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The population of Puerto Rico was overcounted by 5.7%, or 174,000 people, when the Census Bureau conducted its 2020 count. The overcount came to light Tuesday after the bureau announced it concluded a post-enumeration survey used to measure the accuracy of the census by independently surveying a sample of the population on the island. The effort is being used to inform improvements on the 2030 census. On April 2021, the Census Bureau announced Puerto Rico’s population fell 11.8% to nearly 3.3 million over the past decade. But the latest post-enumeration survey suggests that Puerto Rico's total population may be closer...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s governor on Tuesday announced a public-private partnership to overhaul the island’s cruise ship docks as part of a $425 million project to boost the U.S. territory’s tourism sector. Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said the project aims to transform Puerto Rico into the Caribbean’s main cruise ship destination by modernizing, repairing and expanding nine docks located in the capital of San Juan to receive larger vessels and more passengers. “It’s an extremely important day for tourism in Puerto Rico,” said Carlos Mercado, executive director for the island’s Tourism Company. San Juan Cruise Port —...

(Translation) Longshoremen's union leader Carlos Sánchez Ortiz and several employees of [International Longshoremen's Association] 1740 who work in the docks of San Juan face seven charges, among them fraud, labor extortion, and illegal appropriation, U.S. Attorney in Puerto Rico Stephen Muldrow announced. The group also faces charges of conspiracy, violation of the Organized Crime Law, and money-laundering. It is alleged that the accused appropriated over $1 million. Six of the arrested are males and one is a female. The accused face up to 20 years in prison for the crimes they presumably committed.

(Translation) The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested former constitutional Governor of Puerto Rico Wanda Vázquez at her residence in the Montehiedra neighborhood in the early hours of the morning today. It has been indicated that Vázquez is at the FBI building. Vázquez's arrest comes a little over two months after the team of attorneys of who is also the [island's] former Attorney General anticipated her possibly being charged at the federal level with election fraud. [News/talk-radio station] NotiUno 630 reported that a group of prosecutors from the Division of Public Integrity of the federal Department of Justice based in Washington...

On July 25, 1898, U.S. Army General Nelson Miles and his troops landed on the south coast of Puerto Rico during Spanish-American War, in a campaign framed by the fledgling American power as 'to bring the blessings of Freedom and Liberty to another People long oppressed'. I recently learned of the following poem penned by my late great-grandfather on the occasion of the third anniversary of that event. The poem was written in turn-of-the-century Castilian, which is a little difficult to translate (this cheap translation is mine), but I hope that you can understand the sentiment of the time (the...

(Translation) Law 54 on domestic violence will now protect against pet mistreatment following Governor Pedro Pierluisi’s signing into law House Bill 582 authored by Representative Ángel Matos García, Popular Democratic Party House Leader. The amendment to Law 54, known as “Law for the Prevention [of] and Intervention in Domestic Violence”, includes threat of pet mistreatment or [pet] mistreatment [itself] within the behaviors that are defined as intimidation and psychological violence and categorizes new aggravating circumstances. According to the legislator, studies have shown that these behaviors are part of the tactics the aggressor performs to inflict fear, despair, sadness, or intimidation,...

Ricky Martin's alleged domestic violence accuser is one of his own family members ... and now the pop star's reportedly staring down the possibility of a half-century behind bars. A new report Friday from Spanish news website Marca identifies Ricky's accuser as his 21-year-old nephew, Dennis Yadiel Sanchez, which would introduce incest into the case in Puerto Rico. The singer's brother, Eric Martin, reportedly identified the alleged victim ... and Ricky is going to court July 21. Under Puerto Rican law, there are harsher penalties for certain sexual crimes when the alleged victim is related to the accused, but it...

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) responded on Monday to a much-criticized comment by first lady Jill Biden calling the Latino community “as unique as the breakfast tacos here in San Antonio,” saying that the remark was culturally inappropriate. “We are not tacos,” wrote the NAHJ in a statement criticizing Biden. “NAHJ encourages Dr. Biden and her speech writing team to take the time in the future to better understand the complexities of our people and communities,” the group added. Biden made the remark earlier Monday at the 2022 UnidosUS Annual Conference held in Texas, where she spoke on...

(Translation) Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Iris Cardona indicated that some additional monkeypox cases in Puerto Rico were due to dating apps. “The United States already has over 700 cases, but analysis of the first 300 identified the majority being men. Most of them had the number-one epidemiological criterion, that being participating in activities involving intimate contact, very close or sexual contact, any of the two, particularly men having sex with men, and also invitations on the different platforms within social media to meet people and engage in very close relations or close contact with these people who...

(Translation) Independent Representative Luis Raúl Torres Cruz introduced two proposals to call on the people through a special referendum to decide if they wish to recognize the right to life of a conceived child and affirm the mother’s own right to life, or that abortion be free and unrestricted. “Certainly, there are diverse visions on abortion and the Legislature as an institution has not been able to reach a position of consensus on the matter. Therefore, these proposals aim at having the sovereign people of Puerto Rico express themselves directly in a constitutional-amendment consultation so the matter may be settled,”...

(Translation) The number of taxicab drivers on the island is decreasing, which is felt by the tourist who needs a transportation service and passengers who arrive in Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport early in the morning. It is estimated that, in the last years, there has been a 40% decrease in the number of these workers, according to Juan de León, President of the Taxi Drivers Federation, who understands is due to factors that affect the economy in general. According to data collected among cab drivers, it is estimated that there were over 5,000 taxis in Puerto Rico one decade...

(Translation) Hours after a legislative bill that sought to amend Law 146-2012 of the Penal Code to establish that abortion be punished by a fixed 99-year prison sentence was withdrawn, the [Puerto Rico] Department of Justice made it clear that it will not prosecute women or healthcare professionals for such a procedure on the island. So far this four-year term, at least 15 bills have been introduced to intervene to a lower or higher degree with the right to abortion in Puerto Rico, the last one of these from Project Dignity Representative Lisie Burgos which was introduced on Saturday –...

(Translation) Governor Pedro Pierluisi left legislation addressing abortion up to the Legislature, following the decision by the United States Supreme Court to nullify the Roe v. Wade. "Basically, what the Supreme Court has decided is that the matter has to be addressed at the state level, and, in our case, here in Puerto Rico. The Legislature is called upon to take action over the matter of abortion. Our Constitution also applies. Basically, what the Supreme Court's decision indicates is that the right to abortion will not be protected at the United States Constitution level, but that the states are allowed...

(Translation) THE CAPITOL - [Puerto Rico] House Speaker Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez said on Friday that, following the decision by the United States Supreme Court to revoke the Roe vs. Wade ruling, he will work on Senate Bill 693 in August for which public hearings will convene. "The United States Supreme Court issued a decision in a 5-4 [sic] vote which revoked the regulations stipulated in Roe v. Wade and recognized the authority of state legislatures to define the law that will prevail in each jurisdiction." "The House of Representatives reaffirms its commitment to lead a wide, inclusive, and participative...

(Translation) Monsignor Héctor Aguer, Archbishop Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina, proposed a solution to the “conflict” that ensued after Pope Francis’ removal of Monsignor Daniel Fernández Torres as Bishop of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. “The Holy Father, speaking of conflicts that exist within some regions of the Church, has mentioned the one that continues in the Diocese of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The problem originated with the removal of the Bishop, Monsignor Daniel Fernández Torres,” the prelate indicated in a communiqué about the case which he sent to ACI Prensa on Monday, June 20. The Archbishop disseminated this reflection one week after...

(Translation) Facing the constant increase in the operational costs of gasoline stations, there are retailers mulling several options, among these limiting charges through credit or debit cards in order to avoid what they consider a high processing fee from banks, industry representatives interviewed by EL VOCERO pointed out. At least one gas station already began to limit payment methods, this being a station located on Kennedy Avenue in San Juan, where only cash, American Express, Discover, and gas-brand specific credit cards are accepted. "Due to the high costs of bank fees and the constant increase in the price of fuel,...

(Translation) The Senate passed in a voice vote Bill 693 that would limit abortions in Puerto Rico beginning at 22 weeks of pregnancy. Senate Bill 693 was co-authored by Senators Joanne Rodríguez Véve, José Luis Dalmau Santiago, Thomas Rivera Schatz, Albert Torres, Ramón Ruiz Nieves, and Keren Riquelme Cabrera. The bill was later approved by a formal vote of 16 in favor, 9 against, and one abstention. Project Dignity Senator and Life & Family Affairs Committee Chair Rodríguez stated that “I believe in the defense of life beginning at conception. However, I am willing to support this bill from members...

(Translation) The bill that would amend Gun Law 168-2019 to, among other things, add flexibility to certain aspects of the statute, and that caused a stir because it would allow citizens to carry two firearms at the same time, will not be reviewed during this Ordinary Session which will end on June 30. The information was confirmed to EL VOCERO by House Speaker Rafael “Tatito” Hernández who recognized that it does not look prudent to review the bill during this session, although he indicated that the legislative piece – which has several provisions that have been amended – has the...

(Translation) Attorney [and political commentator] Iván Rivera stated that the Puerto Rican Independence Party [PIP] has done damage to the independence [cause]. "The PIP has done enormous damage to the independence [cause] with those alliances and associations (with the socialist sector) since this is an eminently capitalist island [which] does not believe in a socialist project, although there are people within the government and the Legislature here who behave like socialists," he said. "[The PIP] has never presented an economic project based on a capital-based economy taking advantage of the relationship with the United States and the funds that are...

[Puerto Rico] Gasoline Retailers Association President Esdras Vélez stated that, in order to mitigate the impact of the high cost of fuel on people's pockets, sales at gasoline stations have decreased by 20%. "At this time, consumption has been decreasing drastically [as shown by] general sales. What we are talking about is that stations are selling about 20% less than what would be sold during normal periods," Vélez reported to El Vocero [newspaper]. He indicated that, for three months now, gasoline retailers have begun to pay over 50% more in the price of regular gasoline, which, coupled with the volatile...