Cover Page Legal HistorySports SearchLajas may charge other towns for use of its landfillThe San Juan Daily StarApr 162 min readLajas Mayor Jayson Martínez Maldonado said he is focused on exploring alternative revenue sources including charging other municipalities for garbage disposal at the southwestern town’s landfill (Facebook via Oficina Municipal para el Manejo de Emergencias de Lajas)By The Star Staff As Puerto Rico continues to face fiscal challenges the southwestern municipality of Lajas is feeling the impact and may charge other towns for dumping waste in its landfill With dwindling federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and equalization programs Mayor Jayson Martínez Maldonado has noted that his municipality is operating on a tight budget the mayor emphasized his determination to explore alternative revenue sources including charging other municipalities for garbage disposal at Lajas’ landfill A key part of the plan is the construction of a super cell at the landfill site Martínez confirmed that the necessary permits for the project have already been secured The situation in Lajas has developed against the backdrop of Puerto Rico’s ongoing financial crisis which has forced many municipalities to struggle to maintain public services and infrastructure The proposed super cell initiative is expected to generate much-needed funds for Lajas while addressing regional waste management concerns innovative approaches to revenue generation have become essential for towns in Puerto Rico With the mayor’s focus on exploring alternative funding sources Lajas serves as an example of local governments adapting to financial hardship to maintain services for their communities island towns faced a continuing fiscal crisis challenges in debt repayment and efforts to improve municipal finances While some municipalities showed progress in improving property tax collection others faced challenges in managing their budgets © 2025 The San Juan Daily Star - Puerto Rico Federal prosecutors announced that Puerto Rico’s most wanted fugitive on criminal charges related to alleged drug trafficking and violent crimes when Torres-Delgado was charged in a conspiracy with 43 others with drug trafficking and firearms violations They said the second indictment was issued by a grand jury on May 20 19-307 when the defendant was charged with 25 others also with drug trafficking and firearms violations They said the third indictment pending against Torres-Delgado was issued on Aug when he was charged in a conspiracy with 51 others with drug trafficking was the leader of a violent drug trafficking organization in Caguas and other areas of Puerto Rico Prosecutors said he had been a federal fugitive since 2017 and allegedly maintained control over the criminal organization as a fugitive through deadly violence and intimidation and by allegedly engaging in violent turf wars against rival drug trafficking organizations They said his methods of avoiding capture while controlling his gang included limited face-to-face contact to only the highest and most trusted leaders in his organization Torres-Delgado was the leader of a violent armed criminal enterprise that he controlled even as a fugitive from justice since 2017,” said W “Thanks to the tenacious efforts and collaboration of our law enforcement partners and prosecutors he now will face justice in a United States courtroom in Puerto Rico.” special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Juan field office we accomplish more and when communities come alongside us as partners in the fight against drug trafficking and violent crime when the public collaborates with law enforcement The FBI’s commitment is to the people and I look forward to continuing the work we have begun with our local partners and the support of the public.” Torres-Delgado is charged with drug trafficking with the possibility of the death penalty for certain offenses A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors special agent in charge of the Miami field office of the Bureau of Alcohol “This arrest is a culmination of a long-term fugitive apprehension effort of one of the most violent individuals in an effort to bolster public safety for the people of Puerto Rico.” The arrest of Torres-Delgado was led by the FBI and the United States Marshals Service (USMS) Attorney (AUSA) and chief of the gang section Vance Eaton and Héctor Siaca Flores are prosecuting the case The prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation Torres Delgao is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law View current print edition Click here to read our disclaimer >> Pan-African Forum for the Culture of Peace Public access to information is a key component of UNESCO's commitment to transparency and its accountability. Based on human rights and fundamental freedoms, the 2005 Convention ultimately provides a new framework for informed, transparent and UNESCO’s e-Platform on intercultural dialogue is designed for organizations and individuals to learn from shared knowledge or experiences from infl Established in 2002, the GEM Report is an editorially independent report, hosted and published by UNESCO. To recovery and beyond: The report takes stock of the global progress on the adoption and implementation of legal guarantees on Access to Info Addressing culture as a global public good For almost 75 years, the UNESCO Courier has served as a platform for international debates on issues that concern the entire pla Lifelong learning is key to overcoming global challenges and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. © UNESCO/Joan de la Malla5 December 2024Last update:11 December 2024In the heart of the Bolivian Amazon a groundbreaking effort is unfolding to protect the unique ecosystems and communities of the Beni and Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserves from the increasing impact of forest fires through the Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project supported by LVMH and in collaboration with the French National Superior School of Fire Officers (ENSOSP) conducted a transformative mission aimed at enhancing fire prevention and control in these two biosphere reserves Bringing together expertise from international and local partners the mission marked a historic step in fire prevention The initiative focused on assessing fire risks and vegetation dynamics Among its key achievements was the establishment of a plan to create and equip several community-based fire brigades with professional individual protection gear and high-pressure auto pumps and hoses —a first for biosphere reserves worldwide the mission also laid the foundation for a comprehensive training programme adapted to local conditions including first aid and forest fire management This training will strengthen the readiness of the brigades and rangers to safeguard the local population including Indigenous peoples and local communities and the unique ecosystems of these biosphere reserves © UNESCO © UNESCOBuilding resilience through unityThe UNESCO-ENSOSP partnership represents a milestone in the promotion of integrated forest fire management throughout Latin America contributing to climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction in these vital ecosystems UNESCO’s mission exemplified collaboration at every level involving the Directorate General of Biodiversity and Protected Areas (DGBAP) the National Service of Protected Areas (SERNAP) the Mosetene-Tsimane’ Regional Council (CRTM) and local NGOs such as Conservación Amazonia and Senda Verde ENSOSP will deliver a tailor-made training programme to improve the operational capacity of the newly formed brigades in forest fires prevention a ranger from the Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve and a community member of San José de Canaan The Amazon project has given us faith and hope in times of fire when my people thought they had lost everything © UNESCO © UNESCO © UNESCOGifts of hope: life-saving donationsIn a heartwarming gesture ENSOSP donated First Aid kits to each biosphere reserve and a defibrillator to the hospital of San Borja strengthening the region’s emergency response capabilities Chief Medical Officer David Mamani Pérez expressed his gratitude Thank you for the good will of the French firefighters who are making this donation to us as a hospital and health staff we are very grateful It seems like such an insignificant equipment UNESCO’s Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project stands as a model of innovation for improving resilience addressing the dual challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change By empowering communities and rangers with tools it reaffirms a collective commitment to preserving one of Earth’s most vital ecosystems—the Amazon rainforest A stray dog walks in an empty migrant reception center that used to receive hundreds of people every day after they crossed the Darien Gap on their journey north to the United States after trekking across the Darien Gap from Colombia in hopes of reaching the U.S. AFTER - The riverbank where hundreds of migrants used to disembark daily after crossing the Darien Gap on their journey north to the United States Vulnerable people would trek for days through the rainforest passages and then board narrow wooden boats across rivers Most would be dropped off at Lajas Blancas where they would pack into migrant camps filled with families and board buses to cross Panama to continue their journey north Panama President José Raúl Mulino said: “Effectively The problem we had in Lajas Blancas eliminated.” BEFORE - Venezuelan migrant Jorbys Ocampo rests inside a tent in a temporary camp after crossing the Darien Gap from Colombia in Lajas Blancas AFTER - A migrant reception center that received hundreds of people every day after they crossed the Darien Gap on their journey north to the United States After months of Panama’s government blocking off journalists from visiting the port and other key points along the former migratory route authorities granted The Associated Press access to the strictly controlled area journalists were stopped by migration enforcement and were stripped of those permissions with authorities vaguely citing security concerns AP reporters saw the large tents that once housed migrants stand empty and the boats pulling up to the side of the river were few and far between water and other goods to migrants sit empty Angola and Nigeria remain in the Lajas Blancas camp and sleep on the dusty ground BEFORE - Children play at a migrant camp in Lajas Blancas after walking across the Darien Gap in hopes of reaching the U.S. Among them was 33-year-old Venezuelan Hermanie Blanco who arrived in Panama days after Trump took office Fleeing economic crisis and political turmoil in her home country but decided after crossing the Darien Gap that she would try to seek refuge in Panama saying she’s been stranded in the nearly abandoned settlement for months waiting for an answer A sign at the heart of Lajas Blancas acts as a reminder Panama and other countries across Latin America have scrambled to meet demands by the Trump administration to crack down on migration north BEFORE - Migrants wait in the rain outside an immigration post after trekking across the Darien Gap AFTER - Facilities stand empty at a migrant reception center that once received hundreds of people daily after they crossed the Darien Gap on their journey north to the United States recently recognized Panama’s efforts to reduce migration through the Darién region with a State Department spokesperson saying it has dropped by 98% Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker hundreds of migrants from Colombia and Ecuador were deported back to their home countries Outside the Lajas Blancas migrant camp in southern Panama A bed of cold ash lies in an iron drum barbecue which once served meat skewers to hungry migrants Six months ago, hundreds of people would pass through the camp every day, emerging from the jungles of the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama to receive humanitarian aid before continuing their journey north towards the US Now, however, migration through the gap has slowed to a trickle and the footfall is in the opposite direction as many migrants from South America try to return home Adriangela Contreras was one of 300,000 migrants to make the perilous crossing in 2024, carrying her two-year-old daughter, Arianna, as she stepped over dead bodies on the trail She arrived at Lajas Blancas in November amid a crackdown by Panamanian authorities who rolled out barbed wire in the jungle and introduced biometric tests at the border Under a $6m agreement with the US, hundreds of migrants from Colombia and Ecuador were returned to their home countries on deportation flights Most Venezuelans were allowed to proceed, however, and Contreras’ group made it as far as southern Mexico, sleeping in the street and selling candies or washing windscreens to earn bus fares. But when on his first day in office Donald Trump shut down the CBP One app used by asylum seekers to request appointments Contreras felt she had little option but to retrace her steps I didn’t [decide to migrate] for myself but for my family,” she said The shutdown of CBP One and the increased Panamanian controls have all but extinguished the Darién migrant route crossings were down 96% compared with the previous year At the end of that month Lajas Blancas – which once regularly sheltered over 3,000 migrants in plywood buildings and tents – held just 485 migrants 4,091 migrants have returned to Panama and the government has struggled to deal with the logistics of this reverse flow arrived at Lajas Blancas with barely $1 in his pocket He had sold his truck to follow the “American dream” but said he was robbed in Mexico City and then held prisoner by people smugglers in a hotel near Monterrey “The only thing sure about Mexico is that you will be mugged,” he said When he eventually made it into the US he was arrested by Ice that same morning and detained for three months before being deported to Villahermosa “they told us we would be able to get a repatriation flight from Panama.” they would be offered a place on a plane to Cúcuta a Colombian city on the border with Venezuela When the flight never materialized, some migrants who could afford it began taking small boats back to Colombia. On 22 February, a boat containing 19 migrants capsized and a nine-year-old Venezuelan girl drowned. Since then, the Panamanian government has introduced a new route, bussing migrants from Lajas Blancas to Miramar, a port on the Caribbean coast, and boarding them on to ferries to La Miel, an isolated village close to the Colombian border. “It was a horrible experience,” said Jessica Álvarez, who had never been on a boat before. “There were times when I thought we were going to turn over, it was really scary. I vomited and my son was really sick, everyone was so seasick.” From La Miel the migrants are sent on small boats to the villages of Capurganá and then Necoclí in Colombian territory. From there many, including Álvarez, have opted to stay with friends or family in Colombian cities. But Contreras and her daughter remain stuck in Necoclí. “When we first arrived they gave us nothing, not a bite to eat, not a mattress, nothing,” she said, speaking by phone from the Colombian port. With the help of some friends she managed to find a space on the floor of a guesthouse, but she is unsure how she will raise the money to return to Venezuela to see her son who recently underwent eye surgery. “I just want to be back with my family. I hope Venezuela has something better in store for me,” she said. The presidents of Panama and Colombia will meet in Panama City on 28 March with migration at the top of the agenda. Humanitarian aid agencies have started to depart Lajas Blancas, which is due to be closed in the coming weeks. Any further migrants arriving through the Darién Gap will be immediately deported to their home country or to Colombia, according to Panama’s ministry of public security. Ramírez had the funds to pay for a bus to Cúcuta and by Wednesday was back with his family in the state of Barinas. Over the phone he said he was happy to be home, even if he no longer had his truck. “Us migrants, we all had the same thing in our heads, the American dream,” he said. “But after the things we lived, I realized it’s just that: a dream.” BoliviaPilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve is participating in the Amazon Biosphere Reserve Project which aims to stop the degradation of forested areas conserve biodiversity and ecosystems and support sustainable livelihoods.Last update:2 July 2024The Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve is part of the Vilcabamba-Amboró biological corridor which is characterized by high biodiversity It has a dual status: it is a protected area of national interest and it is also a Community Land of Origin owned by the Tsimane' Mosetene Regional Council on behalf of the Tsimane' and Tacana communities that live in the area.   UNESCO/ Joan de la MallaSupport for cocoa production under agroforestry systemsMost Indigenous communities in the biosphere reserves practice traditional subsistence agriculture with slash-and-burn operations to clear small areas for crops each year A good practice is to restore these plots by planting permanent species under agroforestry systems that can also generate income for Indigenous families.   Through the Amazon Biosphere Reserve Project grafted Criollo cocoa seedlings were distributed to 55 families from 9 communities to help them grow cocoa sustainably This practice restores the secondary forest conserves the genetics of local Amazonian varieties The families also received training to learn about the transfer of seedlings and their preservation to ensure the proper growth of the plant.  Large forest wildfires have impacted Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve over the past 10 years due to uncontrolled burning of agricultural plots and other causes such as the negligence of hunters and unauthorized visitors with their cigarettes These forest fires have caused serious damage and loss of wild flora and fauna and in some cases agricultural and forestry plantations These wildfires and the damage they caused have highlighted the biosphere reserve's lack of capacity preparation and equipment to prevent and respond to fire hazards Without adequate protective equipment or the necessary tools the park rangers put their lives at risk.   With the support of the Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project nearly 100 people were trained to respond to including members of the local community managers and park rangers firefighting volunteers and the biosphere reserve's Protection Corps Equipment for fire hazard response and protective equipment was purchased for 10 rangers and ecological sustainability in the Amazon basin it also contributes to the conservation of melipona native bees that provide essential ecosystem services such as pollinating native flora and commercial crops The Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project supported two training courses for about 50 people who also received meliponia boxes to start their own production The Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project came to strengthen our local communities who are the ones who truly care for and protect the biosphere reserve We fight every day to improve basic services so that communities are not devastated the Amazon Biosphere Reserves Project has partnered with the Asociación Boliviana para la Investigación y conservación de Ecosistemas Andino Amazónicos (Conservación Amazónica – ACEAA) to support place-based initiatives.   This article is related to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals lies on the shore after disembarking from a boat in Lajas Blancas following her trek through the Darién Gap from Colombia in hopes of reaching the U.S after their trek across the Darien Gap from Colombia in hopes of reaching the U.S Panamanian police inspect the luggage of Francismar Acosta after she trekked across the Darien Gap from Colombia with her daughter Adhara Figueroa Migrants from Bangladesh wait at an immigration post where Panamanian officers process the identifications of those who have trekked across the Darién Gap carries her daughter Maria Many at a camp where migrants who walked across the Darien Gap stop in Lajas Blancas Migrants wait to get back their passports as Panamanian immigration officers process their identifications at a post where those who trekked across the Darién Gap stop along their way north toward the U.S. A Panamanian immigration officer does a biometric check on William Kanana where migrants who have trekked across the Darién Gap are processed A Panamanian immigration officer takes the fingerprints of William Kanana where migrants who trekked across the Darién Gap are processed Migrants from Vietnam charge their phones at a camp for those who walk across the Darien Gap in hope of reaching the U.S. Migrants from Nepal use their phones at a camp for people who walked across the Darien Gap in hope of reaching the U.S. The cell phones of migrants get their batteries charged for a cost of $1 dollar per hour at a camp for people who walked across the Darien Gap in hopes of reaching the U.S. Children play at a camp for migrants in Lajas Blancas sleeps next to his father at a camp for migrants who trekked across the Darien Gap in the hope of reaching the U.S. Migrants rest at a camp after treking across the Darien Gap from Colombia in hopes of reaching the U.S. Migrants sit on a northbound bus heading to Costa Rica as they wait to leave Lajas Blancas after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia in hopes of reaching the U.S after the migrants trekked across the Darien Gap from Colombia in hopes of reaching the U.S Venezuelans trekking across the Darien Gap – a rugged jungle passage between Colombia and Panama – say they’re making the perilous journey because they’ve lost hope for change after the country’s contentious elections more than half a million migrants – a record number – crossed through the Darien on their way to the United States “We stayed waiting for the election (results) because if Maduro left (power) then we would stay But nothing happened,” said Enrique Dordis a former cab driver from the central state of Carabobo who left Venezuela last week with his wife Venezuelan Marisol Jaime lies on the shore after disembarking from a boat in Lajas Blancas Tucked in a tent in the Lajas Blancas camp he reflected Thursday on the raging rivers and heavy downpours the family had to face in their four-day trek across the dense jungle once believed to be nearly impossible to cross You get desperate and you have to look for a better future for your children,” he said “We feel very disappointed after the election which was a total fraud,” said Rosimar Angulo a Venezuelan staying with other migrants in a small Red Cross reception center on Thursday morning at the mouth of the jungle passage Angulo arrived in the camp after traveling by boat from Bajo Chiquito where migrants make their first registration with Panamanian authorities after trudging days through the jungle on foot our relatives are getting sick,” Angulo said as a fellow traveler was carried on a stretcher by members of the Red Cross the same government winning again means there will be no improvement in the country,” said Laura Naveda a migrant traveling with 13 family members SearchLajas Valley defense front urges candidates to commit to saving & expanding farmlandThe San Juan Daily StarOct 30 20243 min read“I urge the electorate to read our analysis before going to the polls with the objective of knowing the record of who is committed to the protection of agricultural lands and who is not,” United Front for the Defense of the Lajas Valley spokesman Alfredo Vivoni said (Feria Agrícola Nacional de Lajas/Facebook)By The Star Staff The United Front for the Defense of the Lajas Valley called on the candidates for governor to make a real commitment to protecting agricultural lands in Puerto Rico which face multiple pressures to the detriment of food security Front spokesman Alfredo Vivoni indicated that for the fifth consecutive four-year period the organization made an analysis that it published on its blog GranAmbiente.com to guide the electorate on legislative performance and they added an evaluation of the promises of the candidates for governor “I urge the electorate to read our analysis before going to the polls with the objective of knowing the record of who is committed to the protection of agricultural lands Under the title “Agricultural Lands: Analysis of Public Policy and Government Programs,” the public can see the initial analysis of government programs and legislative measures as well as access links to specific topics in the sections For In the entry Comments on Political Platforms the Front analyzed what the government programs of the parties specifically say about the protection of agricultural lands and the adoption of Queremos Sol’s renewable energy proposal as the most suitable alternative to proposals to build industrial-scale projects on agricultural lands or lands “There is a void concerning protecting our lands regarding what the New Progressive Party [NPP] and the Dignity Project propose,” Vivoni said promoting industrial-scale energy projects are a real threat to the best agricultural lands in Puerto Rico The program of the Alliance (made up of the Citizen Victory Movement and the Puerto Rican Independence Party) recognizes the Land Use Plan as the main planning tool advocates for the protection of agricultural lands and welcomes the Queremos Sol renewable energy proposal.” “[NPP gubernatorial candidate] Jenniffer González’s platform does not have a section on agriculture,” the spokesperson said He said the only thing they found related to agriculture was the following statement: “support the construction of large-scale green energy projects.” This is understood to imply their location on agricultural lands or lands of ecological value Vivoni affirmed that in PDP gubernatorial candidate Jesús Manuel Ortiz’s platform the organization found the following proposal: “Expedited processing for large-scale renewable energy projects,” which he said echoes the same threat noted regarding the NPP proposal In the case of the Dignity Project candidate for governor Javier Jiménez Pérez’s program the party proposes to increase “the productivity of existing farms instead of expanding cultivated areas.” Vivoni said this implies that they are not interested in increasing the number of agricultural reserves or adding protections to agricultural land such as the Agricultural Reserve of the North Coast “This reserve has been attempted to be realized since 2005 and it has never been achieved,” he said “We recognize that the Planning Board delimited this Reserve in 2016 and the Supreme Court validated it in 2019 The Planning Board’s website includes this Reserve.” Vivoni said people will also find information on legislative initiatives that liberalize the conditions for protected agricultural land although most of them have not been approved aim to free up agricultural lands that the government processed,” he pointed out “The conditions intended to be eliminated were established when selling them or granting them in usufruct for ‘undivided and zoning as agricultural use’ as established by Law No Approving these measures would represent the fragmentation of agricultural lands in Puerto Rico.” Venezuela migrant Naiber Zerpa holds her son Mathias Marquez as they arrive at a temporary camp after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia Migrants heading north arrive to Lajas Blancas after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia Panamanian President-elect Jose Raul Mulino exits a helicopter at a camp where migrants stop temporarily for food and shelter after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia Panamanian President-elect Jose Raul Mulino speaks with a Venezuelan migrant and other migrants at a camp after they walked across the Darien Gap from Colombia Migrants line up to receive food in a temporary camp after crossing the Darien Gap from Colombia Migrants travel on a boat to Lajas Blancas Civil protection official helps migrants off a boat in Lajas Blancas after the migrants walked across the Darien Gap from Colombia Venezuelan migrant Rashell Soler sits on a table as her mother Vilkeine Montero goes through an inspection of her bag at a temporary camp in Lajas Blancas who walked across the Darien Gap from Colombia dresses her son Abdriel Padilla inside a tent at a temporary camp in Lajas Blancas stands amid pitched tents at a temporary camp in Lajas Blancas at a temporary camp where migrants have sought shelter after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia Venezuelan migrant Jadeth Marquez plays with her sister Angilbel Camacho in a temporary camp after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia Venezuelan migrant Rafael Ochoa styles a client’s hair at a temporary camp after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia embraces fellow Venezuelan migrant Yeikel Mojica whom she met while crossing the Darien Gap and says was like a little brother to her A Venezuelan migrant child runs through a temporary camp after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia Panama has helped speedily bus the migrants across its territory so they can continue their journey north — and reports of abuses human rights violations and testimonies of deaths along the route have persisted “I hope to sign a respectful and dignified agreement with the United States so the two countries can begin the repatriation processes of all these people who are accumulated here,” Mulino said during the visit on Friday He did not elaborate on the details of such an agreement or say how the migrants would be deported t their home countries It breaks my heart to see children my grandchildren’s age ask me for a bottle of water,” he told a news conference at the migrant camp of Lajas Blancas masses of people took the challenge and set out on foot through the jungle spanning the Colombian-Panamanian border A crossing that initially could take a week or more was whittled down to two or three days as the path became more established and entrepreneurial locals set up a range of support services who was accompanied by members of his future Cabinet visited a temporary reception center where thousands of migrants arrive every week migrants staying in the camp of Lajas Blancas after crossing the Darien recounted their economic and security difficulties and several expressed their support of Mulino’s plans to close the migration route “He (Mulino) will have to close it,” said Pedro Monte a Venezuelan migrant who lost his wife on the way to the Darien Gap it’s a pity that people lose their lives there.” Mulino has said he will deport migrants who continue crossing the Darien but experts caution it will be a difficult — and expensive — task “With the government we have (in Venezuela) we never had a life,” another migrant He left his family and eight-year-old daughter in Venezuela’s coastal city of Maracaibo “My daughter was born with a heart problem “It would be good if they gave more legal ways for people to migrate and to not have to make this terrible journey,” Ocampo said Asked what would happen if they close the Darien Gap wealthy newcomers drive up land prices and bring construction that reduces the bay’s oxygen levels Here in the idyllic coastal region of La Parguera in Lajas, the main attraction is a bay by the same name: filled with microscopic plankton that can glow in the dark, the bay turns into a sparkly blue lagoon after sundown. This is one of the only bioluminescent bays in the world; nighttime visitors rush to see it up close, pushing off into the shimmering waters in kayaks. Read moreThe delicate spectacle of light has long been a local treasure – but it’s been threatened by a demand for housing by locals and tourists alike who desire a front-row seat to the show “We’ve seen a lack of control in the last 10 years,” said Francheska Vélez Ramírez a 34-year-old mother from Lajas who says the housing boom has changed her home town “People come here without any awareness toward the environment – they don’t care about the resources the area around La Parguera has seen extensive gentrification and coastal development Seasonal and foreign residents have moved into the area wealthy newcomers who have made Lajas their home are referred to by locals as “precaristas” And longtime residents say their new neighbors are having a detrimental impact on the environment by buying up homes on the bay and expanding these properties with new decks and other renovations In Lajas, 247 construction permits have been approved between 2015 and 2021, according to the Center for Investigative Journalism These disturbances affect the local plankton and reduce the amount of the light they naturally emit The bay has also been throttled by multiple hurricanes which upend its natural pH balance and has contributed to a drop-off in the plankton most of these homes are so close to the bioluminescent bay that they are actually in environmentally protected zones But locals say enforcement of these environmental codes is nowhere to be found La Parguera is dotted with lush mangrove trees which are essential in providing the nutrients that make the plankton shine styrofoam food containers and thin plastic cups La Parguera was a quiet fishing village; significant transportation and infrastructure improvements in the 1970s across the island transformed the area into one of the most trafficked tourist destinations in Puerto Rico now attracting more than 100,000 visitors a year according to the island’s tourism marketing organization Discover Puerto Rico Displacement has a long history in this area: as the tourism industry first took hold often owned by fishermen and known as “caseteros” were then bought out by wealthier families The fact that a government official could be allowed to enjoy a residence so close to the bay feels emblematic of local leaders’ misplaced priorities locals such as Vélez Ramírez have been desperately trying to protect the cherished bay from irreversible damage caused by overdevelopment and lax environmental restrictions “I’ve always been careful about actively protesting because I’m a mother of two but this time I’m scared that my children will lose the opportunity to grow up in La Parguera I knew,” Vélez Ramírez said “A lot of the fishermen who’ve been here all their life think they don’t have a say but I have a lot of faith in my generation who won’t be scared to do the right thing.” Vélez Ramírez fears that if local agencies do not take bold action to rehabilitate the bay But the best course of action is already known: across the island another bioluminescent bay in Vieques faced similar challenges and was saved from decline by strict preservation efforts the water at Mosquito Bay was losing its shimmer and officials swiftly responded to the crisis This all led to the bay’s eventual recovery similar efforts for La Parguera have yet to be put into place have opposed the construction of floating homes in La Parguera View image in fullscreenVilla Parguera Photograph: Paul Greaves/Alamy“La Parguera is a living example of neglect,” said Luis García Pelatti one of Puerto Rico’s largest environmental non-profits “There’s incompatibility between the actions that must be enforced and what should’ve happened The Puerto Rico department of natural and environmental resources (DRNA in Spanish) did not respond to a request for comment from the Guardian The US army corps of engineers declined to comment The secretary of DRNA told a local news outlet in September that there’s “scientific evidence the bay is diminishing” amid pollution brought in by motor boats and construction The newcomers, required to establish residency and purchase property in Puerto Rico to benefit from the tax incentives, have driven up real estate prices and forced longtime residents out of their communities, especially those near the coast. “They have a lot of money and little concern over how to pay for these lands,” said Neida Pumarejo, director of land conservation for Para La Naturaleza. “They’re our biggest competition, and we’re not in the same economic position as them.” The question of La Parguera’s future goes beyond conservation – it is a question of equity and who has the access and right to enjoy the natural landscape. Vélez Ramírez, the Lajas native who aims to keep fighting for her hometown, remembers the sight of empty beaches and the silence that surrounded La Parguera after Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico a year ago. A few days after the hurricane, she and her two children took a night tour of the bioluminescent bay. Her 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son were in awe, catching a glimpse of what they’ve been missing all these years. “It was magic,” Vélez Ramírez said. “Without all the boats and tourists, the bay regenerated after the storm.” Brothers Ian, Jahxiel and Isaac Rodríguez run the bases at the damaged baseball park in their neighborhood, Lajas Arriba, in Lajas, Puerto Rico. LAJAS, Puerto Rico — It had been almost exactly five years since Hurricane Maria tore across Puerto Rico, destroying the baseball diamond a short walk from Carlos Rodríguez Malavé's house. But by this summer, the ballpark's restoration was finally complete. The infield dirt was freshly graded, a sturdy chain link fence lined the outfield, and a new metal roof over the bleachers replaced the one Maria had blown away. Rodríguez was giddy about it. He'd been itching for years to form a free children's league so his three young sons could learn baseball on the same diamond he'd learned on as a boy. But the park's broken lighting system — battered by Maria's 150-mph winds in 2017 — had made evening practices impossible. Now with repairs finished, he could finally do it. Officials in Rodríguez's small rural town, Lajas, asked him to be the first to turn on the newly restored lights. So on an evening in mid-August, he opened up the metal box tucked away behind the third base foul line and flipped the switches inside, bathing the ball field in golden light. "It was the most elegant thing you've ever seen," Rodríguez recalled. Neighbors whose homes face the park came out to cheer. "We had been waiting five years for that. Ever since Maria." Within days, he and the town's recreation director partnered up to form the league and started coaching 40 children on the field three evenings a week. They ordered uniforms and were planning an inauguration ceremony. But within a month, they had to shut it all down. On Sept. 18, Hurricane Fiona – Puerto Rico's first hurricane since Maria — made landfall on the island's southwestern coast, just a few miles from the ballfield. Sometime overnight, the storm's 100-mile-per-hour wind gusts knocked over one of the newly repaired light posts. It crashed down over a fence, mangling the lighting system's wiring and knocking it out of service again. The diamond flooded too. Rodríguez realized what had happened the next morning, when he went on a walk through the neighborhood after the worst of the storm had passed. "I saw that fallen light post, and my heart fell to the ground," he said on a recent evening, standing near home plate with his sons Jahxiel, 9, Ian, 7, and Isaac, 6. "So much work had gone into the field. It was finally in good shape. And we only got to use it for a month. Who knows how long we'll have to wait again?" Hurricane Fiona flooded homes, washed away roads, and tore off roofs in communities across the island. But in some places – like in Rodríguez's neighborhood — heartbreak over the destruction was deepened by the fact that what Fiona destroyed had only recently been rebuilt from the damage Maria had inflicted, and often at great effort. The ballfield's floodlights — damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017 — had been repaired, allowing neighborhood children to practice baseball and softball after dark. Hurricane Fiona toppled one of the lightposts, knocking the system out of service again. Contractors for the island's electric utility company worked to restore power in Lajas last month. In the mountain town of Utuado, the raging waters of the Caonillas River swept away a temporary bridge that FEMA had put up to replace one that collapsed during Maria. In the coastal town of Loíza, a fishermen's cooperative had finally gotten long-delayed federal reconstruction funding to repair the building its members use to process and sell their daily catch. Workers had just started removing damaged roof panels when Fiona arrived. The building flooded through the open ceiling. Fiona was far less destructive than Maria was, but Puerto Rico officials estimate the Category 1 hurricane caused $5 billion in damage to public infrastructure. Officials have not said how much of that was infrastructure that Maria had also damaged and that — like the Lajas baseball diamond — had already been repaired or was in the process. But in Lajas, the town's mayor and its residents have been left to figure out how they'll fix their baseball diamond yet again. "It's like we've gone back five years in time," the mayor, Jayson Martínez, said. "You can't detain Mother Nature, but seeing our park damaged again so soon after we finished it, that hurt. And the recuperation is going to be the same experience as before. Slow." The recent repairs were funded from the billions that Congress approved for post-Maria reconstruction almost five years ago — money only now starting to trickle into communities. FEMA is also freeing up money to fix damage caused by Fiona. But Martínez fears accessing this money, too, will take years. "We'll have to wait and see what process FEMA rolls out," he said. The ballpark's repairs had been relatively simple, and along with fixes to an adjacent basketball court, had cost less than $100,000. But Lajas is one of Puerto Rico's poorest municipalities, and it hadn't had the money. It took town officials years to get it by working through the bureaucratic morass that has slowed the disbursement of post-Maria reconstruction funds all across the U.S. territory. Which is why to Martínez, finishing the project, as small as it may have been, had felt like a triumph – a reason for his town of 23,000 people to celebrate after years of lurching from one crisis to another. Maria had wrecked many homes in Lajas and left parts of the town without power for close to a year. Then in early 2020, destructive earthquakes centered just off its coast damaged more homes. Families all across the town, fearful their houses would collapse next, spent months sleeping in their driveways or in the street while they awaited engineering inspections. Then came the pandemic. After all that, the restored baseball park had served as a symbol this summer that despite every setback, Lajas could, and would, continue to take steps toward normalcy. "It's always important to try to move forward," the mayor said. Willie Rivera, a retiree who lives alone in a house facing the ballfield, said that for the four weeks before Fiona that the new floodlights had illuminated the ballpark, evenings in the Lajas Arriba neighborhood had filled with a youthful energy he hadn't felt there in years. "Oh, yes," Rivera said. "The kids came out and used it. It was very nice." Sitting on his porch plucking out traditional Puerto Rican melodies on his 10-stringed cuatro, he noticed that older neighbors also started venturing out after dark to walk laps on a small track next to the baseball diamond. He'd almost done so himself. Normangeline Vázquez, the town's recreation director and volunteer softball coach, said the still unrepaired damage to ballfields, basketball courts, athletic tracks and playgrounds across the island is one of many overlooked tragedies still plaguing Puerto Rico five years after Maria. Fiona has made it worse. "Our children have been through so much," she said. "And these parks are where they get to play, where our communities go to relieve the stress from everything we've gone through." But in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, recreational facilities fall down the list of priorities. After Fiona, Vázquez and every other municipal employee in Lajas set aside their normal duties to become an emergency responder – zipping around in golf carts to deliver food, water, ice and medicine to residents who went weeks without power. They checked on aging neighbors, patched up roofs and set up generators. Meanwhile, the baseball diamond that the town's maintenance workers had so meticulously been caring for before the storm, started to become unkempt, and then overgrown. Town officials closed it to residents, out of fear the floodlights that remained standing might topple next, and because the exposed wiring from the one that did collapse could be dangerous once the neighborhood's power was restored. Vázquez said the ball field's lighting system will be repaired again. How long it will take, she said, is hard to predict. "The mayor and I are going to do everything we can to get it fixed as soon as we can," she said. "Because if you fall three times, you pick yourself up three times." As Carlos Rodríguez walked around the infield on a recent evening, taking in the damage, his three sons tugged on his shirt. "Can we go get our gloves?" Ian, his 7-year-old, whispered. Rodríguez frowned and shook his head no. He was dying to let them, but the ballpark was technically closed. The boys raced each other around the bases instead. "Our kids enjoy themselves here and they develop their skills," he said. "But if they don't have places to do that, we're making it harder for them to achieve great things in the future. These disasters have been hard for us, but they've also been hard for our children." Until he can start his league up again, Rodríguez has been driving his sons to play in one in the city of Ponce, 45 minutes away. They love it. "Nothing makes you happier," he said, "than to see your children have fun." The Rodríguez brothers at their neighborhood ballpark last month. Tourism, while a boon to many destinations, is posing growing threats to the pristine bay coast of Lajas, Puerto Rico. Known for its unique bioluminescent plankton, the coastal area has been attracting a large number of tourists who flock to witness the dazzling lights in the sea. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Natasha Zaletel🦋 (@natashaa_michelle) “We’ve seen a lack of control in the last 10 years,” Francheska Vélez Ramírez a 34-year-old mother from Lajas who says the housing boom has changed her home town told The Guardian In recent decades, the area around La Parguera has seen extensive gentrification and coastal development. Seasonal and foreign residents have set their eyes into the area, displacing lower-income locals. Between 2015 and 2021, 247 construction permits have been approved in Lajas, according to the Center for Investigative Journalism. This construction, along with boats passing through the area, stirs up sediment from the ocean floor, reducing the bay’s oxygen levels. These affect the local plankton and diminish the amount of the light they naturally emit. The bay has also been choked by multiple hurricanes, which upset its natural pH balance and has contributed to a drop-off in the plankton. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Enjoy Puerto Rico🌴☀️ (@enjoyingpuertorico) second-homers rent out their homes close to the bioluminescent bay to tourists who are seeking a glimpse of the bay One night on the water can cost a hefty $300 in a territory where over 40% of the population lives below the federal poverty level Decades have passed since locals such as Vélez Ramírez have been desperately trying to protect the cherished bay from irreversible damage caused by overdevelopment and lax environmental restrictions Vélez Ramírez fears for the long-term sustainability of the bay saying that if local agencies do not take bold action to intervene a similar threat was endangering Mosquito Bay The area was saved from environmental decline by strict preservation efforts including the ban on swimming “La Parguera is a living example of neglect,” said Luis García Pelatti Para La Naturaleza has been pushing for better public policy and also acquiring land in order to help preserve it it currently owns over 1,600 acres of land in La Parguera they have been unable to buy up any more land due to skyrocketing prices Puerto Rico has seen an influx of wealthy foreign investors looking for generous tax breaks arrive on the island Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website Statistics cookies collect information anonymously This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website a few kilometers from the city of Ipiales in the border department of Narin?o is a towering tribute built around a mysterious image of Our Lady of Las Lajas and the gorge it occupies form one of Colombia’s most striking landscapes A testament to the devotion of generations of followers who built successive expansions of the monument the sanctuary continues to draw devotees who erect plaques of devotion and gratitude and fill standing-room-only worship services The sanctuary is fresh off a new accolade after the British newspaper The Telegraph included Las Lajas on its list of the world’s most beautiful churches Many variations on the legend of the site’s appearance agree that a fierce storm broke as an indigenous mother and her young daughter traversed the narrow gorge en route to Ipiales from the nearby village of Potosi spotted an image of the Virgin Mary on the rock wall she spoke for the first time in order to alert her mother of the Virgin’s presence mother and child arrived safely in Ipiales and word spread of the miraculous apparition of the Virgin the earliest straw and adobe versions of a chapel were built around the image on the rock face A series of renovations and expansions continued throughout the 19th century and culminated with the current neo-Gothic iteration The site’s religious significance prompted Pope Pius XII to designate Las Lajas as a minor basilica in 1954. In 2007, El Tiempo readers chose it as one of the Seven Wonders of Colombia based on its engineering Most visits begin by walking down from the highway above the site and simple outdoor asados offer hungry travelers the usual fare of tinto a 15-minute walk descends a pathway at first lined with stands selling candles and replicas of the image of the Virgin crucifixes and souvenir keychains that soon give way to plaques of thanksgiving to the Virgin cemented by pilgrims to the rock wall of the canyon nearly covering it as it approaches the sanctuary the path reaches the southeastern flank of the sanctuary and a flight of stairs leads to the plaza atop the bridge and the main entrance to the church The church’s white and gold interior is beautiful in its own right but your eyes are drawn to the relatively simple gray wall and altar at the front as the ceiling and lateral walls of the sanctuary meet the natural rock face of the gorge framing and protecting the celebrated image of the Virgin Saints Francis and Dominic kneel at her feet the wide bridge spanning the precipitous gorge offers a variety of perspectives of the architectural gem The river and valley and a small waterfall are visible to the east paths lead to other observation points upstream and directly below it is possible to find quieter places along these paths where it’s easier to enjoy the sanctuary’s proud stance above the river President Juan Manuel Santos inaugurated a 1.5-kilometer-long telefe?rico (cable car) allowing visitors to access the sanctuary directly from the Pan-American highway Further plans for this place of worship include a ‘gastronomic zone’ and events center While the new facility may provide better vantage points of the church and narrow gorge one hopes that commercialization doesn’t detract from the site’s unique setting The natural surroundings and isolation of this basilica as it shoots up from the otherwise uninhabitable canyon are the centerpiece of this religious site and where pilgrims from all over the world come to pay their respects to the Virgin and ask for a miracle and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" The City Paper was founded in 2008 as Colombia’s first free English language newspaper it was awarded the country’s Manuel Murillo Toro medal in communications for contributing to informed and objective coverage of Colombia Copyright © 2024 The City Paper | Terms and Conditions Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has awarded $125,100,000 million in disaster assistance funds to the municipalities of Cabo Rojo to repair damages to their municipal solid waste landfills caused by Hurricanes Irma USDA Rural Development State Director for Puerto Rico “USDA’s investments will ensure that Puerto Rico can withstand future natural disasters and support a thriving and sustainable economy,” said Trujillo-Ortega “These projects will also address environmental and health concerns and place the landfills in compliance with federal and state statutes and regulations including the resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Sanitary Landfill System Regulation of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER).” The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is funding dozens of projects to improve … Funding for the projects come from $163.4 million supplemental grant funding appropriated by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 for repairs to water and solid waste systems impacted by Hurricanes Harvey $102.9 million were allocated to repair and rebuild Puerto Rico’s hurricane-damage landfills and the remaining were obligated for water systems repair projects for the Puerto Rico Sewer and Aqueduct Authority (PRASA) and non-PRASA community water systems • Cabo Rojo received $3.9 million to build new cell in the land field • Guayama received $28.4 million to construct a cell relocate a culvert and establish a recycling and bale and wrap facility • Jayuya received $29.6 million to close a cell build a new cell and establish a recycling and bale and wrap facility Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack anno… • Juncos received $23.6 million to close a cell and construct three • Lajas received $17.2 million to close two cells Guayama also received $11.1 million under the 2022 Disaster Water Grants Program to close a cell appropriated under the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2023 helps communities repair damages caused by presidential declared disasters during 2022 To adopt a public policy that promotes practices to minimize the human footprint on the environment Email notifications are only sent once a day Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:  There are more than 100 enormous topiary sculptures in the Municipal Cemetery in Tulcán, Ecuador, five miles from the border with Colombia. (All photos: Eric Mohl) Wild West-like places with an aura of desolation the only reason to stop is to endure the draconian and dismal passport stamping procedures required to travel from one country to another Ecuador features the most improbable church in Colombia and the most high maintenance cemetery in Ecuador.  On the Colombian side, less than ten miles from the border with Ecuador, the Las Lajas Sanctuary dominates a narrow rises 330 feet from the bottom of the canyon The Guáitara River rages below the structure which is accessed via a 160-foot-long stone foot bridge.  The incredibly ornate Roman Catholic cathedral called the Sanctuary Las Lajas after the Spanish word for the shale-like stone in the area a local indigenous woman named Maria Mueces and her deaf-mute daughter were walking through the gorge when Rosa meandered into a small cave and suddenly spoke saying she’d seen a woman carrying a baby This was eventually interpreted as a sighting of the Virgin Mary and the deaf-mute woman’s sudden ability to speak was considered a miracle The devout also believe that Rosa had many interactions with the Virgin Mary built into a gorge near the border between Colombia and Ecuador is said to be the site of a Virgin Mary miracle People began making pilgrimages to the cave which now featured an image of the Virgin Mary that “miraculously” appeared on one wall By 1802 a simple shrine had been built over the site and this was expanded and improved year after year until it finally reached its current grandeur from simple stone slab to stone masterpiece.  A museum inside the sanctuary has exhibits which recount the story of the miracle and photos that show the evolution of the cathedral The original laja from the cave,bearing the image of the Virgin Mary The grounds around the sanctuary include paths through the gorge Visitors picnic and take pictures in an atmosphere that is part church and part park Thousands of pilgrims come to the Sanctuary Las Lajas every September to mark the date of Rosa’s recovery which is said to have taken place on September 16 which is run by nuns living on the rim of the canyon but magnificent views of the striking Gothic cathedral inspired by a religious apparition from 261 years ago Four miles from the border with Colombia and 12 miles from the church Ecuador, holds two distinctions: it’s the highest city in Ecuador at 9,680 feet above sea level and it’s home to one of only a handful of topiary cemeteries in the world you can thank local gardener Josè Maria Azael Franco including sons of the creator of the topiary garden in the Municipal Cemetery in Tulcán work full time to maintain this unique cemetery Franco began sculpting the cypress bushes that grew in the cemetery where he worked which can live for 500 years and grow more than 100 feet tall and eventually every cypress had been transformed until the cemetery was “so beautiful it invites one to die.” The Municipal Cemetery of Tulcán now has more than 100 enormous intricate creations covering the three-acre site.  You might expect somber religious themes in a cemetery topiary garden but from day one the designs here were meant to celebrate Ecuadorian flora including animals from the Galapagos Islands Long walkway tunnels connect different areas of the cemetery creating tall chambers that feel private and unexpected a past director of the Missouri Botanical Garden called the topiary here “the most elaborate in the world,”and Mr Franco’s vision and hard work give the cemetery a lush Locals visiting long-lost loved ones in the cemetery are happy to point visiting tourists to the best vantage points for photos of Mr two years before Ecuador’s Ministry of Tourism named his creation a “natural tourism site of interest.” Of course Franco is buried in the cemetery he helped create continues to maintain and expand the topiary.  We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the world’s hidden wonders Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders 43,000+ global companies doing business in the region 102,000+ key contacts related to companies and projects news and interviews about your industry in English San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba (CNN) The largest anti-government protests to take place in Cuba since the 1959 revolution started with a blackout on a boiling hot summer day After days of power cuts by the government residents in the small city of San Antonio de los Baños ran out of patience The episode might have remained as a Cuban urban legend a whispered about moment of rare public dissent on the communist-run island if not for recent upgrades to the island’s mobile internet Cubans across the nation were able to live stream and view in real time the unfolding protests in San Antonio de los Baños — and join in thousands of other Cubans took to the streets some complaining about the lack of food and medicines others denouncing high-ranking officials and calling for greater civil liberties The unprecedented demonstrations even spread to small cities and towns where there are more horse and carriages on the potholed-streets than automobiles Marta and Jorge Perdomo stand in front of a sign on their home in San Jose de las Lajas Marta Perdomo said her two sons Nadir and Jorge immediately joined protests as soon as news arrived of unrest elsewhere in the country “My sons went out because like every Cuban they were desperate over the situation,” Marta Perdomo told CNN It was a very sad moment with the pandemic Children were dying and the elderly too.” Anger boiled over for Cubans as shortages of food and medicine — already a regular occurrence in Cuba — became increasingly dire. After years of government neglect, the creaky power grids were breaking down more and more often. While Cuban officials have long blamed US sanctions for the island’s woes protestors on July 11 raged squarely against their own government for their worsening living conditions Video Marta’s son Nadir took that day shows crowds of anti-government protestors marching peacefully down the street the demonstrators themselves seemingly in shock over what was happening It’s spontaneous!” Nadir says excitedly in the video protestors in San Jose de las Lajas did not sack government-run stores selling items in hard currency or flip over police cars As more and more Cubans took to the streets it became clear that the Cuban government was facing the largest internal challenge to its hold on power in decades In a speech on state-run TV, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel blamed the island’s economic problems on US government sanctions said the protests were the result of a subversion campaign directed from abroad and called the loyal to take back the streets from protestors “We are convoking all the country’s revolutionaries to all the places where they might replicate these provocations,” he said “The order to combat has been given.” Government supporters carrying bats alongside police began to break up the protests Hundreds of Cubans were arrested; some for clashing with officials others for merely filming the turmoil with their phones As protests in San Jose de las Lajas were disrupted by government supporters and police Nadir and Jorge Perdomo returned to their house and filmed a video on their phones that they were able to post online despite the government’s attempts to cut internet access on the island “No one paid us,” Nadir says in the video rebuffing government claims that the protests had been contrived “We are just reacting the way all the people did.” Both brothers were arrested days later and charged with alleged crimes including public disorder Their mother Marta said the charges against her sons were fabricated and that they were being punished for peacefully speaking out against the government Cuban officials say that many of the protestors arrested were delinquents and “counter revolutionaries.” But in their court records prosecutors note that neither Nadir or Jorge had criminal records and both “were well regarded” in their community Nadir were found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison and Jorge to eight years.To date Cuban prosecutors say they have convicted and sentenced close to 500 people in relation to the protests in the largest mass trials on the island in decades But international human rights organizations say the Cuban government is using the prosecutions to intimidate Cubans from daring to protest again “We found that prosecutors were constantly charging Cubans for exercising their basic rights such as the right to protest peacefully the right to insult their president or the right to insult police officers exercising the right of freedom of expression,” said Juan Pappier a senior Americas researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW) HRW released a report on the protests that it says documents 155 cases of alleged abuse against people involved in last year’s demonstrations and other cases of ill-treatment that in some cases constitute torture.” The organization also accused the Cuban government of further cracking down on civil liberties to prevent more protests from taking place Marta Perdomo said she encountered the tightening restrictions first-hand after she was invited to Europe in June to speak about her sons to human rights groups and lawmakers officials there told her and another mother of an imprisoned protestor they would not be permitted to travel “They said I was ‘regulated’ and couldn’t go,” Perdomo said Cuban officials did not respond to a CNN request asking why Marta Perdomo was not allowed to leave the island Even though Perdomo says she is worried about when her three young grandchildren will see their fathers again “They didn’t have to go out but they felt the pain of Cuba,” Perdomo said It remains to be seen whether the July protests will be remembered as rare outburst of public rage or a new stage in the struggle for greater openness US lifts Cuba flight restrictions imposed under Trump As the pandemic, US sanctions and the slow pace of reforms continue to batter the Cuban economy, officials on the island seem to realize that despite their heavy-handed crackdown last year, more protests could happen at any time. In June this year, hundreds of Cuban students at a university in the city of Camagüey began a nighttime demonstration after power was cut in their dormitory. “F**k these blackouts! Put the electricity on!” they chanted as they banged on pots as seen on videos that the students uploaded to social media. Cuban officials quickly turned back on the lights. © 2022 St Kitts Nevis Observer / Nevis Printing Ltd. Newspaper Theme by tagDiv | All rights reserved. Support non-profit journalism and perspectives from around the world. See all those languages? The Lingua project at Global Voices works to bring down barriers to understanding through translation. Boat houses in La Parguera Environmental activists and experts in Puerto Rico took a sigh of relief when a law that sought to privatize La Parguera a public maritime zone in the western coast of Lajas Several public beaches and maritime zones are fighting privatization proposals Local mayors and business owners defended the proposed bill, stating that it could help increase tourism in the region. Some residents said that the owners of such homes help boost the local economy claiming that they contribute around 2 million US dollars to the small town which  has become the official slogan for the anti-privatization movement Amigos del MAR (Friends of the SEA), an environmental organization founded in 1995 to protect Puerto Rico's natural resources, were actively lobbying against the bill, writing a letter to Governor Alejandro García Padilla urging him not to sign the controversial law such as allocating funds for studies related to environmental protection Legal scholars from various universities in Puerto Rico also joined environmental leaders in trying to orientate politicians about the potential effects of Project #1621 stating that it establishes a disastrous precedent because it conforms to an ongoing tendency of privatization in public areas and it would potentially eliminate access to such spaces In 2014, the Interdisciplinary Center for Coastal Studies at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez published a comprehensive study of the environmental history of La Parguera detailing its origins as a small fishing village to a popular tourist location with hotels “the marine resources that were once the source of income for subsistence and commercial nearshore fishing are mostly gone,” making the old fishing village a now distant memory for locals The study also states that the casetas are indeed illegally occupying the zone and that they “constitute one of the key elements defining policy and governance.” The law's original text stated that owners of these casetas have paid the expenses related to the sewage system in La Parguera, but this is also because the houses were responsible for much of the contamination in the area as stated by the Association of Architects and Landscape Architects Puerto Rican anthropologist Rima Brusi has interviewed caseta owners while these constructions are in fact illegal many individuals are attached to them because they grew up there with their families Brusi adds that there is a sense of ambivalence among locals regarding the law The majority of the caseteros (floating house owners) belong to the professional class with some residents claiming that they are typically wealthy and limit their boats’ access to the bay but they also offer some temporary job opportunities cleaning or fixing anything in the casetas a real estate firm affiliated with Courtyard Marriott Mural in Isla Verde Beach: “The beaches belong to the people they are not for sale.” Taken from Amigos del MAR's Facebook page Amigos del MAR and Playas Pa'l Pueblo remain two of the most important environmental organizations trying to protect public beaches from privatization, stating that doing so would also affect Isla Verde's ecosystem, including a Leatherback Sea Turtle nest located on the area that could potentially become property of the Marriott. Earlier this year the Carolina Appellate Court ordered the eviction of Amigos del MAR protesters from Isla Verde but Carolina mayor José Carlos Aponte Dalmau was against such action stating that it represents a violation of their constitutional rights Protesters in Isla Verde Beach in Carolina enemy of the environment.” Photo from Amigos del MAR's Facebook page activists gathered outside the Capitol of Puerto Rico to protest climbed a flag pole and replaced the American flag with one that read “Beaches belong to the people.” Tito Kayak started a hunger strike to protest the proposed bill The bill was vetoed by the Governor on Saturday night While this struggle proved to be a triumph for environmentalists are still ongoing and the future of Puerto Rico's shore will remain uncertain while similar proposals are presented ERROR: SECURITY TIMEOUT - Please copy your message to a backup location Global Voices stands out as one of the earliest and strongest examples of how media committed to building community and defending human rights can positively influence how people experience events happening beyond their own communities and national borders Please consider making a donation to help us continue this work Donate now There are plenty of private beaches all over Puerto Rico already The idea that more private beaches would boost tourism is flawed anyway The issue with the floating houses in la Parguera is a symptom of a deeper problem which is illegal squatting all over the Island on public lands A few weeks ago the Governor rewarded over 150 of these squatters in a “communidad especial” by giving them title deeds to “their” land with the government reinforcing the idea that you can get away with anything if you wait long enough One small earthquake and they will be wiped out in a tsunami but meantime everyone gets all warm and fuzzy about their “right” to squat there the Oficina de Manejo de Emergencias estimates that between 30 to 60% of the people in that municipality will lose their homes which have been built illegally in places that no engineer would approve or anything else – which no one pays till the government declares a “holiday” and offers to let people pay them off at a steep discount The government applies rules and regulations irregularly and not at all – then wonders why no one obeys them The rule of law in Puerto Rico blows with the wind I participated against P of s 1621 and used my main concern: the rich illegal squatters were violating laws at a “PROTECTED NATURAL AREA” called Boqueron State Forest (BASF) etc) were created by Governor Yager in 1918 At the June hearings I almost had a panic attack because I was the only person knowing this fact not even the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources knew this Latter I discovered many unfortunate things as well as UPR- Marine Sciences Department and even famous Parguera writers such and Rima Brussi and Manuel Valdes Pizzinni the publications cited in this fine article are full of HUGE MISTAKES and ERRORS The Institute De Ciencias Marinas sits on Magueyes Island and no professor nor student knew about this Enriquez and Laurel are as well part of BSF Even the Biobay and all mangroves and islands of Montalva bay are part of BSF many employees from the UPR campuses are also squatters Director of Sea Grant at UPR Mayaguez was the initial proponent of charging money to the squatters something beyond his duties: only DNR is the agency to set public policies Fas Alzamora told me that Chaparro assisted him in the preparation of P of S1621 and when the bill was ready Chaparro was one of the loner supporters at the Senate I am building “Amigos del Bosque Estatal de Boqueron” in order to save this endangered state forest Interested people can contact me at hecolon@gmail.com If you can read in Spanish please refer to this article that I wrote http://www.elnuevodia.com/opinion/columnas/pargueraesbosquenoarrabal-columna-2223503/ I participated against P of s 1621 and used my main weapon: Boquerón State Forest (BSF): the rich and illegal squatters were violating laws at a “PROTECTED” Natural Area a forest protected in papers by the Forest and Port Laws At the June hearings I almost had a panic attack because I was the only person knowing this fact (that the lands to be stolen belongued to BSF) Latter I discovered many unfortunate things -that I will elaborate in the future- but the most importsnt being that many other DNER employees and even famous Parguera’s writers such and Rima Brussi and Manuel Valdes Pizzinni the publications cited about those two authors in this fine article are full of HUGE ERRORS and half thruths…as thy belong to the squaters friends The UPR’s Instituto de Ciencias Marinas sits on Magueyes Island and very popular islands such as Caracoles The Institute is sbout 60 yesrs old and not even its founders knew about existance of BSF (personal comminication with to retirees) Ana Helvia Quintero from UPR-RP and Julie Morrell from UPR-Caricoos are themselves squatters something beyond his duties: only DNER is the agency to set public policies not UPR and when the bill was ready Chaparro was one of the lonners to support P of S 1621 at the Senate the place were environmental education is being taught! at least four other UPR-RUM professors are related one being Geologits and “environmentalist” Wilson Ramirez employee under Vales-Pizzini (also Dean of Arts and Sciences) In that place past UPR professor Dafne Javier (wife of the President of the environmental group “Caborrojeños Pro Salud y Ambiente” is said to own a squatter house at thi lovely beach […] Activists in Puerto Rico Are Fighting to Keep Beaches Public – Global Voices Authors, please log in » Stay up to date about Global Voices and our mission. See our Privacy Policy for details. Newsletter powered by Mailchimp (Privacy Policy and Terms) Global Voices is supported by the efforts of our volunteer contributors, foundations, donors and mission-related services. For more information please read our Fundraising Ethics Policy Special thanks to our many sponsors and funders A bright green sign along a lonely country road in southwestern Puerto Rico proudly displays a silhouette of a flying saucer and two words: "Extraterrestrial Route." Most Puerto Ricans laughed when a horse farmer installed the sign on his property at the request of Reynaldo Rios a local elementary school teacher who says he's been communicating with alien visitors to this U.S a 39-year-old with a goatee and a shock of dark hair With the blessing of a local government desperate for tourist dollars he's dedicated himself to building the UFO landing strip Lajas Mayor Marcos Irizarry's support for the idea has provoked outrage among islanders who complained it would be a waste of money at a time when the government is encouraging thousands of employees to shorten their work week to cope with a staggering fiscal deficit sipping coffee with friends in a cafe in historic Old San Juan and since politicians are incapable of creating jobs Irizarry quickly clarified that his municipal government would not invest in the project he has promised to help Rios get the proper building permits The mayor insists his goal is to attract tourists to his small town But he is also among Lajans who believe they have seen UFOs in the area "It's a very mysterious place," said Irizarry who says he once saw red lights zigzagging above the hills the farmer who put up the sign and allows UFO watchers to gather at his ranch volunteered his property for the landing strip He and Rios estimate the project could cost up to US$100,000 and are looking for funds from private companies has already applied for a permit to build a road to Indian Hill Negron and others believe a UFO crashed on the hill in 1997 They claim they heard a boom and saw the hill go up in flames who leads a group called "UFO International" that holds nighttime vigils to search for signs of alien life lets Negron worry about details like investment costs and permits while he envisions the design The landing strip would be 80-feet long and have pyramids as control towers because aliens are attracted to the shape The mayor hopes that UFO enthusiasts will flock to Lajas as they have to Roswell the site of a supposed UFO crash in the 1940s Hundreds of visitors have already come to check out the Extraterrestrial Route since the sign went up Puerto Rico is already known for its Arecibo Observatory and its 1,000-foot parabolic receiver that astronomers really do use to search for extraterrestrial life made a cameo appearance in the 1997 film "Contact," starring Jodi Foster as an astronomer who picks up a signal from extratraterrestrials But it's a little-known aerostat off the Extraterrestrial Route that inspires UFO lore in Lajas to detect low-flying drug smuggling planes Even Irizarry has suggested that the aerostat's true purpose is to detect UFOs A paved road leading to the blimp curves out of sight between two hills Rios claims he was once briefly detained while trying to see the aerostat The school teacher says he first encountered aliens at 13 He says white lights burst into his bedroom entered his body and cured him of a back injury he had received during a basketball game people who have grown up hearing reports of UFO sightings seem more open to his scheme has large plots of land that are buzzing with summer greenery Author: Julio Martínez Molina | internet@granma.cu trees and furrows have been bathed with the sweat and hard work of Ana “Betty” Beatriz Ponce Mora a farmer who has earned the esteem of all those who have come to know her or shared her work in the fields She says that everything there was full of sicklebush The first thing she planted were banana trees and the only way to make them prosper was to water them daily by carrying buckets She cleaned and claimed every corner of her farm until she thought about expanding his house in 2018 this 60-year old woman said while adjusting her traditional scarf on her head the close presence of her first-born son Pedro Miguel Nodal Ponce has been the beacon of her life but he still needs his mother's tutelage due to his special condition Both she and his son have not only succeeded in raising the Santa Bárbara farm with food production but their motto is to share everything that is done there with the community with the delivery of compotes to the children's circles to the two senior citizens’ homes in Lajas and they directly assist four vulnerable people an elderly person and two children who are bedridden Betty reveals that she prays every day to Shangó for the health of her son her people and for the progress of the farm so that the light may always guide him on the right path of the Revolution is to run a mini-industry one day; to develop and be able to optimally offer the fruits they produce Betty claims to have a strong affinity with the elderly and has been able to strengthen that bond through the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC by its Spanish initials) of which she has been a member since she was 14 years old She says that her work is part of the Abel Santamaría credit and service cooperative in the territory which has gone through a very difficult period Between the Abel Santamaría and the Federation they make the neighborhood known as El Guayabal function properly a project on aging that she herself directed has had an impact there Many of the adults who are sheltered in the senor citizens’ homes were cared for through these ties the FMC has empowered her in such a way that she is sure she doesn't need to depend on anyone to keep going If a 60-year-old woman and a young man with disabilities were able to build a farm like hers then the country's desire is perfectly possible for many with topics dedicated to the analysis of the policy approved for this sector its relationship with the environment and the circular economy Interview granted by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic advocated on Tuesday that Biomodulin T should be part of primary health care in Cuban communities and that doctors should be prepared there to prescribe it The Las Lajas Sanctuary is located at an altitude of 2900 metres in the Colombian Andes The Las Lajas Sanctuary a church located at an altitude of 2900 metres in the Colombian Andes with some calling the neo-Gothic basilica the world's most beautiful church More than 750,000 people visit the church annually with about 120,000 pilgrims arriving during Holy Week at the church located on the edge of the Guaitara River canyon and less than 10 kilometres from the border with Ecuador is dedicated Our Lady of the Rosary of Las Lajas Thousands of pilgrims arrive at the church every day The pilgrims are joined by scores of tourists eager to view the monumental architecture of the church which is between the cities of Ipiales and Potosi in the southwestern province of Narino Industry and Tourism Ministry added the Las Lajas Sanctuary to the list of attractions on the Corredor Turistico del Sur one of 12 tourist routes designed by the government to boost visitor numbers in the region