From the inception of public discussions on Diageo and Cruzan Rum, this writer recognized the value of supporting the efforts of our government in pursuit of the opportunities for diversifying the Virgin Islands economy through increased rum production and exportation to the United States based upon special tax legislation. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA -- A Congressional Research Service analysis of the rum excise tax cover over program, from which Puerto Rico receives about $400 million annually and the US Virgin Islands about $90 million annually, finds that proposed legislation by the Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner would be detrimental. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Bloomberg) -- Puerto Rico’s Sales Tax Financing Corp., created in 2006 to help the island commonwealth lower borrowing costs, sold $1.84 billion of bonds after attracting enough buyers to boost the sale by almost 32 percent. The offering was the largest tax-exempt deal of 2010 so far. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Reuters) -- Puerto Rico's Juan Manuel Lopez stopped American Steven Luevano in the seventh round to win the WBO featherweight title in New York Saturday. A hard right-left combination from the challenger knocked Luevano down and referee Benjy Esteves stopped the contest. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- Popular Inc, the parent of Banco Popular, posted a narrower fourth-quarter loss on lower loan loss provision, but said it expects adverse economic conditions to continue to hurt its earnings. Net loss applicable to common shareholders for the quarter was $213.2 million. read more...

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SAN JUAN , Puerto Rico -- The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Pea Island repatriated seven Dominican men to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday, following an at-sea interdiction by Caribbean Border Interagency Group Law Enforcement authorities on Monday. The crew detained one other Dominican man. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA -- With Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate now at 16.5 percent, the Chairman and President of the National Puerto Rican Coalition on Friday urged the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status to develop “a government-wide ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild the economy of Puerto Rico”. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- In response to a lawsuit filed by local citizens and supported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Superior Court Justice Juan Frau Escudero has ruled that further construction of a massive monkey-breeding facility in Guayama, Puerto Rico, must be brought to a halt. read more...

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MADRID, Spain (Reuters) -- Spain's Santander said on Monday it plans to launch a bid in the United States for the remaining 9.4 percent of its Puerto Rico division Santander BanCorp which it does not own. Spain's biggest bank will offer $12.25 for every share of its Puerto Rican unit in a deal valued at about $50 million. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- Canadian contract drug manufacturer Patheon Inc said it plans to close or sell its plant in Caguas and consolidate its Puerto Rico operations into its site located in Manati. The company said it was planning to offer available positions at Manati to affected employees. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- A malfunctioning fuel monitoring system was the likely cause of an Oct. 23 explosion and massive fire at a Puerto Rican fuel storage depot, the US Chemical Safety Board said on Tuesday. No one was killed at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp (Capeco) facility in Bayamon. read more...

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LAS VEGAS, USA (Reuters) -- Manny Pacquiao enhanced his status as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world with a commanding win over holder Miguel Cotto to claim the WBO welterweight title Saturday. The Filipino southpaw stopped his bigger opponent 55 seconds into the 12th and final round. read more...

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WHITE PLAINS, USA -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts, has announced that it will double its presence in Puerto Rico in the next year with the opening of the island’s first W and St Regis hotels and its second Sheraton. Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel – the first full-service hotel and casino built in... read more...

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LOS ANGELES, USA (AFP) -- Miguel Cotto's handlers say they will carefully scrutinize the gloves and hand wraps of Manny Pacquiao before their World Boxing Organization welterweight title fight in Las Vegas. Miguel Cotto Sr said they blundered by not inspecting Antonio Margarito's gloves prior to Cotto's lone career loss. read more...

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ST CROIX, USVI -- Governor John deJongh on Tuesday expressed his appreciation and commended the members of the US Virgin Islands National Guard who assisted in a recent fuel depot fire in Puerto Rico. DeJongh said he was pleased to see VING personnel reaching out to the USVI's Puerto Rico neighbours. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- A fuel leak created a vapor cloud that caused last week's explosion and massive fire at a Puerto Rican fuel storage depot, according to federal investigators who ruled out arson or sabotage on Friday. The fire raged for more than two days at the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Coast Guard Marine Investigators are investigating the cause that led to the grounding of the 570-foot tank ship Port Stewart, after the vessel grounded and was later refloated on Tuesday, approximately one and a half nautical miles east of the Shell Yabucoa Harbor in Puerto Rico. read more...

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SAN JUAN (Reuters) - Firefighters in Puerto Rico extinguished a huge fire on Saturday that had raged for more than two days at an oil storage depot outside San Juan and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 local residents.  Federal agents prepared to make a detailed inspection of the site at the Bayamon facility. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- Authorities in Puerto Rico on Friday ordered the evacuation of hundreds more residents from homes around a huge fire at an oil depot which spewed a column of toxic black smoke into the sky near San Juan. Despite the size of the blaze, no deaths have been reported. read more...

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LOS ANGELES, USA (AFP) -- Heavy underdog Miguel Cotto will carry the hopes of his native Puerto Rico on his shoulders in next month's mega fight against Filipino Manny Pacquiao. Unfazed by the long odds against him, the 27-year-old Cotto will be fighting for his place in boxing history in the 145-pound bout. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- Feuding drug gangs opened fire in a crowded bar in Puerto Rico over the weekend, killing eight people, including the unborn child of a pregnant woman who was wounded, police said on Monday. A 9-year-old girl was also among the 20 injured. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- Tens of thousands of Puerto Rican public workers protesting layoffs shut down the center of the capital San Juan on Thursday in a one-day strike that closed many government offices, businesses and schools. Labor unions called the 24-hour strike to protest the firing of thousands of workers. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- As Puerto Rico struggles with a 17 percent unemployment rate, Republican Governor Luis Fortuno is pushing forward with his plan to lay off more than 17,000 state government employees. The Governor has targeted government employees who provide critical public services to children. read more...

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SAN JUAN , Puerto Rico -- The crew of a Coast Guard helicopter, Puerto Rico police and state and local Emergency Management crews combined efforts to rescue a man on Sunday who was stranded on a beach at the bottom of a 200-foot cliff in Puerto Rico. The man was reportedly missing since Saturday. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- Puerto Rico-based Caribbean Ferries has expressed an interest in expanding to the north-eastern Caribbean. President of Caribbean Ferries, Nestor Gonzalez met with St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and Current Chairman of the Authority of the OECS, Denzil Douglas. read more...

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HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) -- Cuba once again advocated the decolonisation of Puerto Rico and the Western Sahara during a session of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation. “The cause of the Puerto Rican and the Sahrawi peoples should remain a priority for this world body,” said Rodolfo Benitez. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- St Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Denzil Douglas has hailed the cooperation agreement between the OECS and the University of Puerto Rico that benefits nationals of the English-speaking Caribbean. Speaking at a dinner in his honour in the Puerto Rican Municipality of Caguas... read more...

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CAGUAS, Puerto Rico (CUOPM) -- St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas says a three-day exhibition and trade fair in the Puerto Rican city of Caguas signifies a new level of interaction that United States commonwealth and the member countries of the Eastern Caribbean states. read more...

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CORAL GABLES, USA -- During a successful meeting with Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño to discuss the 14th Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC 2010) - taking place at San Juan's Puerto Rico Convention Center, May 4-6 the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) confirmed... read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- Puerto Rico on Friday said the commonwealth's new governor would undertake a second round of layoffs to eliminate 13,774 government jobs in order to trim a $3.2 billion deficit and shelter wobbly credit ratings. Moody's and Standard & Poor's rate Puerto Rico a notch above junk level. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association's (PRHTA) Convention, the main event of the year for Puerto Rico's tourism industry, begins Wednesday, September 30, 2009 with a focus on stakeholder and community commitment to high standards of excellence across the industry. read more...

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MIAMI, USA (Reuters) -- The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority is planning an $850 million bond deal in November to fund new power lines and plant improvements and to pay off bank loans, a spokeswoman for the utility said on Thursday. Executives of the authority will meet with ratings agency analysts. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- The national healthcare reform pushed by President Barack Obama seeks to provide coverage for every American citizen, but millions of people in Puerto Rico may be excluded from key aspects of the plan. With Obama having pledged to provide equal treatment for US territories... read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority will host its first Public-Private Partnerships: Puerto Rico Projects Conference on October 15 and 16 at the Puerto Rico Convention Center in the Miramar section of San Juan, it was announced on Thursday. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) -- US agents arrested 21 people, nine of them American Airlines employees, accused of smuggling suitcases loaded with cocaine on flights from Puerto Rico to the United States, authorities said on Tuesday. The accused were charged with a conspiracy to distribute cocaine. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The new Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino will open its doors in November 2009. Located adjacent to the Puerto Rico Convention Center in San Juan’s newest commercial and residential district, the new 503-room property will accommodate both business and  leisure travelers. read more...

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MIAMI, USA -- The Coast Guard suspended its search on Sunday evening for a capsized vessel in the vicinity of Luquillo, Puerto Rico, after a reporting source notified watchstanders of a possible boat fire on Sunday morning. Coast Guard crews searched for 10 hours and covered an area of more than 800 square miles. read more...

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MIAMI, USA -- Coast Guard crews continued searching for a capsized vessel in the vicinity of Luquillo, Puerto Rico, after a reporting source notified watchstanders of a possible boat fire on Sunday morning. A good Samaritan called watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center around... read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA -- Dr Candido Negron Mella pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Thursday for his participation in a corruption scheme involving the 2000 Resident Commissioner campaign of a former governor of Puerto Rico, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Criminal Division. read more...

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Coast Guard rescue crews were searching on Friday for two overdue fishermen, missing since Wednesday, from a fishing trip in the Mona Passage to the fishing areas of Los Pichinchos, Los Rabos and Los Golfos. Coast Guard rescue crews have been searching since Thursday read more...

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