Puerto Rico is facing a huge humanitarian crisis after being hit by two super-strong hurricanes. It suffered a glancing blow by Irma and then a direct hit by Maria, both storms greatly strengthened by warmer ocean water caused by climate change.
The crisis is still unfolding weeks after Maria hit. The full picture and extent of the damage will not be known for some time.
In his first hours of in US prison, Puerto Rican independence leader Oscar Lopez Rivera vowed on May 17 to continue to fight for freedom and independence while expressing solidarity with progressive movements across the Americas.
鈥淒uring the years I was jailed I always thought I would return home,鈥 Lopez said during a press conference, thanking all the progressive organisations and world leaders who supported him and worked for his release over the years.
Rene Perez, aka Residente, co-founder聽and lead singer of Puerto Rican band Calle 13, has slammed the United States for being one of the most 鈥渞acist鈥 countries on the planet.聽
鈥淸US president Donald] Trump helped identifying the racists, you can see them with the little cap,鈥 Residente said this month, alluding to the red 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥 headwear that is popular with Trump supporters.
The widespread jubilation when it was announced that Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera would be released in May shows that liberation struggle still resonates in the Caribbean island that remains a United States colony.
The United States government announced on January 17 the release of Oscar Lopez Rivera, who has been jailed in the US聽for 36 years for his struggle to free Puerto Rico from US聽colonial rule.
Outgoing US聽President Barack Obama commuted Lopez' sentence, which will expire on May 17, according to a White House source, consulted by the EFE news agency.
The Congressional, executive and judicial wings of the United State government recently clarified for all 鈥 despite Washington's claims to the contrary 鈥 that Puerto Rico is a US colony.
A law known as PROMESA was passed by Congress with bipartisan support and signed by President Barack Obama on June 30. It creates an unelected seven-person control board that has sweeping powers to take over Puerto Rico's economy.
Last year, Puerto Rico's governor announced it simply did not have the money to repay its US$72 billion debt 鈥 on bonds owed mainly to US financiers. On May 2, the US's Caribbean colony defaulted on $400 million that was due on that day. A further $2 billion is due on June 1.
In a move that has shocked Wall Street and Washington, the Puerto Rican Senate and the House of Representatives have passed an emergency declaration authorising the governor to suspend payments on US$72 billion in public debt, Democracy Now! said on April 6.
After speaking at the United Nations climate change summit on September 23, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro seized the chance to visit community leaders, local activists and grassroots groups in an event hosted by Hostos Community College of the South Bronx in New York City. About 1000 people attended the event, which was organised by Citgo, a subsidary of Venezuela's state-own oil company. Many arrived early to wait outside for good seats and to hold signs welcoming Maduro as 鈥減resident of the people鈥. The Bronx community