Víctor Emeric Catarineau (born May 29,1952) is a Puerto Rican politician and was the mayor of Vieques. Emeric is affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and has served as mayor from 2013 till January 11 2021. [1]
ABRE Puerto Rico gave the mayor a D fiscal rating for his administration handling of Vieques during the 2016 fiscal year and ranking it 50th in fiscal health among the municipalities. [2]
Puerto Rico,officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,is a Caribbean island,Commonwealth,and unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located in the northeast Caribbean Sea,approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southeast of Miami,Florida,between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands,and includes the eponymous main island and several smaller islands,such as Mona,Culebra,and Vieques. With roughly 3.2 million residents,it is divided into 78 municipalities,of which the most populous is the capital municipality of San Juan. Spanish and English are the official languages of the executive branch of government,though Spanish predominates.
Vieques,officially Isla de Vieques,is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico,a United States territory in the northeastern Caribbean. Vieques is part of a group of islands sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands;Puerto Rico,as a whole,is located just west of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,and retains its strong Spanish influence after 400 years of Spanish colonial presence in the island.
Isla Culebra is an island,town and municipality of Puerto Rico and geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. It is located approximately 17 miles (27 km) east of the Puerto Rican mainland,12 miles (19 km) west of St. Thomas and 9 miles (14 km) north of Vieques. Culebra is spread over 5 barrios and Culebra Pueblo (Dewey),the main town and the administrative center of the island. Residents of the island are known as culebrenses. With a population of 1,792 as of the 2020 Census,it is Puerto Rico's least populous municipality.
Vieques Air Link is a small Puerto Rico-based airline that links Vieques and Culebra with mainland Puerto Rico.
María de Lourdes Santiago Negrón is a Puerto Rican lawyer and politician from Adjuntas. She is the current vice-president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) and in 2004 became the first woman from that party to be elected into the Senate in the history of Puerto Rico. She currently serves as Senator at-large at the Puerto Rico Senate after being elected in 2020 with the most votes of any candidate.
Fajardo is a town and a municipality part of the San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico.
Alberto de Jesús Mercado,better known as Tito Kayak,is an activist from Jayuya,Puerto Rico,and founder of the Puerto Rican environmental group,Amig@s Del Mar. The organization utilizes a dual approach,which they call "manatiburón (manatee/shark)",which Kayak describes as a combination of "peaceful and simple ways to fulfill our environmental ideals",and the more “revolutionary approach",which is "only used when we are prohibited from working peacefully towards our goals of improving the environment." Kayak is best known for his activism against the damaging environmental effect of the U.S. Navy presence on Vieques.
The Puerto Rican Independence Party is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States.
Nydia Margarita Velázquez Serrano is an American politician serving in the United States House of Representatives since 1993. A Democrat from New York,Velázquez chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus until January 3,2011. Her district,in New York City,was numbered the 12th district from 1993 to 2013 and has been numbered the 7th district since 2013. Velázquez is the first Puerto Rican woman to serve in the United States Congress.
Seaborne Virgin Island Inc,operating as Seaborne Airlines,is a FAR Part 121 airline headquartered in Carolina,Puerto Rico,near the territory's capital of San Juan. It operates a seaplane shuttle service between St. Croix and St. Thomas. Originally headquartered on St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands,the company relocated to Puerto Rico in 2014.
Roosevelt Roads Naval Station,nicknamed Rosy Roads,is a former United States Navy base in the town of Ceiba,Puerto Rico. The site operates today as JoséAponte de la Torre Airport,a public use airport.
The Vieques,Puerto Rico,Naval Training Range was a United States naval facility located on the island of Vieques,about 5 miles east of mainland Puerto Rico. Starting in November 1941,the navy used the range for military exercises. Military operations ended in 2001,with the Navy completely leaving the area in 2003.
Jaime R. PerellóBorrás is a Puerto Rican politician. Perellóis affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico and the Democratic Party of the United States. He was the 30th Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico.
The Budget of the Government of Puerto Rico is the proposal by the Governor of Puerto Rico to the Legislative Assembly which recommends funding levels for the next fiscal year,beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30 of the following year. This proposal is established by Article IV of the Constitution of Puerto Rico and is presented in two forms:
Víctor L. Parés Otero is a Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (NPP). He replaced Liza Fernández as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 2012 to 2013 representing District 4.
The Puerto Rican government-debt crisis was a financial crisis affecting the government of Puerto Rico. The crisis began in 2014 when three major credit agencies downgraded several bond issues by Puerto Rico to "junk status" after the government was unable to demonstrate that it could pay its debt. The downgrading,in turn,prevented the government from selling more bonds in the open market. Unable to obtain the funding to cover its budget imbalance,the government began using its savings to pay its debt while warning that those savings would eventually be exhausted. To prevent such a scenario,the United States Congress enacted a law known as PROMESA,which appointed an oversight board with ultimate control over the Commonwealth's budget. As the PROMESA board began to exert that control,the Puerto Rican government sought to increase revenues and reduce its expenses by increasing taxes while curtailing public services and reducing government pensions. These measures provoked social distrust and unrest,further compounding the crisis. In August 2018,a debt investigation report of the Financial Oversight and management board for Puerto Rico reported the Commonwealth had $74 billion in bond debt and $49 billion in unfunded pension liabilities as of May 2017. Puerto Rico officially exited bankruptcy on March 15,2022.
The Vieques Ferry or Lancha de Vieques,is a ferry system that carries passengers and cargo from Fajardo,Puerto Rico to Vieques,Puerto Rico and vice versa,both complementing and competing with commercial air service available from San Juan,Puerto Rico to the island of Vieques.
Ensenada Honda,is an inlet on Puerto Rico's northeastern coast,in the municipality of Ceiba. Early indigenous resistance and the absence of gold kept cash-strapped colonial administrations mostly away from the region,which in time grew into a pirate and smuggling hub. In the 19th century,the bay's harbor facilitated the growth of the sugarcane industry,and in the 20th century,it hosted the Roosevelt Roads U.S. Naval Station. At present,a Reserve Component maintains a military presence in the area,but the inlet,along with a civilian airport,is the focus of local tourism and the fishing industry. As part of negotiations with the U.S. Navy,Ensenada Honda is also the object of preservation projects.
Susana Centeno Family Health Center is the hospital in Vieques,Puerto Rico. It is administered by the Puerto Rico Department of Health. The hospital is currently being rebuilt after closing in 2017 due to damage sustained in Hurricane Maria. It housed the island's only maternity ward,x-ray,and dialysis center.