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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Calderon: Sad, Disappointed With Hernandez Mayoral, Replacement Sought…Colberg Toro Alleges Vendetta By Vizcarrondo… Special Ops Leaving RR…Hernandez Mayoral Quits…Canada Tops P.R. In BB World Cup…Banking On Land Values…Death Penalty Trial Opens, Case Stirs Debate About U.S. Ties
Calderon: Sad And Disappointed With Hernandez Mayoral By Joanisabel Gonzalez-Velazquez of WOW News July 8, 2003 "I feel very sad and disappointed." That is how Popular Democratic Party (PDP) President Gov. Sila Calderon said she feels about the withdrawal of Jose Alfredo Hernandez Mayoral from the gubernatorial race. Calderon revealed her disappointment Tuesday during a press conference held at La Fortaleza when a reporter from an English-speaking radio station asked Calderon to repeat a statement in English for audio purposes. While speaking in Spanish, Calderon had only said she was very sad. Calderon, who appeared to be trying not to reveal her frustration and took deep breaths while speaking, said she lost contact with Hernandez Mayoral four weeks ago for unknown reasons. Efforts she and PDP Secretary General Fernando Torres Ramirez made to reach Hernandez Mayoral in order to continue the transition process were to no avail, the governor said. She said she also tried to talk to Hernandez Mayoral during the weekend after she read published reports revealing that the attorney had decided not to run for governor. Calderon noted that she was informed of Hernandez Mayoral’s decision through a letter he sent Monday to La Fortaleza at 1:30 p.m. She read the letter 15 minutes before the attorney’s press conference at which he withdrew his pre-candidacy for governor. The governor made public the letter Hernandez Mayoral sent announcing his decision and another one she sent to him on June 13 asking him to assume the party’s presidency. "I am writing to tell you that it is very difficult for me to continue with the political responsibilities of the party, since I have not been able to establish an effective communication with you as required to carry on the party’s responsibilities with a sense of harmony and coordination during a transition process," Calderon said in her letter. Allegedly the attorney did not answer Calderon’s letter, nor any call placed by her. After being the PDP’s pre-gubernatorial candidate for about two months, Hernandez Mayoral withdrew his political aspiration due to the sickness his son suffers. Calderon reaffirmed she wishes for a total recovery for Hernandez Mayoral’s son, who suffers from an undiagnosed medical condition, but added she does not know any reason for the communication breakdown between him and the PDP. The governor added that "the PDP is the house of Jose Alfredo," but noted that the party needs to make a decision to meet the deadlines established by law. Calderon met with the PDP leadership for more than six hours Monday afternoon to deal with the crisis after Hernandez Mayoral’s withdrawal. As a result of the meeting, Carolina Mayor Jose Aponte was designated to speak to Hernandez Mayoral and convince him to reconsider, but his efforts were unsuccessful. According to Calderon, Aponte talked to Hernandez Mayoral’s brother, Juan Eugenio, who said the decision was final. Calderon and the PDP leadership expect to recruit a new gubernatorial candidate without a primary during the next week and file papers, prior to the deadline to submit political candidacies established by the Electoral Law. Resident Commissioner Anibal Acevedo Vila, Sen. Roberto Prats, Prof. Jose Alberto Morales, Caguas Mayor William Miranda Marin, and Bar Association President Arturo Davila have been mentioned as possible party candidates for the top post on the island.
Jorge Colberg Toro Claims Vendetta By Vizcarrondo By Ismael Torres of Associated Press July 8, 2003 Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Rep. Jorge Colberg Toro said Tuesday that House Speaker Carlos Vizcarrondo has a personal vendetta against him and wants to prevent his re-election in 2004. Colberg Toro said Vizcarrondo removed him from the Public Integrity Committee as part of a vendetta because he wants to hurt his chances for re-election and because he favors Luis Vega Ramos, who unlike Colberg Toro, supports Vizcarrondo’s aspirations to be re-elected as House speaker. "He is trying to hang me in a primary to get Vega Ramos in, and I won’t stand for that," Colberg Toro said in a radio interview. The PDP representative said the House needs a new speaker and reiterated his belief that the punishment that Vizcarrondo imposed on him for voting against the judicial reform bill was too harsh. Colberg Toro described himself as a hard-working legislator who has never been involved in corruption. Last week, Vizcarrondo removed Jorge, Severo Colberg Toro, and Luis Raul Torres from the chairmanships of several House committees for voting against the judicial reform bill. The legislators claimed that the bill is incomplete because it doesn’t include the employees’ right to join a labor union.
Special Operations To Leave Roosevelt Roads July 8, 2003 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- The Pentagon ordered the U.S. Special Operations Command South to move from Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland, a military official said Tuesday. About 250 to 300 soldiers will be moving to Fort Bragg, N.C., and Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., by Aug. 30, command spokesman Lt. Col. Nicolas Britto said. An additional 150 soldiers will stay behind to administer the headquarters in Puerto Rico until August 2004, when the command will open new headquarters in Miami, Britto said. He said being close to the U.S. Southern Command, which already is based in Miami, ``will allow for better communications.'' The U.S. Special Operations Command South is responsible for providing military assistance to every country in the Western Hemisphere with the exception of Mexico, Britto said. The military cooperation includes anti-drug operations and training in small weapons and first aid, he said. The command, which moved to the U.S. territory from Panama in 1999, is composed of three units -- Army special forces, Navy SEALs and one helicopter company, Britto said. The Navy announced in April it was doing away with nearly half its 6,300 employees at the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, offering other jobs to most federal employees while laying off many contractors. About 2,100 military personnel, 1,400 civilian employees and 1,500 contractors remained at the base before Tuesday's announcement, base spokesman Oscar Seara said.
Hernandez Mayoral Quits By Joanisabel Gonzalez-Velazquez of WOW News July 7, 2003 Three weeks before the deadline for submitting candidacies, Popular Democratic Party’s (PDP) only pre-gubernatorial candidate announced Monday he won’t seek the leading post of the island due to the undiagnosed medical condition of his son. "I decided to withdraw my candidacy for governor for the elections of 2004," said Hernandez Mayoral in a packed press conference held at his law offices in Old San Juan. "I made this decision after a long process of analysis, and after discussing it with my family," Hernandez Mayoral said. The attorney, who made the announcement accompanied by his wife Patricia Rivera, noted he took his decision during the past two days, and not last week, as published reports stated. The Commonwealth leader said he wanted to have all the information regarding his son’s medical condition, before making his candidacy official, but declined to do so, since the condition has not improved, and the deadline for candidacies is closer. He acknowledged that his delay caused uncertainty among PDP partisans, and that PDP leadership urged him to decide about his political aspiration. However, he stated that his withdrawal from the gubernatorial race won’t affect the party’s ability to find another candidate to replace him. The attorney sent a letter to the PDP president and governor Sila M. Calderon on Monday morning to inform her about his decision, and also notified his father and former Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon before to the press conference. Hernandez Mayoral denied his father or other PDP leaders tried to convince him to stay in the race for governor, and said he expects the people will understand and respect his decision. Hernandez Mayoral spent last week in Boston seeking relief for his son, and will travel to the mainland on Tuesday, where another specialist will evaluate Pablo,12, in an effort to find a cure for the condition from which he’s been suffering during the last 8 months. He said he will support the PDP to win the 2004 general elections, and did not rule out running for an elective position in the future. "Life does not give us everything under ideal conditions," said Hernandez Mayoral, who acknowledged he had support from all party sectors. The leader also mentioned that Sila Calderon might be a great option for the PDP although she has said won’t run for re-election. "The PDP needs space and dialogue to find a candidate, and I won’t intervene in that process," Hernandez Mayoral said.
Canada Advances To World Cup Of Baseball CanWest News Service July 7, 2003 WINDSOR - Canada had them down and Paul Spoljaric made sure Puerto Rico never got up. The former Toronto Blue Jay pitched a three-hitter in a 6-0 win over Puerto Rico Saturday at Cullen Field. With the win, Canada claimed the best-of-three series 2-0 to advance to the World Cup of Baseball in Cuba in October. "Knowing how good Puerto Rico is, I am a little surprised by this," Canadian manager Jim Baba said. But, after talking to some on the Puerto Rico players, Baba said Friday's 7-6 comeback win by Canada had taken a toll. The left-handed Spoljaric dominated Puerto Rico before a crowd of nearly 800 at Cullen Field.
Banking On Land Values In Puerto Rico By Gene G. Marcial July 7, 2003 Puerto Rico's W Holding (WHI), a bank holding company with 51 branches on the island, is a sleeper of sorts. Some pros think the obscure stock is worth a lot more than its price of 16.48. Donald Gimbel of investment firm Carret, who owns shares, figures W, trading at 8.9 times his 2004 earnings estimate of $1.80, deserves a p-e ratio of 20 since its earnings are growing at about 30% a year. He puts its worth at 35. One of W's unrecognized assets: its land, which is on the books at cost. W is developing some into branch locations. ``Although it's impossible to determine exactly the value of the land, we estimate it's worth tens of millions of dollars more than what is carried on the books,'' says Audrey Snell of investment firm Brean Murray, who rates W a strong buy. She says land prices in Puerto Rico are shooting up -- and estimates W's assets will grow to $10 billion in 2003 and to $12 billion in 2004, up from 2002's $8.2 billion, not including the land's current value. Snell sees earnings of $1.31 a share in 2003 and $1.79 in 2004.
Trial Opens In Controversial Death Penalty Case By Manuel Ernesto Rivera of Associated Press July 7, 2003 SAN JUAN (AP) - The jury in Puerto Rico's first death penalty case in more than 75 years received instructions from a federal judge Monday with defense lawyers claiming insufficient evidence in a murder trial prompting protests about the extent of U.S. influence over the island. Federal prosecutors in the U.S. territory are seeking the death penalty for Hector "Gordo" Acosta Martinez and Joel Rivera Alejandro, who are accused of kidnapping and dismembering a grocer in 1998. Defense attorneys said no witnesses or scientific evidence link their clients to the crime. Lawyer William Matthew, who is representing Acosta Martinez, called the evidence "insufficient and unreliable." As in all federal courtrooms here, the trial was conducted in English and translated into Spanish for the jury and defendants, who were dressed in suits and ties. Most island residents contend that strategy infringes on Puerto Ricans' right to self-government. Puerto Rico, which has a constitutional ban on capital punishment, hasn't executed a convict since 1927. "It's not right for the U.S. to impose a law that Puerto Ricans had no hand in crafting," said Puerto Rican Independence Party Sen. Fernando Martin. The island's 4 million people are American citizens, but have no vote in Congress. The Puerto Rico Bar Association, two anti-death penalty groups and defense attorneys also argued that the death penalty could not be sought because the island's constitution banned it. Their argument ultimately was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the island is subject to federal law. "We do not believe in capital punishment and we feel that what has happened is an affront to our relationship [with the United States]," said Arturo Luis Davila-Toro, president of the Puerto Rico Bar Association. Gov. Sila Calderon, who has called capital punishment immoral, said it would be inappropriate for her to intervene. However, her mentor, former Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon, said the case exemplifies why his political party seeks more self-governing powers in the commonwealth's current arrangement with Washington. Hector "Gordo" Acosta Martinez and Joel Rivera Alejandro are accused of kidnapping Jorge Hernandez Diaz during the night of Feb. 11, 1998, as he left his store in the San Juan suburb of Rio Piedras. The grocer's kidnappers warned he would be killed and "cut to pieces" if his family notified authorities or refused to pay the ransom. When they learned police were investigating, the kidnappers shot the grocer, hacked off his head and limbs, and dumped the body parts along a road. The defendants are charged with first-degree murder and extortion. This is the first of 59 cases in Puerto Rico in which federal prosecutors have invoked the 1994 Federal Death Penalty Act, which broadened the range of crimes punishable by death. Puerto Rico abolished capital punishment in 1929, two years after farmworker Pascual Ramos was executed for beheading his boss with a machete. The U.S. military government had executed a total of 23 people - mostly poor or illiterate, and black - since American troops seized the island in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Chief U.S. District Judge Hector Laffitte has imposed a gag order on prosecutors and defense attorneys involved in the case. But Rivera Alejandro's lawyer, Rafael Castro Lang, has argued that the case should be taken out of federal court, saying it is there only because prosecutors contend the grocer was involved in interstate commerce. The U.S. Supreme Court became involved after Puerto Rican Judge Salvador Casellas in 2000 ruled in favor of an argument by the suspects' defense attorneys, the bar association and anti-death penalty groups. The judge agreed that applying the death penalty would violate Puerto Rico's constitution and the federal statute concerning its status as a self-governing entity. However, that decision was overturned a year later by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which ruled that Puerto Rico is subject to federal law. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld that decision. If Acosta Martinez and Rivera Alejandro are convicted and sentenced to death, they will not be executed in Puerto Rico, prosecutors have said. Rather, they will die by lethal injection at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Death Penalty Case Stokes Debate About Ties With U.S. By Michael Melia of Associated Press July 6, 2003 SAN JUAN - By all accounts, the crime was horrific. Kidnappers demanding a $1 million ransom killed and dismembered a suburban grocer in 1998 after his family alerted police. Now, federal prosecutors in this U.S. territory are seeking the death penalty for the accused killers, a strategy that is stoking debate about the Caribbean island's relationship with the United States. That debate already has reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Most people here contend that seeking the death penalty in the trial starting Monday infringes on Puerto Ricans' right to self-government and violates their constitutional ban on capital punishment. Puerto Rico carried out its last execution in 1927. "It's not right for the U.S. to impose a law that Puerto Ricans had no hand in crafting," said territorial Sen. Fernando Martin, a member of the Independence Party. The island's 4 million people are American citizens, but have no vote in Congress. The Puerto Rico Bar Association, two anti-death penalty groups and defense attorneys also argued that the death penalty could not be sought because the island's constitution banned it. Their argument ultimately was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the island is subject to federal law. "We do not believe in capital punishment and we feel that what has happened is an affront to our relationship (with the United States)," said Arturo Luis Davila-Toro, president of the Puerto Rico Bar Association. Gov. Sila Calderon, who has called capital punishment immoral, said it would be inappropriate for her to intervene. However, her mentor, former Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon, said the case exemplifies why his political party seeks more self-governing powers in the commonwealth's current arrangement with Washington. Hector "Gordo" Acosta Martinez and Joel Rivera Alejandro are accused of kidnapping Jorge Hernandez Diaz during the night of Feb. 11, 1998, as he left his store in the San Juan suburb of Rio Piedras. The grocer's kidnappers warned he would be killed and "cut to pieces" if his family notified authorities or refused to pay the ransom. When they learned police were investigating, the kidnappers shot the grocer, hacked off his head and limbs, and dumped the body parts along a road. The defendants are charged with first-degree murder and extortion. This is the first of 59 cases in Puerto Rico in which federal prosecutors have invoked the 1994 Federal Death Penalty Act, which broadened the range of crimes punishable by death. Puerto Rico abolished capital punishment in 1929, two years after farmworker Pascual Ramos was executed for beheading his boss with a machete. The U.S. military government had executed a total of 23 people _ mostly poor or illiterate, and black - since American troops seized the island in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. Chief U.S. District Judge Hector Laffitte has imposed a gag order on prosecutors and defense attorneys involved in the case. But Rivera Alejandro's lawyer, Rafael Castro Lang, has argued that the case should be taken out of federal court, saying it is there only because prosecutors contend the grocer was involved in interstate commerce. The U.S. Supreme Court became involved after Puerto Rican Judge Salvador Casellas in 2000 ruled in favor of an argument by the suspects' defense attorneys, the bar association and anti-death penalty groups. The judge agreed that applying the death penalty would violate Puerto Rico's constitution and the federal statute concerning its status as a self-governing entity. However, that decision was overturned a year later by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which ruled that Puerto Rico is subject to federal law. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld that decision. If Acosta Martinez and Rivera Alejandro are convicted and sentenced to death, they will not be executed in Puerto Rico, prosecutors have said. Rather, they will die by lethal injection at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana.
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