PUERTO RICO HERALD: Kucinich, Waters To Visit

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Police Superintendent Pierre Vivoni said Wednesday he doesn’t believe Puerto Rico is a major drug transshipment port to the mainland United States or that 30 percent of all drugs that are shipped to the island are consumed locally. He wants to know where the DEA gets its data from before trusting it.

Vivoni, who made his comments at the International Drug Enforcement Conference here, said he understands the importance of taking a global stand in fighting against drug trafficking -- the focus of this year’s conference.

However, he said, his first and only interest is Puerto Rico. "My interest is breaking up the chain that originates in Latin America and makes it to Puerto Rico. If it didn’t come to the island at all, I wouldn’t care if tons of drugs went to the states. My interest is in Puerto Rico," Vivoni said.

Col. Magin Ruisanchez, who heads the Puerto Rico police Drugs, Weapons and United Forces for Rapid Action units, added "the problem here" is that the DEA considers Puerto Rico as part of the United States.

"We are not. Puerto Rico is Puerto Rico. We are different, very different," Ruisanchez said.

*****

April 5, 2001
Copyright © 2001 PuertoRicoWOW News Service. All rights reserved.

In the final audit report about the fiscal management of the San Juan municipality, which corresponds to the years that Popular Democratic Party mayors, Hector Luis Acevedo and now Gov. Sila Calderon, were in power, the Commonwealth Comptroller's Office found "extravagant expenses." Calderon described the comptroller's findings as one way of looking at the expenses.

"The municipality incurred $691,205 in expenses for the activities celebrating the Commonwealth Constitution at El Morro on July 25, 1998," the audit report indicates and describes this expense as "unnecessary and extravagant."

The municipality again incurred expenses of $202,844 for the Commonwealth Constitution celebration in Hatillo on July 25, 1999.

"This situation caused irregularities with public funds, which could have adverse consequences for the municipality," the Comptroller's Office indicated.

SAN JUAN (AP) - Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) promised to visit Vieques sometime between May and June, according to Carolina Mayor Jose Aponte.

Aponte said Kucinich, member of the National Security Subcommittee of the Government Reforms Committee, and Waters, Black Caucus president, also promised to motivate other congressmen to visit the island municipality.

"This way, the representatives can have a first-hand understanding of the difficult situation endured there with the presence of the U.S. Navy and its military practices," Aponte said in a news release.

The representatives' promise to visit is a result of the efforts by Coordinadora Todo Puerto Rico con Vieques and the so-called "cabilderos del pueblo" to convince U.S. congressmen to visit the island municipality to dialogue with the Viequenses.

SAN JUAN (AP) - San Juan continued to lose population, while municipalities such as Trujillo Alto and Toa Alta have made the largest population gains in the past decade, according to recently released Census 2000 figures in published reports.

Census data shows that the total population for Puerto Rico is 3,808,610, an 8.1% increase of 286,573 people over the 1990 figure.

San Juan, Ponce, and Mayagüez were the only three of the largest municipalities to show a population loss since 1990, while Vega Baja and Rio Grande joined Trujillo Alto and Toa Alta as the municipalities with a considerable population increase.

In San Juan, the population was 437,745 people in 1990 and was reduced to 434,374 in 2000, while Ponce had 187,749 people in 1990 and 186,475 in 2000. In Mayagüez, the population reached 100,371 in 1990 and was reduced to 98,434 residents in 2000.

Meanwhile, Trujillo Alto had a population of 61,120 people in 1990 and showed an increase to 75,728 in 2000, and Toa Alta went from 44,101 residents in 1990 to 63,929 in the year 2000.

SAN JUAN - The New Progressive Party Directory unanimously approved on Monday a resolution asking Sen. Norma Burgos to put her first vice president position at the disposition of the collectivity.

"We have taken a very strong, categorical and historic determination within the directory. Our party does not trust Norma Burgos. I don't think there is anything stronger than that; to retire our trust from the person who occupies the post of first vice president," said NPP President Leo Diaz adding that when delicate issues need to be discussed they would not be discussed before the senator.

Washington - The organization All of Puerto Rico with Vieques invited U.S. legislators to the island to learn firsthand about their opposition to U.S. Navy exercises.

"Our goal is to bring Republicans and Democrats who do not know about the situation in Vieques and who are involved with the armed forces," group spokesman Jose Paraliticci told EFE.

Paraliticci is part of the Puerto Rican delegation that gave the Congressional Hispanic Caucus a letter signed by 110 legislators for President George W. Bush to stop the military exercises.

Vivoni Wouldn’t Care If Tons Of Drugs Went To The States

"Extravagant Expenses" In San Juan

Kucinich, Waters To Visit

San Juan Loses Population

NPP Asks Burgos To Resign Post

U.S. Legislators Invited