Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Activists Tear Down Wall Built Illegally on Beach

On Saturday, hundreds of activists flooded Playa Almendros in Rincón, Puerto Rico to complete the demolition of a wall that was illegally built too close to the beach by a condo developer.

  • Mar 6, 2023
  • 1:00 PM

Puerto Rico Activists Sue to Stop Construction; Govt Agency Orders Land Restoration

On Wednesday, Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources ordered a developer that built illegally built on top of Cueva Las Golondrinas in Aguadilla must restore the area impacted by the construction.

  • Mar 2, 2023
  • 4:37 PM

On American Citizenship Day, Puerto Ricans Still Denied Federal Disability Benefits

In Puerto Rico, March 2 marks the anniversary of when, in 1917, the U.S. Congress granted U.S. citizenship to anyone born in the islands. But for some Puerto Ricans, American Citizenship Day is a grim reminder of their unequal citizenship rights.

  • Mar 2, 2023
  • 1:03 PM

69 Years After Puerto Ricans Attacked Congress, Colonialism Remains the Most Violent Conspiracy

Two years ago, U.S. citizens attacked the Capitol, committing a crime against their own government. Sixty-seven years before, Puerto Rican nationalists attacked the same building to denounce a crime —colonialism— committed by a government in which they had no meaningful rights or representation.

  • Mar 1, 2023
  • 2:18 PM

Months From Independence: What Would Albizu Do?

The third in a three-part series looking at the attempts made by Pedro Albizu Campos and other local leaders in Puerto Rico to hold a constitutional convention in 1936—the closest the archipelago has come to breaking free of U.S. colonial rule.

  • Feb 28, 2023
  • 5:30 PM

Puerto Rico to Close Lone Zoo After Years of Complaints

Puerto Rico’s government is closing the U.S. territory’s only zoo following years of suspected negligence, a lack of resources, and deaths of animals that were highlighted by activists.

  • Feb 28, 2023
  • 10:54 AM

Eco-Anxiety Motivates Puerto Rico Activists to Defend Environment

With miles of beaches and lush rainforest, Puerto Rico is often touted as a paradise for vacationers. But for the people who live there, rampant development and the worsening effects of climate change have bred a sense of ecological anxiety that drives many to fight for the environment.

  • Feb 27, 2023
  • 1:39 PM

Why Puerto Ricans for Statehood Remain Hostile Toward the Free Association Option (OPINION)

While experts and others do know that it is possible, desirable, and mutually beneficial to maintain U.S. citizenship in any sovereignty option, statehooders keep trying to misinform Puerto Ricans and policymakers in Washington.

  • Feb 23, 2023
  • 3:50 PM

Report: How Wall Street Relies on ‘Power Players’ for Vulture Fund Feeding Frenzy

A new report from progressive organizations reveals the web of lawyers, lobbyists, trade groups, and cultural institutions that vulture funds use to prey on debt-addled countries like Puerto Rico.

  • Feb 22, 2023
  • 4:00 PM

After Five Days, University of Puerto Rico Workers’ Strike Ends With Minimum Wage Raise

After a short five-day strike that closed access to most campuses, the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Workers’ Union reached an agreement with the administration that should see workers’ salaries match the archipelago’s minimum wage of $8.50 per hour, rising to $9.50 on July 1.

  • Feb 21, 2023
  • 3:40 PM

Puerto Rico Judge Finds Golfer Guilty in Fatal Dog Shooting

A Puerto Rico judge on Thursday found a businessman guilty of animal abuse for fatally shooting a stray dog on a golf course nearly two years ago, noting the defendant did so not out of fear but because the animal was interrupting the game.

  • Feb 17, 2023
  • 10:46 AM

Puerto Rico’s Land Defenders

On this episode of Latino Rebels Radio, host Julio Ricardo Varela speaks with Latino Rebels’ Caribbean correspondent Carlos Edill Berríos Polanco about the challenges environmentalists face in their fight against land privatization in Puerto Rico.

  • Feb 16, 2023
  • 4:40 PM

Months From Independence: Colonialism Crushes the Nationalist Movement in Puerto Rico

Fearing the increasing displays of nationalistic pride sweeping across Puerto Rico in 1936, colonial authorities derailed that year’s constitutional convention movement to establish the Republic of Puerto Rico, thus ensuring U.S. colonialism would endure.

  • Feb 16, 2023
  • 2:48 PM

Congress Should Not Abandon Transformative Economic Measures for Puerto Rico (OPINION)

The expanded Child Tax Credit in 2021 was transformative, but it was short-lived. There is still time to make the necessary adjustments to the CTC so that we can continue transforming the lives of Puerto Rican families with children, promoting their mobility, and securing their economic future.

  • Feb 15, 2023
  • 11:13 AM

1st Openly LGBT Judge Confirmed to Federal Court in Puerto Rico

On Tuesday the U.S. Senate officially confirmed Judge Gina Méndez-Miró to U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico, making her the first openly LGBT judge in the court’s history.⁣

  • Feb 14, 2023
  • 4:12 PM

Judge Orders Demolition of Illegal Construction on Cave in Puerto Rico

A judge in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico has ordered the demolition of two illegal structures built on top of Cueva Las Golondrinas after ruling that the lawsuit filed by the municipality against Aguadilla Pier Corporation has merit.

  • Feb 13, 2023
  • 4:46 PM

Months From Independence: Pedro Albizu Campos and the 1936 Constitutional Convention Movement in Puerto Rico

The first in a three-part series looking at the attempts made by Pedro Albizu Campos and other local leaders in Puerto Rico to hold a constitutional convention in 1936—the closest the archipelago has come to breaking free of U.S. colonial rule.

  • Feb 10, 2023
  • 5:36 PM

New ‘Hybrid Charge’ Could Raise Puerto Rico Electricity Bills for 35 Years

Puerto Rico could experience a spike in its electricity bills for the next 35 years if a debt restructuring proposal is accepted by a federal bankruptcy judge in New York.

  • Feb 10, 2023
  • 3:26 PM

Will Biden Feel the Bad Bunny Effect and Mention Puerto Rico in SOTU? (OPINION)

First Lady Jill Biden appeared as a presenter at the Grammys on Sunday, just minutes after Bad Bunny gave an unapologetically Puerto Rican performance to open the show. Will her husband face the music and say something about Puerto Rico in his State of the Union address Tuesday night?

  • Feb 7, 2023
  • 3:21 PM

‘Non-English’ Is the New Puerto Rican (OPINION)

Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican reggaetonero, the biggest music superstar on the planet, and the voice of a generation. But all of this is what is lost in translation, or not translated at all, when CBS captioned his performance and speech with “singing in non-English, speaking in non-English” during the Grammys on Sunday.

  • Feb 7, 2023
  • 12:56 PM

Human Rights, Diaspora Groups Demand Investigation of Activist Shooting in Puerto Rico

Human rights groups and activists are demanding that Puerto Rican and U.S. authorities launch an investigation into the shooting of an environmental activist by private security personnel in the coastal town of Aguadilla on Sunday.

  • Feb 3, 2023
  • 1:21 PM

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