coronavirus pandemic.

"We have to solve our internal issues first," said 26-year-old voter Natasha Doble, who was driven to the polls not for the referendum, but looking for a change at a local level. "This referendum is not valid. ... It doesn't matter if we vote it's not going to be taken into consideration."

While the final decision of adding Puerto Rico as a state resides in Congress, Ramos Vargas said that until there is clear proof that a vast majority supports statehood it is unlikely there will be a change.

"Because there hasn't been a conclusive plebiscite in Puerto Rico, that indicates convincingly that Puerto Ricans favor one option over another, the Congress of the United States can continue kicking the can down the road," Vargas Ramos said.

Pedro Pierluisi wins gubernatorial race in Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Pedro Pierluisi of Puerto Rico’s 

pro-statehood New Progressive Party won a majority of votes to become the U.S. territory’s next governor, according to official preliminary results released late Saturday.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Pierluisi received nearly 33% of votes compared with nearly 32% obtained by Carlos Delgado of the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the current territorial status, with 100% of precincts reporting.

The results come four days after Puerto Rico held general elections, an unusual delay blamed on a record number of early and absentee votes that overwhelmed officials. It's also the first time that Puerto Rico's two main parties fail to reach 40% of votes.

“These are times to unite wills and purposes,” Pierluisi said in a statement.

Pierluisi had claimed victory the night of the election as Delgado refused to concede, noting that his opponent was leading by a very slim margin and that thousands of votes still had not been counted.

On Saturday, he congratulated Pierluisi: “The island needs consensus, dialogue and convergence so that we can face the great challenges of the future.”

Saturday's results were released hours after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden won the election in the U.S. mainland, a victory that Pierluisi said would help Puerto Rico finally gain statehood. He congratulated Biden and said he looked forward to working with him and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris “for the benefit of all Puerto Ricans in their fight for progress and equality.”

Voters in Puerto Rico participated in a non-binding referendum the day of the local general election that asked, “Should Puerto Rico be admitted immediately into the union as a state?” More than 52% of voters approved, but any changes to the island’s political status needs approval from U.S. Congress. It is the island's sixth such referendum.

Biden has promised to work with local government officials who support a variety of political status for Puerto Rico to “initiate a just and binding process” for the island to determine its own status.

Biden also promised to fight against austerity measures sought by a federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances amid an economic crisis; accelerate the disbursement of federal funds for hurricane and earthquake reconstruction; and push for equal funding of Medicaid, Medicare and Supplemental Security Income, since Puerto Rico receives less than U.S. states.

Other results released late Saturday included those of a tight race for the mayor of Puerto Rico's capital. New Progressive Miguel Romero received more than 36% of votes, compared with more than 34% obtained by third-party candidate Manuel Natal of the Citizen Victory Movement. Natal rejected the results and said not all votes have been counted.

DáNica Coto, The Associated Press

STATEHOOD OR INDEPENDENCE


COVID and economy woes walloped Puerto Rico — but statehood may help bring it back

Reggie Wade
·Writer
Sat, March 13, 2021

Puerto Rico — buffeted by natural disasters, a debt crisis and most recently, COVID-19 — is struggling under the weight of a hobbled economy that relies heavily on tourism.

However, the so-called “Island of Enchantment” may yet see better days, as the Biden administration, and a chance to become fully recognized as a U.S. state, could help restore a much-needed sense of normalcy after a rough stretch of years.

In the U.S. Congress, where Democrats currently hold a slim majority, key lawmakers are united in their desire to bolster Puerto Rico’s future — but exactly how that gets done is up for debate. One option currently being discussed with more intensity is a bid for statehood, an option that some have floated for Washington, D.C. as well.

Last year, New York Democrats Nydia Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spearheaded an effort to advance the island's bid to determine its future. In a November referendum, Puerto Ricans voted to become a U.S. state, the latest in a years-long effort to clarify the island’s relationship with America.

Earlier this month, Puerto Rico’s sole representative in Congress, González Colón (R-PR) and Congressman Darren Soto (D-FL 9) introduced the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act, which would pave the way to make Puerto Rico the 51st state.

To be certain, Puerto Rico’s economy wasn’t always defined by crisis. For decades, U.S. tax incentives made the island a draw for subsidiaries of most U.S. companies that operated within its borders, turning into a manufacturing hub for big pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Roche (RHHBY), Pfizer (PFE), and Novartis (NVS).

However, legislation passed in 1996 phased out those incentives within a decade, hastening a decline that made the economy far more reliant on tourism.

Edwin Melendez, director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies and a professor of urban policy and planning at New York’s Hunter College, faulted a lack of investment in Puerto Rico for its most recent economic downturn.

“It’s not a decline because the companies packed up and left. It’s that the companies stopped investing in Puerto Rico,” Melendez told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview.

He noted that Puerto Rico’s pattern of economic decline was briefly interrupted when The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funds were injected as a stimulus. However, the reprieve would be short-lived: In the years that followed, two hurricanes, an earthquake, a rolling debt crisis and COVID-19 would turn life on the island upside down in the years that followed.

COVID-19 wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico much later than it did for many other parts of the U.S. However, in August, the island recorded an average of 419 daily hospitalizations. At present, the island nation has had 135,552 cases and 2,066 deaths.

Clinical Epidemiologist Roberta Lugo tells Yahoo Finance that Puerto Rico’s Government and Department of Health efforts to fight the COVID-19 have been slow and “full of stumbles.”

Lugo, who was on the island during its first wave, notes that the Puerto Rican government’s slow reaction time caused severe problems.

“We experienced poor decision making, and the economic sector had more weight than the scientific community. I can describe the emergency response as reactive rather than proactive,” she said.
Eat or get eaten

Representative Nydia Velasquez (NY) speaks during a press conference with activists from 'Take Action for Puerto Rico' demanding support from the Federal Government to rebuild Puerto Rico after two years of Hurricane Maria in Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. Wednesday, September 18, 2019. (Photo by Aurora Samperio/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The fumbled response to the pandemic underscores why a growing number of lawmakers believe full statehood would help Puerto Rico solve many of its problems, including better service delivery and better overall economic conditions.

One of those is New York Democratic Rep. Richie Torres, who backs statehood as a path to opening the floodgates of money and opportunities for the island desperately in need of both.

“If you do not have a seat at the table, then you’re probably on the menu. Statehood would provide Puerto Rico a seat at the table,” Torres told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview.

Becoming a U.S. state “would mean billions of dollars in new funding for Puerto Rico, both directly and indirectly. Directly from programs affected by statehood and indirectly from political representation, conferred by statehood,” he explained.

“If Puerto Rico had two senators and five members of Congress, it would be in an infinitely stronger position to claim its fair share of federal funding — there’s no substitute for direct representation,” he said.

“Representation matters … There are 29 programs that make up 86% of federal funding for states and statehood would mean greater funding for Puerto Rico and 11 of those programs,” such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and education, Torres added.

Torres believes that Biden’s approach to Puerto Rico’s future will be infinitely better than that of former President Donald Trump, who openly sparred with the island’s leadership after Hurricane Maria devastated the economy there in 2017.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that Biden is going to treat Puerto Rico much more fairly than his predecessor ever did or could — but ultimately the status quo is failing Puerto Rico miserably,” said the congressman, who compared it to a colony.

“Puerto Rico is subject to the control of the United States without the ability to vote; that is the definition of colonialism” — which can only be corrected by statehood, Torres said.

Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.

#STATEHOOD OR #INDEPENDENCE

The Trump Administration Lost Millions of Dollars of Food and Water Meant For Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria

Trump has recently tried to rewrite the history of the US’s bungled recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.

Nidhi PrakashBuzzFeed News Reporter
Reporting From
Washington, DC
Posted on October 1, 2020

Ricardo Arduengo / Getty Images
Puerto Ricans protest on January 23, 2020, after a warehouse full of relief supplies, reportedly dating back to Hurricane Maria in 2017, were found having been left undistributed to those in need.


WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has, in recent weeks, claimed that he is “the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico,” in an effort to win over Puerto Rican voters in Florida. But a new government report shows his administration lost track of hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of potentially lifesaving food and water, as thousands died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

“FEMA lost visibility of about 38 percent of its commodity shipments to Puerto Rico, worth an estimated $257 million. Commodities successfully delivered to Puerto Rico took an average of 69 days to reach their final destinations,” the report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General found.

For the past three years, Trump has consistently blamed local authorities for the inadequate response to Puerto Rico’s devastating hurricane.

Some FEMA supplies intended for Puerto Rico never even left Florida, according to the report.

Most of those supplies consisted of food and water deliveries, in addition to blankets, cots, tarps, and sheeting. The inspector general’s findings, released Thursday, are in line with what BuzzFeed News and others reported seeing on the ground in Puerto Rico after the hurricane: inadequate federal deliveries of basic supplies, long waits for any supplies at all to arrive, and a lack of accountability at every level on how those supplies were being distributed.

FEMA shipped 97 million liters of water to Puerto Rico between September 2017, when Hurricane Maria made landfall, and April 2018, according to the report. Of that 97 million liters, just 36 million liters definitely reached local distribution points. In those first eight months following the hurricane, FEMA shipped 53 million meals to Puerto Rico. Just 24 million verifiably reached local distribution points

“The remaining commodity shipments for both water and meals that arrived in the Commonwealth either remained in FEMA’s custody were in contractor facilities, or had unknown destinations,” the report found.

Three years after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover. In the months following the storm, at least three thousand Puerto Ricans died, many from a lack of access to clean water, food (harder to store because electricity on most parts of the island was down for several months), shelter, and timely medical care. Some residents of Puerto Rico lived with open roofs on their houses for months after the hurricane because emergency tarps had not reached them.

Last year, Trump fought against additional funding to help Puerto Rico recover from the disaster, repeating false claims that the island had already gotten more money than for any previous hurricane and blamed local officials for the US territory’s slow recovery. Trump claimed in 2018 that Puerto Rico’s death toll had been faked to make him look “as bad as possible.”

According to the report, FEMA knew from a 2011 exercise that Puerto Rico would need extra support from the federal agency to get supplies distributed throughout the island in an emergency. Despite that, the report says, the agency failed to prepare. The agency also failed to follow the regular standards of tracking deliveries and holding contractors to account by asking for documented proof of deliveries, the inspector general found.

“Given the lost visibility and delayed shipments, FEMA cannot ensure it provided commodities to Puerto Rico disaster survivors as needed to sustain life and alleviate suffering as part of its response and recovery mission,” the report says.

The issue was not just tracking the shipments after they’d reached the island — the report found that for these supplies, “FEMA headquarters did not record customer orders in a timely manner, or did not record them at all,” which lead to confusion and backing up of deliveries at the deployment point in Jacksonville, Florida.

“In response to the large volume of commodities ordered, FEMA had to open up two overflow sites in Jacksonville to store commodities awaiting shipment, as well as divert a significant amount of commodities to other locations,” the report says. “According to [FEMA] personnel in Jacksonville, some commodity shipments intended for Puerto Rico likely never left the continental United States.”


The supplies that did make it to Puerto Rico “sat in FEMA’s custody at various locations on the island approximately 48 days,” followed by another week of delivery time on average before reaching local distribution centers, according to the inspector general.

“Water and food, two of the most important life-sustaining commodities, experienced average shipping delays of 71 and 59 days, respectively,” the report says.

The end result of a shortfall in supplies and some of the available supplies never arriving was that after waiting at least ten days for any kind of assistance to arrive, just 20% of municipalities on the island received enough food and only 27% of municipalities received enough water to supply survivors of the hurricane.

There were also problems with the food that did arrive — 40% of the municipalities said they received expired food and some “‘meal’ boxes ... included junk food such as Oreos, candy, cereal bars, and other similar items that lacked sufficient nutritional value.”

Some of the inspector general’s findings repeat what FEMA’s own internal post-disaster report revealed in 2018. The agency’s resources were already drained and in a state of disorder from responding to other high-intensity hurricanes that hit the US in 2017 by the time Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico, from Hurricane Harvey in Texas to Hurricane Irma, which hit the Florida panhandle and Puerto Rico.

Compounding the breakdowns in federal record-keeping and accountability, the inspector general found that Puerto Rican government staff used manual records haphazardly filed in random locations rather than having a formal system to keep track of food, water, and other supplies received from FEMA and distributed to local authorities.

“For example, we requested supporting documentation to verify commodity distribution numbers in the Puerto Rico government’s summary reports provided to FEMA,” the inspector general wrote. “Puerto Rico government officials could not provide the supporting commodity distribution records because they were dispersed throughout various locations on the island, including a personal residence."


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The White House Called The Food Stamp Funding That Puerto Rico Requested “Excessive And Unnecessary”Nidhi Prakash · Jan. 17, 2019

Nidhi Prakash is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Washington, DC.