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Esta página no está disponible en español. Officers: High Officials To Blame For Jail Break…Rodriguez Defends Returning Electoral Referrals…Attacks Among NPP Leaders Intensify…Pesquera Acknowledges NPP’s $2.8M Debt…Governor Debuts Radio Program… Rossello Denies Resident Commissioner Candidacy
Officers: High Officials To Blame For Las Cucharas Escape By Melissa B. Gonzalez Valentin of WOW News January 9, 2003 Several Las Cucharas correctional officers announced their dissatisfaction with the way the government has been running prison facilities on the island and blamed the Corrections Administration for the escape of five inmates from Las Cucharas Maximum Security Prison on Dec. 30. "The only ones responsible were the management for not preparing a strategic plan to avoid this regrettable situation," said Maria Mauras, president of the United Corrections Alliance. Union leaders of the United Correctional Alliance said during a press conference Thursday that they would back Robert Torres de Jesus in his effort to be reinstated in his job. Torres de Jesus was the only correctional officer whom agency officials held responsible for the escape. He was blamed for leaving the five prisoners alone, thus giving them the opportunity to abscond aboard a hijacked helicopter which had landed on the roof of the building. Right now he has been suspended indefinitely from his job and pay until the investigation into the matter is concluded. The inmates escaped around 9:15 a.m. when they were out on the basketball court on the top floor of the building during their two-hour recreational break. Torres de Jesus left them there so he could fetch another group of inmates who were in another section. Torres de Jesus, 32, said he has worked for the Corrections Department for seven years, two of which have been at Las Cucharas. He said as far as he can remember he has been following the same procedures and that he had to leave the prisoners alone for a few moments so he could attend to other inmates. "It was not humanly possible for me or any other official to be in all areas at once. We must comply with the administration procedures, and they don’t provide for an officer with every inmate 24 hours," he said. William Jajome, who is also a correctional officer at Las Cucharas, agreed with Torres de Jesus by saying that the true problem here is the fact that the Corrections Department needs to hire more officers and more equipment to protect the lives of the prison security staff. Jajome said there is usually one correctional officer per 48 inmates. There are no surveillance cameras on the stairway or on the basketball court, and correctional officers don’t wear bullet-proof vests. He noted that even though these inmates are always handcuffed whenever they are transferred from one place to another, their hands are always in front of them, not behind. "Fortunately we are only talking about the suspension of a colleague, but we could have been talking about the death of one or more correctional officers," said Benjamin Borges, associate director of the United Government Workers union and coordinator of the United Correctional Alliance. Both Torres de Jesus and Jajome were outraged because of the insinuations that they could have helped the inmates to escape. According to Torres de Jesus, he was never aware that high officials knew of the possibility of an escape. He also said correctional officers didn’t receive special instructions to prevent the jailbreak. "If the administration knew of the situation, it should have taken the steps to stop it and let us know about it. It is our lives and jobs that are at stake. Let’s not forget that we are talking about maximum security prisoners," Torres de Jesus said. Justice Defends Decision To Return To SEC Electoral Reports Referrals January 7, 2003 SAN JUAN (AP) – Justice Secretary Anabelle Rodriguez defended her decision on Tuesday, to return to the State Elections Commission (SEC) based on the referrals from the investigations that the electoral organism performed regarding several legislators for irregularities found in its financial reports. Rodriguez stated that the referrals had several deficiencies that the SEC should correct and allow the Justice department to initiate a criminal investigation. "This is the first time that the SEC has made these kinds of audits. It reflects a series of defects that we pointed out to judge [SEC president] Gracia", said the official in a radio interview. She said she expects the SEC to address the problem as soon as possible to prevent possible crimes from being committed. However, Gracia has strongly defended the audit made by his office and returned the reports to the Justice Department without making any changes. "We indicated to the judge that it was our intention to address these issues timely, because most of the crimes committed or typified by the electoral law are misdemeanors will be prescribed in a year," she indicated. Attacks Among NPP Leaders Intensify January 7, 2003 SAN JUAN (AP) – Verbal attacks among leaders of the New Progressive Party (NPP) intensified on Tuesday when former Resident Commissioner Carlos Romero Barcelo questioned NPP President Carlos I. Pesquera’s leadership. "We have to solve the party’s economic problem, but that only reflects that there is another problem. What happens is that the truth hurts, and hurts more than lies, but people don’t want to understand it and prefer to be fooled," Romero Barcelo said in a press conference at NPP headquarters. However, the former resident commissioner rejected the claim that he was referring to Pesquera. NPP Secretary General William Rosales criticized Romero Barcelo. Rosales criticism of the NPP former president occurred after Romero affirmed that the party would not win the elections because of all of its problems. Rosales also censured Romero Barcelo’s aide, Lourdes Negron, for removing the photo of NPP President Carlos Pesquera from a wall. Romero Barcelo explained that the photo removal distracted the attention. The NPP secretary general defended Pesquera’s efforts as NPP leader and gubernatorial candidate for 2004. "I think the statements of our former president—who we love and admire—but with whom we are not in agreement don’t help the party," Rosales said. Pesquera Acknowledges NPP’s $2.8 Million Debt January 7, 2003 SAN JUAN (AP) – New Progressive Party (NPP) President Carlos Pesquera confirmed that the party still has a $2.8 million in debt, but said this would not affect his possibilities for winning the gubernatorial post. "The debt is beginning to decrease," said the NPP leader. "We are complying with the commitments established, and we are going to work to make sure that this would not be a problem," he added in reference to the debt, that according to him reached $3 million. Pesquera explained that the party has been accumulating the debt since the 1998 Plebiscite, but said that in 2002 the NPP had more important problems to deal with, and that he would continue with his working plan to deal with the debt. Governor Debuts Radio Program With Recount Of Priorities January 5, 2003 SAN JUAN (AP) – The controversial radio program of Gov. Sila Calderon debuted Saturday with a recount of her efforts during the past two years, which according to her, "has had a positive balance." The governor started her address reviewing the government program she presented in her political campaign and which she said gathered the recommendations of many sectors of society. "Our government agenda is clearly defined," she assured. She then picked up her rhetoric about her mandate’s priorities: "clean government," "economic development and creation of jobs," and helping families, as well as propelling poor communities. In a recording of half an hour, transmitted through 13 commercial radio stations at a cost of $5,000 per emission, Calderon took advantage to remember the scene she inherited when she assumed leadership in January 2001. "We unfortunately found a practically bankrupt government. . .a level of corruption rampant in various agencies, an extreme politicization that totally erased the line that should and has to separate government for party politics," she said. She continued by describing her first 12 months of government as "the year of putting the house in order" and described 2002 as "the year of pursuing public works." She reiterated that starting this year, she will start to reap the fruits of her efforts. The program, which will broadcast every Saturday until December, has been criticized by her political opposition and including leaders of her own Popular Democratic Party. The objections have concentrated on the public expense estimated by the government at some $60,000, and the initiative has been branded as an attempt to copy the program that former Gov. Pedro Rossello maintained during his eight years of incumbency. Rossello Denies He Will Run For Resident Commissioner January 3, 2003 SAN JUAN (AP) – Former Gov. Pedro Rossello denied that he aspires to the post of resident commissioner in Washington in the 2004 general elections. Rossello said in published reports that he has no intentions or aspirations to occupy the post, as was revealed by Politics, a Washington publication. On Thursday, New Progressive Party President Carlos Pesquera again praised his mentor and invited him to continue contributing to the party, but refrained from saying whether he would like him as his ballot partner.
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