PUERTO RICAN LANDS CONQUERED BY COLONIAL POLICY
nichole bodin
Updated: 1/19/2025, 12:51PM EST
The reelection of President Trump has sparked a series of uncertain emotions worldwide towards the new upcoming politics view and has definitely brought unsettling economic concerns. And with the habitual delusional nature of Trump, who couldn't forget his childish remarks about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland. That insane proposition degraded the Island’s image immediately, reinforcing the debased reputation of the already accustomed crumbled economy. With the direct hits of multiple severe weather storms and the catastrophic aftermath of the socio-economic effect the Covid-19 pandemic, an isolated inhibition has deeply manifested among the locals in recent years.
Puerto Rico has been hampered by debt and scandals regarding its infrastructure and power grid in shambles, and Trump’s delusional business remark could be closer by the day to become a frenzied trading. And with Rep. Jenniffer González winning the 2024 elections, distrust and hopelessness has extended the community of those who wanted a real change. The former Trump ally is a non voting delegate to the U.S. Congress and has planned to extend a small part of the pro-statehood party in control of the unincorporated territory.
But since 2019 until today, Puerto Rico has been losing thousands of
acres of valuable land with fraudulent skills that only a tight local brotherhood can accomplish along unlawful maneuvers executed by powerful politicians. The most pristine
beaches, rivers, forests and protected mangroves have now ended up in
the hands of opaque private, foreign and local "investors", either for
personal use or for "tourist" or "commercial" projects that exclude
Puerto Ricans.
In most of these transactions, Jenniffer González name is
mentioned, along with ex governor Ricardo Rosselló and current exiting
governor Pedro Pierluisi. Their involvement usually portends relations with
purchasing agents, realtors, architects or developers, and other
names that curiously are also repeated in the lists of donors of
high-level politicians of the New Progressive Party (PNP).
It is no secret that environmental crimes and illegal exploitation of natural resources in Puerto Rico have proliferated in recent years. There is an uncontrolled urban development that is driven by the current economic government which enforces the individual monetary profit of this criminal activity, and the regulatory and institutional laws have failed to contain it, resulting in a privilege of impunity. In recent years, Puerto Rico's government corruption has drained valuable resources, inhibiting development, and undermining citizens' trust in their institutions. This recurring social problem is hit with high-profile operations and arrests that often scare off public officials, contractors, businessmen and other figures who might be tempted to commit these crimes. But after a “calm period', bribery schemes and public fund thefts, fraud and environmental crimes rise again. The high bribery scheme interests among those interested in power and money allows more public officials to bribe contractors. At some point, the scheme extends into the creation of "ghost employees", leaving more distrust in regards to the real role of the government.
And with this catastrophic failure, an ongoing carelessness in environmental crimes and the lack of enforcement always seems to stand out. Environmental crimes committed in Playuela, Las Golondrinas Cave, Joyuda, the Luquillo wetlands, Dorado Beach, Peñuelas, Ocean Park, Jobos Bay and Los Almendros beach are the most recent episodes of environmental crimes whose perpetrators go unpunished. Places like Dorado and Rincón have changed completely. All of these criminal cases are suspended in the bureaucracy of the administrative agencies, out of the reach of Justice due to technicalities. There is no respect for public knowledge and the complaints against developers who are not respecting the processes raises a lot of concern among locals.
But the most controversial incident was the one that occurred on June 1st, 2021 at Sol y Playa Condominium in Rincón, when a series of protests began on the premises by self-convened citizens after learning of the illegal construction on a Maritime Terrestrial Zone. The protests prompted the governor to express himself through social networks and press conferences with no particular effect or credibility. A month after these protests, a Hawksbill turtle or "Carey", a protected species both locally and federally, was trapped in the construction. As a consequence, the Department of Natural Resources ordered a cease and desist from the Board of Directors of the Sol y Playa Condominium, who were promoting the reconstruction in order to protect the hawksbill habitat. Incredibly, this was not enough for the owners of the Condominium to comply with the demolition order.
In short, it was the citizens who convened themselves and continued with the demolition of an illegal wall. Now Los Almendros beach is an open space, a public domain, where Camp Carey continues to have tents to periodically inform citizens about the threats posed by the development and construction of the MTZ and about the government's inaction to prevent it. In the face of public pressure exerted both on social media and in the beach camp, public hearings arose in the House of Representatives, under the command of the Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs to investigate the granting of the construction permit in Sol y Playa and the approved demarcation.
Environmental activists like Eliezer Molina revealed and protested
against the Sol y Playa Housing Complex in Rincón, where an illegal
swimming pool was also built by stealing land in the MTZ and which Governor
Pedro Pierluisi’s cousins were directly involved. Walter and Eduardo
Pierluisi were later convicted at the federal level for a scheme related
to public housing management contracts. As an ex independent gubernatorial candidate, Molina's efforts were not unnoticed. He had
death threats in 2021 and in 2022 took his demands with a group of
activists to the Puerto Rican parade to New York, carrying banners and
chanting the slogan “The beaches belong to the people”.
But the political persecution Molina had after all of this was
undeniable. A stalking order was issued by Judge Melissa Soto of the
Aguada Court House on September 14, 2023 in favor of the attorney,
Ignaris M. Acevedo Rosario, resident of the aforementioned Condominium
and vice president of the board of the committee of the Sol y Playa
Condominium complex.
The criminalization and consequent police persecution of demonstrators protesting for the ongoing environmental crimes in Jobos Bay and the Sol y Playa Condominium provoked a sharp contrast with the impunity granted to the perpetrators of these duly typified crimes. While the case of the Sol y Playa Condominium revealed a reckless government handling of an environmental crime, the handling of the Jobos Bay case stands out for its negligent nature.
The Jobos Estuarine Research Nature Reserve is the second largest estuary in Puerto Rico, but it is the only one of its kind because of the diverse range of flora and fauna it contains; It is the only one that has coral reefs, islets, mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, hyper saline lagoons and xerophytic vegetation. It is part of the National System of Estuarine Research Reserves attached to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and is administered by the Department of Natural Resources.
He was also decertified by the Court of First Instance in the case he filed against the State Election Commission (CEE). Allegedly, he did not comply with the required documents for the certification requested for the Commission, in addition to a supposed incomplete doping test done.
On Nov. 6, 2024, Eliezer Molina assured that he was elected for the Senate by accumulation in the Puerto Rican elections, after apparently receiving about 90 thousand votes by direct nomination, or "write in."
"The beaches belong to the people"
On March 4 2023, a heated demonstration at Sol y Playa Condominium in Rincón took place, in which a Tactical Operations Unit was deployed at the scene.
Eliezer Molina asks federal authorities to remove structures in La Parguera, as enviromental crimes are left unpunished. Controversies have emerged afterGov. elect Jenniffer Gonzalez's in laws own land.
Eliezer Molina gets emotional after being sworn in as senator in January 2025.
On Jan. 12, 2025, Governor González-Colón pointed about the administrative order signed by the designated secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA), Waldemar Quiles Pérez, regarding the residences of her in laws in La Parguera, Lajas. Waldemar Quiles Pérez signed Administrative Order 2025-001 just a few hours after his designation, with the intention to create the collection of fees for the use of public domain land and water, as well as the archiving of the associated cases "because they are considered to be of an academic nature."
After that, the Senate called a meeting to gather information on the document in question, as well as to learn the number of active complaints, the state of each case, and the standards followed to launch ongoing inquiries against constructions in La Parguera. The governor promised that "there is no controversy" in spite of the chaos that this administrative order's signature has produced.
Through administrative order number 2025-001, Quiles Pérez also authorized the maintenance and repair of private properties located within the maritime-terrestrial zone.
“As in the north they have an agenda of colonization, we have an
agenda of liberation, and that agenda was written for us by Simón
Bolívar,” said Maduro.
YOUTUBE CHANNEL/ Diario El Comercio
Governor Jenniffer González-Colón has called upon President-elect Donald Trump to respond decisively in light of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's recent threats regarding a potential invasion of U.S. territory.
In a letter addressed to the president-elect on Monday, she underscored the importance of the Trump administration's prompt action to convey to the Maduro regime that the United States is committed to protecting American lives and sovereignty, and will not capitulate to the demands of petty, violent criminals.
Maduro's threats, while improbable to result in military intervention, arise in the context of Trump's explicit threats aimed at economically or militarily pressuring U.S. allies to relinquish control of Greenland and the Panama Canal. Trump also declared that he would rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America", likely using his unrecognized presidential authority.
The "liberation" of Puerto Rico from the United States is a campaign that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has called for. After expressing his interest to 'liberate' the island from the United States, Maduro makes serious allegations for an invasion of Puerto Rico. "We have a liberation agenda, just as they have a colonization agenda in the north," Maduro declared at the International Anti-Fascist Festival in Caracas. "Simon Bolívar also wrote our agenda. Brazilian troops will lead the way in achieving Puerto Rico's long-overdue liberation”.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), Venezuelan crude oil exports have more than twice their volume since 2021, supported by a partnership with Iran, increased oil-for-loan repayment exchanges, and Chevron's limited return to the nation. In its most recent country analysis brief regarding Venezuela, the EIA reported that exports of the fossil fuel increased to an estimated 621,000 b/d in 2023, up from 263,000 b/d in 2021 and 442,000 b/d in 2022.
China was the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude in 2023, accounting for 68% of its exports, according to the EIA. It was followed by the United States (23%), Spain (4%), Cuba (4%) and Singapore (1%).
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's president, has reacted to Donald Trump's suggestion to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America with a counter-suggestion to rename North America.
For four hundred years, Puerto Rico was part of the Spanish Empire, during which its people defended themselves from invasions by the British, French, and Dutch. On July 25, 1898, 16,000 American soldiers invaded Puerto Rico entering through Guánica, claiming they were freeing the local population from Spanish colonial control, which had recently provided the island’s government with limited self-governance.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Puerto Rico's importance to the United States was rooted in both economic and military considerations. For US policymakers, the island served as a market for surplus manufactured products and a crucial naval base in the Caribbean. In 1952, Puerto Rico was taken off the colony list because of its Commonwealth liberties, having previously been included on the list following World War II. However, in 1972, the UN committee reinstated it on the list, advocating for its self-determination and potential independence.
The sovereignty of a nation can be transferred through purchase and sale; however, this process is intricate. Historically, nations frequently acquired territories from one another, but the current legal framework has evolved significantly. Numerous examples of territorial exchanges between countries can be observed, including:
After the Mexican-American War (1846 to 1848), the United States gained territory from Mexico through the MexicanCession. The war resulted in vast territorial gains for the United States that included all or parts of California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. Mexico lost 55 percent of its claimed territory. During the early 19th century, Indigenous groups such as the Comanches, Kiowas, and Apaches conducted raids from the Southern Plains and present-day Southwest U.S. into Mexico to acquire livestock for survival and commerce.
The United States was expanding westward and establishing dominance over more territory. Based on the widely held 19th-century view expressed by a newspaper editor John Louis O'Sullivan in 1845, many Americans believed it was “our manifest destiny to extend and populate the whole continent.” This belief led the United States to suggest purchasing Mexican California, which at that time included all or sections of present-day Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado.
But with all of that controversy, right now the U.S. Congress possesses the authority to take any action regarding Puerto Rico, including the unilateral granting of independence, the designation of statehood, the establishment of independence with a Free Association, or even the transfer of the island to another nation through sale or donation.
Today's new and modern way for culture extermination executes a systematic enslaved persecution along with violent and abusive human tragedies. Author Dr. José Atiles Osoria in his article COLONIAL STATE TERROR IN PUERTO RICO: A RESEARCH AGENDA describes thoroughly how the state of colonial terror in political violence against anticolonial and social movements have been used to demobilize Puerto Rican anticolonial movements. Atiles acknowledges that a considerable number of authors have already tackled topics like repression, state violence and the criminalization of Puerto Rican anticolonial movements, while these approaches fail to address the complexity of the colonial state terror.
For that reason, there are no sufficient analyses of colonial conflicts that exhibit the relationship between colonialism, law, political violence, terrorism and the dynamics of a colonial state. One thing for sure, violence in colonial contexts have been legitimized through various discourses throughout ages, making it one of the most disregarded topics of all times.
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