Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off the coast of Venezuela since this summer, when the Trump administration first began to shift assets to the region as part of its so-called war against narcoterrorism.

Here is a look at the ships, planes and troops in the region:

Ships

The Navy has eight warships in the region — three destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, a cruiser and a smaller littoral combat ship that’s designed for coastal waters.

The three amphibious assault ships make up an amphibious readiness group and carry an expeditionary unit of Marines. As a result, those ships also have on board a variety of Marine helicopters, Osprey tilt rotor aircraft and Harrier jets that have the capability of either transporting large numbers of Marines or striking targets on land and sea.

While officials have not offered specific numbers, destroyers and cruisers typically deploy with a missile loadout that contains Tomahawk cruise missiles — a missile that can strike hundreds of miles from its launch point.

A U.S. Navy submarine, the USS Newport News, also is operating in the broader area of South America and is capable of carrying and launching cruise missiles.

Planes and drones

A squadron of advanced U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II jets have been sent to an airstrip in Puerto Rico. The planes were first spotted landing on the island territory in mid-September.

MQ-9 Reaper Air Force drones, capable of flying long distances and carrying up to eight laser-guided missiles, also have been spotted operating out of Puerto Rico by commercial satellites and military watchers, as well as photojournalists, around the same time.

It has been widely reported that the Navy is operating P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft out of the region as well.

Earlier this month, the military released a photo of an U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider, a heavily armed plane capable of firing its large guns with precision onto ground targets, also sitting on the tarmac in Puerto Rico.

There have been a multitude of other military aircraft that have temporarily flown through the region as part of military operations there.

For example, the U.S. Air Force flew a group of B-52 Stratofortress bombers through the region last week for what the Pentagon dubbed as a “bomber attack demo” in photos online.

Troops

All told, there are more than 6,000 sailors and Marines that are now operating in the region based on the ships that have been confirmed by defense officials.

The Pentagon has not offered specific numbers on how many drones, aircraft or ground crew are in the region so their impact on that broader figure is unknown.

Toropin writes for the Associated Press.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Bad Bunny fans drowned out memories of Hurricane Maria in one booming voice on the anniversary of the devastating storm.

Saturday was a concert for Puerto Ricans by Puerto Ricans to remind the world about the power of la isla del encanto — the island of enchantment.

“We’re not going to quit. The entire world is watching!” Bad Bunny thundered into his microphone as he looked into a camera streaming his last show in Puerto Rico this year to viewers around the world, concluding a historic 30-concert residency in the U.S. territory.

The crowd roared as thousands watching via Amazon Music, Prime Video and Twitch joined them, marking the first time Bad Bunny was streamed across the globe.

The residency was more than just a series of concerts. Saturday marked the end of an extended love letter that Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio sang to his homeland. He tapped into what it means to be Puerto Rican, to delight in the island’s beauty, to defend its land and fight for its people.

“This is for you,” Bad Bunny said from the rooftop of a famed Puerto Rican house installed at the concert venue as he raised his glass and the crowd raised their glasses in return.

‘We are still here’

Saturday marked the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Maria, which slammed into Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm on Sept. 20, 2017.

An estimated 2,975 people died in the sweltering aftermath of the storm that crippled the island’s electric grid, leaving some communities without power for up to a year. Anger and frustration over the pace of reconstruction continues to simmer as chronic power outages persist.

In a report issued Sept. 11, the U.S. Office of Inspector General found that 92% of approved and obligated projects related to Puerto Rico’s crumbling grid were incomplete and that $3.7 billion of available funds had not been obligated.

“Over seven years after Hurricane Maria, FEMA does not know when Puerto Rico’s electrical grid will be completely rebuilt. The grid remains unstable, inadequate, and vulnerable to interruptions,” the report stated.

On Saturday, the number of estimated deaths was printed on the backs of T-shirts and written on Puerto Rican flags that the crowd waved.

“We are still emotional and carry the trauma of having gone through a horrible thing,” said Marta Amaral, 61, who attended Saturday’s concert. “Beyond the sadness and remembering the negativity of having gone through a traumatic event, this is a celebration that we are still here, standing.”

A surprise guest

At every concert this summer, Bad Bunny invited new celebrities — among them LeBron James, Penélope Cruz, Darren Aronofsky, DJ Khaled and Kylian Mbappé — and sang with different musicians, including Rubén Blades, Residente, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Rai Nao and Jorge Drexler.

But Saturday, the noise from the crowd hit new levels as Bad Bunny rapped with Puerto Rico heavyweights Ñengo Flow, Jowell y Randy, Dei V and Arcángel and De la Ghetto. Thousands of fans flexed their knees in unison to thumping rap and reggaetón.

Then, the crowd gasped in disbelief as Marc Anthony appeared on stage after Bad Bunny pleaded with his fans to join him because he was going to sing a song he hadn’t sung in public in some 20 years.

“Yo te quiero, Puerto Rico!” the crowd cried as the two singers embraced at the end of the iconic “Preciosa,” whose lyrics say, “I love you, Puerto Rico.”

‘An emotional night’

Thousands gathered outside the concert venue Saturday hours before the concert, with Puerto Rico’s national flower, the flor de maga, tucked behind their ears and the traditional straw hat known as a pava set at a jaunty angle on their heads.

But not all were celebrating.

Darlene Mercado milled around, asking strangers if they knew of anyone with tickets she could buy for herself and her daughter, who had flown in from New Jersey.

They were around number 122,000 in a virtual waiting line to buy tickets for Saturday’s sold-out concert and weren’t able to get any after waiting eight hours online.

“This is not only the anniversary of the hurricane, but it’s also the anniversary of me no longer having cancer and it’s my birthday. We wanted to celebrate everything with a bang,” Mercado said.

Saturday’s concert was open only to residents of Puerto Rico, as were the first nine concerts of Bad Bunny’s residency, but the others were open to fans around the world.

Overall, the concerts attracted roughly half a million people, generating an estimated $733 million for Puerto Rico, according to a study by Gaither International.

Most foreign visitors came from the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Spain, with an average stay of nearly nine nights, the study found. Overall, about 70% of concertgoers were female, with an average age of 33, according to the study.

Among those attending was Shamira Oquendo. “It’s going to be an emotional night,” the 25-year-old said, noting that Hurricane Maria was her first hurricane. “It was very sad. A lot of people around me lost their things.”

‘Yo soy boricua!’

Puerto Rico’s party with Bad Bunny ended early Sunday, but the superstar who recently clinched 12 Latin Grammy nominations will go on a worldwide tour in December, with concerts planned in Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Spain, France and Sweden. Notably, he is skipping the mainland U.S., citing concerns over the federal government’s immigration arrests.

On Saturday, Bad Bunny thanked his fans for their love.

“I’m going to miss you a lot. I’m going to miss this energy,” he said as he urged the crowd to embrace love no matter the situation.

At that moment, friends and family in the crowd began to hug one another, some with tears in their eyes.

After more than three hours of singing with Bad Bunny, fans were not quite ready to let go. As the crowd filed down the stairs and into the night, one man yelled, “Yo soy boricua!” and the crowd responded, “Pa’ que tú lo sepas!”

It’s a traditional cry-and-response yell that lets people around them know they’re Puerto Rican and proud of it.

Coto writes for the Associated Press.

US military action against a Venezuelan boat sparks condemnation and troop deployments.

Venezuela has accused the United States of illegally boarding and occupying one of its fishing vessels in the country’s special economic zone, further escalating tensions between Caracas and Washington.

In a statement on Saturday, Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the vessel, carrying nine “humble” and “harmless” fishermen, was intercepted by the US destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109) on Friday.

“The warship deployed 18 armed agents who boarded and occupied the small, harmless boat for eight hours,” the statement said, calling the incident a “direct provocation through the illegal use of excessive military means”.

The move follows a US military strike last week in the Caribbean that killed 11 Venezuelans and sank a boat that the administration of US President Donald Trump claimed, without evidence, had been transporting narcotics.

Venezuela has rejected these claims, with Minister of the Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello insisting none of those killed was a member of the Tren de Aragua gang, as alleged by Washington.

“They openly confessed to killing 11 people,” Cabello said on state television. “Our investigations show the victims were not drug traffickers. A murder has been committed against a group of citizens using lethal force.”

The White House defended the strike, with spokeswoman Anna Kelly calling the victims “evil Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists” and saying that Nicolas Maduro is “not the legitimate president of Venezuela” and is a “fugitive.”

Several countries deny Maduro’s legitimacy as a democratically elected leader due to what some have viewed as unfair elections, but the Trump administration has not provided evidence linking the Venezuelan president to Tren de Aragua. US intelligence agencies have said there is no sign of coordination between the government and traffickers.

Pentagon officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Venezuelan President Maduro announced the deployment of troops, police and civilian militias across 284 “battlefront” locations, reinforcing previous troop increases along the Colombian border.

Speaking from Ciudad Caribia, Maduro signalled Venezuela’s readiness to defend its water, saying: “We’re ready for an armed fight, if it’s necessary.”

The US has also expanded its military presence in the southern Caribbean, sending warships and deploying 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico.

Last month, Washington doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50m, citing alleged drug trafficking and criminal ties, a claim Venezuela denies, asserting it is not a drug-producing country.

BAD Bunny fans were left gobsmacked after spotting an A-List movie star at the singer’s latest gig.

Fellow concert-goers at the vocalist’s home-town gig in Puerto Rico did a double take after the Mad Men alum was seen in the crowd.

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Golden Globe award winner Jon Hamm donned a white and blue patterned shirt paired with a white bucket hat and trainers for the lengthy show at the Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan.

Part of his No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí residency, Bad Bunny‘s VIP guest was seen boogying with a glass of drink in hand.

The Baby Driver actor, 54, then busted out a series of energetic dance moves, throwing his right arm in the air, as he embraced the tunes.

His appearance was captured on TikTok where one user confessed: “Seeing Jon Hamm vibing out at the Bad Bunny concert in Puerto Rico was not on my 2025 bingo card.”

They added: “A whole vibe” before hailing him “an icon.”

Another TikTok user confessed: “I can’t stop watching this video.”

One put: “He’s living his best life” as a fan added: “This man is everything I expected him to be.”

A fan then surmised: “Just another reason to love him.”

SUPER FAN

Jon has previously gushed over the Monaco hitmaker and his talents – and spoken publicly about his plans to head to the gigs.

The Morning Show star told Today ahead of the August show: “We’re hoping to go to Puerto Rico.

“I’m excited because he’s doing this residency where he’s doing a month and a half of shows in Puerto Rico.

“First of all, I think it’s really cool that he’s going back to his home, to really give back to the fans.

“He’s reserving the first four, five or 10 shows, or whatever it is, for only residents of Puerto Rico, which is so cool.”

Meanwhile, on a previous Saturday Night Live episode, he added of the chart star: “He’s a really nice guy.

“And he’s funny. And he’s fun and his music is awesome.

“You can’t listen to his music and not smile. I just love his story.

“He’s a really nice guy. He’s funny.”

He then told how the music icon had given him the nickame Jon Jamón which is the Spanish translation of his name.

Meanwhile, Jon isn’t Bad Bunny’s sole famous fan.

Recently, he sparked a bromance with LeBron James as they headed to a party after another of his home town gigs.

At the time, a source told the US Sun of Bad Bunny’s aims for the shows and said: “It’s an elaborate thing where he is making the tickets available at a low price, you have to prove you’re a fan and a Puerto Rican resident, like people have to get the tickets at the supermarket he worked at when he was a kid.”

They added: “LeBron was at the concert, there were a bunch of videos of them together, but before that, they had hung out and played golf together all day.”

The insider added that the NBA star is still a newbie at golfing and has been enjoying the sport lately. 

They added: “After all that they partied their a**es off at the St Regis property nearby with a lot of beautiful women.”

“They have this fun new bromance energy going on.”

BUNNY CAREER

Bad Bunny has collaborated with artists including J Balvin, Ozuna, Farruko, El Alfa, Arcángel, and Daddy Yankee.

He’s also made guest appearances on songs by Drake, Dua Lipa, Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, and Will Smith.

He rose to fame almost immediately after he released “Soy Peor” (“I’m Worse”) in 2016.

While speaking to Rolling Stone, the musician described himself as being a wallflower, though he developed a reputation at school for coming up with creative raps.

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THOUSANDS were left without power after Hurricane Erin battered the Caribbean and hurtled towards the US – with the storm still expected to strengthen.

The hurricane, which is now category 3, brought heavy rainfall and vicious winds to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Sunday, cutting power for some 100,000 locals.

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Luma Energy, Puerto Rico’s private power grid operator, revealed that most of its customers on the island had working electricity by Sunday afternoon.

The operator said on X: “As of 5:00 p.m., 92.5% of customers have electrical service.

“The majority of affected customers are concentrated in the regions of Arecibo, Caguas, and San Juan, as the rain bands have been moving out of Puerto Rico.”

They added: “Our crews are working with precision to ensure safety and continuity of service.”

The storm caused “multiple interruptions across the island”, the company said earlier.

Hurricane Erin also saw two divers swept amid powerful waves near St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands.

They had to be rescued by local crews on Sunday, authorities announced.

Shocking footage showed taken by St. Croix Rescue Chief Jason Henry showed the divers being dramatically hauled over onto a boat.

On the island of Sint Maarten, footage showed palm trees swaying in violent winds.

Its local government said cleanup crews were clearing debris since Sunday morning.

A large amount of Sargassum seaweed also reached the shore – which could contain harmful toxins poisonous to people and marine life.

Erin has been labelled category 3 after multiple fluctuations in the last several days.

On Saturday it was considered to be a catastrophic category 5 hurricane.

Outer bands are continuing to sweep over Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, pummelling coasts with heavy rain and strong winds.

Rainfall was recorded between two and four inches.

Up to six inches is likely to fall in some areas.

Fears are mounting that this could lead to flash flooding or mudslides.

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As of 5pm local time on Sunday, Erin was 275 miles north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

It had maximum sustained winds of 125mph, and is reportedly currently moving west.

Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González-Colón warned residents to stay home if possible.

There are no reports of flooding on the island so far – but the worst weather is expected to impact the region within the next six hours, officials said.

Terrifying footage on X also showed heavy rain falling in Cidra in central Puerto Rico on Sunday.

The hurricane is expected to strengthen in the next two days before taking a north-ward turn on Monday and Tuesday.

The storm is then forecast to gradually weaken through the middle and latter half of next week as it passes between the US and Bermuda.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued in Turks and Caicos and the southeast Bahamas, according to authorities.

In Sierra Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a suspension insulator broke and a conductor fell to the ground because of the stormy weather.

Luma Energy also advised the public to avoid walking or driving through flooded areas, especially near downed power lines.

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Heavy rains are forecast to start with the storm expected to become a major Category 3 storm over the weekend.

Hurricane Erin has formed in the Atlantic Ocean as it approaches the northeast Caribbean, as forecasters warn of possible flooding and landslides in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The storm is expected to remain over open waters, although tropical storm watches were issued for Anguilla and Barbuda, St Martin and St Barts, Saba and St Eustatius and St Maarten.

Heavy rains were forecast to start late on Friday in Antigua and Barbuda, the US and British Virgin Islands, and southern and eastern Puerto Rico. Up to 10cm (four inches) are expected, with isolated totals of up to 15cm (six inches), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Forecasters also warned of dangerous swells.

The storm was located about 835km (520 miles) east of the Northern Leeward Islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 110km/h (70mph) and was moving west-northwest at 28km/h (17mph).

Erin is forecast to become a major Category 3 storm late this weekend.

The hurricane centre noted that “there is still uncertainty about what impacts Erin may bring to portions of the Bahamas, the east coast of the United States, and Bermuda in the long range.”

Fifth named storm

Dangerous surf and rip currents are expected to affect the US East Coast next week, with waves reaching up to five metres (16.4 feet) along parts of the North Carolina coast that could cause beach erosion, according to Accuweather.

“Erin is forecast to explode into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it moves across very warm waters in the open Atlantic. Water temperatures at the surface and hundreds of feet deep are several degrees higher than the historical average,” Alex DaSilva, Accuweather’s lead hurricane expert, was quoted by The Associated Press news agency.

Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30.

This year’s season is once again expected to be unusually busy and potentially perilous. The forecast calls for six to 10 hurricanes, with three to five reaching major status with winds of more than 177km/h (110mph).

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A Bad Bunny fan who was visiting Puerto Rico for the hip-hop star’s concert residency was fatally shot early Sunday in La Perla, a popular seaside shantytown in the capital, police said.

The victim was identified as Kevin Mares, a 25-year-old who lived in New York, according to a police statement.

The shooting happened in the predawn hours at a nightspot called Shelter for Mistreated Men in La Perla, a coastal community of San Juan that has struggled to shed its dark reputation.

Homicide detective Sgt. Arnaldo Ruiz said in a phone interview that the shooting took place when several people near Mares began arguing and one pulled out a gun and shot at least three people, including Mares. Two other men, who live in La Perla, were injured and remain hospitalized.

Ruiz said Mares was an innocent bystander. He was with three other friends who told police they were in Puerto Rico for one of Bad Bunny’s 30 concerts, which have attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the U.S. territory, where the artist was born.

Mares was shot on the left side of his abdomen and was taken to Puerto Rico’s largest public hospital, where he died, authorities said.

Ruiz said police don’t yet know what the people were arguing about and don’t have a description of the shooter. “We have very little information,” he said.

Ruiz added that Mares’ three friends also were from New York. He didn’t know their hometowns.

La Perla is on the outskirts of a historic district popular with tourists known as Old San Juan. A couple hundred people live in the shantytown, which once served as Puerto Rico’s biggest distribution point for heroin and was known for its violence.

Police used to avoid the community, which used to have a sign proclaiming, “Not open to visitors. Do not enter.”

But violence eased when hundreds of federal agents raided the slum in 2011 and arrested dozens of people, including a well-known community leader who was later convicted.

The neighborhood became even safer and more welcoming after Puerto Rican singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featured it in their hit “Despacito.”

But isolated violence persists.

In February 2023, three tourists were stabbed after police said a person told them to stop filming inside the community.

In April of last year, a 24-year-old tourist from Delaware was killed and his body set on fire after police said he and a friend were attacked after a drug purchase. Police said the victims were trying to take pictures of La Perla after being warned not to do so.

The island of 3.2 million people has reported 277 killings so far this year, compared with 325 killings in the same period last year.

Coto writes for the Associated Press.

Hello, this is De Los reporter Carlos De Loera. I will be taking over the Latinx Files for the next couple of months while Fidel is on parental leave. I hope I do him justice!

“No me quiero ir de aquí.”

It’s more than just the name of Bad Bunny’s months-long Puerto Rico concert residency; it’s a radical declaration against colonialism and gentrification, as well as a defiant call for cultural preservation and celebration.

This week the U.S. federal government exercised another overreach of power over Puerto Rico, when the Trump administration dismissed five out of seven members of Puerto Rico’s federal control board that oversees the U.S. territory’s finances. All of the fired board members belonged to the Democratic Party; the remaining two members are Republicans.

As other parts of the Spanish-speaking world grapple with being priced out of their own communities, and a watering down of their long-standing cultures, artists in Puerto Rico are using their work to give visitors a not-so-gentle reminder: No one can kick them out of their own home.

Last week, the Latinx advocacy group Mijente — alongside the art collective AgitArte — collaborated with local Puerto Rican artists and organizations to present a free art exhibition that highlights the everyday societal struggles of Boricuas. Located in the Santurce barrio of San Juan, the “De Aquí Nadie Nos Saca” exhibit is marketing itself as a spiritual companion piece to Bad Bunny’s album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” by delving into the musical joy and ongoing resistance movements of the island.

The name of the exhibition itself is a play on the lyrics from Bad Bunny’s track “La Mudanza,” in which he sings, “De aquí nadie me saca” — “nobody can get me out of here.” But the space has more than just a thematic connection to the Grammy-winning artist.

Members of AgitArte and one of its affiliated community theater collectives, Papel Machete, contributed to the “La Mudanza” music video by providing a giant papier-mâché puppet named La Maestra Combativa. It can be seen in the last minute of the video, holding up a colorful sign that reads “De aquí nadie me saca.”

The momentum of Bad Bunny’s latest album and subsequent tour met Mijente’s mission at a serendipitous time that led to the creation of the new showcase.

“The socio-cultural moment and the political moment needed different kinds of things, not just the normal playbook of social work,” said Mijente communications director Enrique Cárdenas Sifre. “We needed to experiment a little bit more.”

According to Cárdenas Sifre, part of the hope for the exhibition is to combat a pervasive narrative that Latinx people are more conservative-leaning than they realize.

Bad Bunny’s sentiment of “todo el mundo quiere ser latino” — and the universal praise and online utilization of “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” — allowed for Mijente to reopen the conversation about the true values of Latinx people in Puerto Rico.

“We can use the opportunity of a mainstream event to experiment with reoccupying and reutilizing all the cultural work for our causes,” he said. “For immigration causes, for liberation, decolonization, social, racial, gender equity and struggles … especially in Puerto Rico. So all of that came together at the same time.”

With hundreds of thousands of tourists descending upon the island to watch the “Baile Inolvidable” singer perform, it seemed like the right time to challenge tourists to engage with some of the more difficult and harrowing experiences of Puerto Ricans.

“No seas un turista más,” or “don’t be just another tourist,” is one of the main phrases used to advertise the exhibition, which asks people to confront colonialism, gender dynamics, environmental ruin, state violence and displacement.

“If you only have a few moments to be in San Juan [for the tour], please come to the exposition and help us amplify, connect and support all the local organizations that are doing the work,” Cárdenas Sifre said. “No seas un turista más, conoce un poco de la historia real de Puerto Rico.”

Telling the “real history” of the island are over 39 artists and organizations — with special help from AgitArte curator Dey Hernández — that make up “a piece” of the whole movement that Mijente is pushing for.

“We always try to recognize that we need joy, we need perreo, we need our culture, we need our sazón, but at the same time, we keep fighting for the things that we want in our lives and in our future,” Cárdenas Sifre said. “We want to go a little bit deeper for tourists to understand that it’s generations of struggle. So you can come to the exposition and support by donating directly to an organization or artist that is presenting.”

Open from Wednesday through Sunday, the exhibition will continue showcasing its works through early October. After its opening weekend, organizers of the event are enthused by the intergenerational crowds and the litany of responses the art has elicited.

“They see their fights, they see themselves in the exhibition,” Cárdenas Sifre said. “Some people have to go outside to cry for a minute, because there hadn’t been a place that hit on all these social battles and they recognize the years of work that went behind collecting it all. There’s also joy and celebration, it’s really run the gamut of every emotion…. Everyone tells us that this space was needed.”

One thing that Cárdenas Sifre wanted to make clear is that the exhibit is not affiliated with any electoral political alliance, but rather a “real new alliance of the folks doing the work on the ground every day.”

“These organizations and artists don’t always have a space to come together to talk about the work that [they] are doing, talk about the struggles they are facing. [It’s about] generating a little space [to] conspire the next [steps for] the movement in Puerto Rico.”

Comic this Week: Drag, DACA, and Departure

Julio Salgado is a visual artist based in Long Beach. His work has been displayed at the Oakland Museum, SFMOMA, and Smithsonian American Art Museum. (@juliosalgado83)

Stories we read this week that we think you should read

Unless otherwise noted, all stories in this section are from the L.A. Times.

Immigration and the border

Politics

Arts and Entertainment

Climate

Gripping Narrative

(Jackie Rivera / For The Times; Martina Ibáñez-Baldor / Los Angeles Times)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Trump administration has dismissed five out of seven members on Puerto Rico’s federal control board that oversees the U.S. territory’s finances, sparking concern about the future of the island’s fragile economy. The five fired are all Democrats.

A White House official told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the board “has been run inefficiently and ineffectively by its governing members for far too long and it’s time to restore common sense leadership.”

Those fired are board Chair Arthur Gonzalez, along with Cameron McKenzie, Betty Rosa, Juan Sabater and Luis Ubiñas. The board’s two remaining members — Andrew G. Biggs and John E. Nixon — are Republicans.

Sylvette Santiago, a spokesperson for the board, said they are in touch with the White House.

The board was created in 2016 under the Obama administration, a year after Puerto Rico’s government declared it was unable to pay its more than $70-billion public debt load and later filed for the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

In remarks to the AP, the White House official claimed the board had operated ineffectively and in secret and said it “shelled out huge sums to law, consulting and lobbying firms.” The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the subject, also accused the board’s staff of receiving “exorbitant salaries.”

Puerto Rico is struggling to restructure more than $9 billion in debt held by the state’s Electric Power Authority, with officials holding bitter mediations with creditors demanding full payment.

It’s the only Puerto Rico government debt pending a restructuring, with the White House official accusing the board of preferring to “extend the bankruptcy.”

In February, the board’s executive director, Robert Mujica Jr., said it was “impossible” for Puerto Rico to pay the $8.5 billion that bondholders are demanding. He instead unveiled a new fiscal plan that proposed a $2.6-billion payment for creditors. The plan does not call for any rate increases for an island that has one of the highest power bills in any U.S. jurisdiction as chronic power outages persist, given the grid’s weak infrastructure.

Alvin Velázquez, a bankruptcy law professor at Indiana University, said he worries the dismissal of the board members could spark another crisis in Puerto Rico.

“This is really about getting a deal out of [the power company] that is not sustainable for the rate payers of Puerto Rico,” he said.

Velázquez, who was chair of the unsecured creditors committee during the bankruptcy proceedings, also questioned whether the dismissals are legal, since board members can only be removed for just cause.

“What’s the cause?” he said. “What you’re going to see is another instance in which the Trump administration is taking on and testing the courts.”

The dismissals were first reported by the Breitbart News Network, a conservative news site.

Coto writes for the Associated Press.

A young woman emerged from the dark into a green and bushy clearing. Under the faux moonlight, she wandered the stage, speaking to herself. “Where’s my camera? I can’t believe I lost it. All my memories were there,” she said with a pang of panic in her voice.

Moments later, a young man surfaced from the same spot. His eyes scanned the area as well, with a pained look on his face. “Have you seen my drums?” When he plays his drums his heart races, he explained; his people feel joy, and the living, the dead and even the stars dance. “It’s like all our memories are there too,” he said.

With this poignant intro, Bad Bunny kicked off the “locals only” opening night of his 30-show residency in San Juan — which, for the first three weekends, will only be accessible to those who can show proof of their residence in Puerto Rico.

Taking place each weekend at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, affectionately referred to as El Choli by locals, the concert series revolves around his latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” and was advertised with name “No me quiero ir de aquí,” which translates to “I don’t want to leave here.” It’s a refrain that’s been associated with the artist since he used it as a lyric in his 2022 ode to his homeland, “El Apagón,” and he considers it still resonant today.

A celebration of Puerto Rican identity, a fighting spirit shaped indelibly by its music and history, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” also urges its listeners that time is not to be taken for granted, and the past, present and future are not just distinct phases but one whole, inextricably tied together.

(Lorenzo Lagares/For Los Angeles Times)

Fans that flocked to the opening weekend concerts were treated to Benito at the apex of his talents, not to mention his stamina. For three hours and over 35 songs, he danced, strutted and sang to the approving roar of over 15,000 in attendance. The show opened with rumbles of bomba y plena, and an unreleased track that got the crowd buzzing — followed by popular recent bangers like “Ketu Tecré,” “El Clúb” and “Pitorro de Coco.” He then regaled the crowd with a catwalk performance of “Kloufrens” and “Weltita,” which featured an appearance by Chuwi, the beloved tropical jazz quartet from Isabela.

The two stages were grandiose, both in size and production quality. The main stage was a reproduction of a hill, made to approximate the lush foliage found in Puerto Rico’s rainforest and central hillside towns. On one side, you could spy the two iconic Monobloc chairs from the album’s cover, and on the other, a flamboyán tree blossoming with red flowers. On the opposite end of the coliseum’s arena was a pristine pink vacation home, built to mirror the one from the short film that debuted along with the album.

That film introduced the characters of Old Man, played by acclaimed Puerto Rican filmmaker Jacobo Morales, and Concho, the sweet-natured Puerto Rican crested toad voiced by Kenneth Canales, which was brought to life by the stop-motion work of Quique Rivera. The two unlikely housemates returned in two new vignettes shown at the concert, in which they live in a cabin in the middle of snowy woods. Concho misses the Caribbean warmth, and feels very far away from home. A kind Morales reminds him: “We’re Puerto Rican no matter where we are, and even from afar we defend what’s ours.”

Remember, he says while looking straight at the camera, Puerto Rico is “the real calentón.” This cued a barrage of images that flashed across the screen, showing photos of historic protests and civil disobedience carried out over the decades by revolutionary Puerto Ricans.

(Lorenzo Lagares/For Los Angeles Times)

Benito reappeared under the flamboyán tree, where he was joined by guitarist Antonio Caraballo. Here, we got some of his lovelorn “Sad Bunny” persona as they reinterpreted acoustic versions of older hits like “Si Estuviésemos Juntos,” “Ni Bien Ni Mal” and “Amorfoda” before ending with “Turista.” All the while, Benito waxed philosophically to the audience, commiserating about matters of the heart.

From here, the action swiftly moved from the countryside to the pink house which suddenly filled with dancers in club wear — and Benito’s longtime tour DJ Orma. Those craving a rowdy perreo party got their wish, as his salsa-dembow hybrid track “Nuevayol” launched a 16-song stretch of frenzied, sweaty reggaeton and trap bops. Bouncing feverishly from “Titi Me Preguntó” and “La Jumpa” to “Yo Perreo Sola” and “Efecto,” Benito transformed the coliseum into a nightclub.

Among the guests that night were none other than basketball legend LeBron James, Golden State champion Draymond Green and UnitedMasters CEO (and one of the most influential men in Black culture and business) Steve Stoute.

James and Benito have a friendship going back several years, and it’s hard to blame the superstar for wanting to hang with his pal — even if said pal is an American — during a concert by an artist who is not really vibing with the United States right now. But then again, if the home we see on stage is supposed to represent an Airbnb owned by non-Puerto Ricans — which is what was narratively implied — Benito might as well flex and bring in some elite gringos. Chants of “MVP! MVP!” rang out at one point, provoking the four-time NBA champion to throw up a hand heart gesture to the crowd. It’s all love.

That being said: “LeBron James sat on an air conditioner and danced while Bad Bunny sang ‘Safaera’” is a ridiculous Mad Libs sentence that actually happened.

As he paced from side to side on the house’s rooftop, Benito would again touch on the topic of time. “You get so caught up in the euphoria of the moment that you forget to appreciate the present,” he said. He asked the crowd to put their phones away and focus on the next song, and on whoever is accompanying them, or even someone across the aisle who has caught their eye. “This is the moment to act,” he added, and ask them for a dance, just before the thrust of “Eoo,” made famous from his sensual Calvin Klein underwear ad, got the whole building quaking.

Puerto Rican plena ensemble Los Pleneros de la Cresta appeared to interpret “Café Con Ron,” as well as one of their own songs, “Ábreme Paso,” which gave way to a second video vignette. It showed Morales’ Old Man leaving the cabin and trudging through a snowstorm, until he ran into Benito’s musical director Julito Gastón — the young man from the opening skit — sitting behind his drum. As they lock eyes, Morales leaves him with a word of advice that’s not just about the music, but the core of his being: “Never stop playing your drums.”

(Lorenzo Lagares/For Los Angeles Times)

Bad Bunny resurfaced, looking a bit more subdued. He spoke softly, but sternly, about Puerto Rico and its struggle against gentrification and government neglect. “We have to protect this land,” he said. “We have to protect what’s ours if we want our children to make a life here.” He followed it up by crooning “Lo Que Le Pasó A Hawaii,” the solemn décima all about how the archipelago is being threatened existentially.

An animated crash course in salsa history, narrated by Néstor Galán, set the scene for Benito’s touring live band, Los Sobrinos to assemble. Dressed in a vintage ‘70s garb of a Fania bandleader, Benito led the group into the last and most rousing part of the concert: a salsa reimagining of “Callaíta,” which gave way to to “Baile Inolvidable” and “Dtmf.” The crowd leapt to their feet, twirling and stepping to the rhythms.

Before he launched into the opening freestyle of “La Mudanza” he paused to gather himself; he took off his sunglasses to reveal his eyes had welled up with tears and gratefulness. As the image of a giant Puerto Rican flag graced the ceiling, he motioned for everyone to sing and scream the final lyrics in unison: “Nobody’s taking me from here, I’m not moving anywhere, tell ‘em this is my home, where my grandfather was born, I’m from P f—in’ R!”

In the lead-up to last year’s gubernatorial elections, Bad Bunny spent hundreds of thousands of his own money buying ad space on billboards across Puerto Rico urging its citizens to not vote for the ruling party, accusing them of being the main culprits of the island’s woes. The ads consisted of a simple, white text on a black background. In the end, the same party that has led since 2017 won reelection; and since then, the current governor, Republican Party member Jenniffer González-Colón, has only continued to be mired in controversy.

When entering the concert area, the large screens over the main stage showed one message with white letters on a black background: “Yo Te Lo Dije,” or “I Told You So.” When the show was over and everyone began to trickle out, a new message appeared, recognizable to all: “No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí.”

With his residency, Bad Bunny issues a rallying cry for Puerto Ricans: Act now. Change the future, so that you don’t regret the past. And most importantly, never stop playing your drums.

Bad Bunny has chimed in on the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that are taking place in his native Puerto Rico and all over the country.

The 31-year-old “Nuevayol” singer posted to Instagram a video, with commentary, of ICE agents conducting a raid on the island.

“Look, those mother— are in these cars, RAV4s. They’re here on [Avenida] Pontezuela,” he said of the officials arriving in the Puerto Rican city of Carolina, “instead of leaving the people alone and working.”

Since the onset of President Trump’s second term, the U.S. territory has been subjected to ICE raids, which have targeted the island’s largely Dominican immigrant population. For years, immigrants from the neighboring Caribbean island have been allowed to open bank accounts and obtain special driver’s licenses that indicate their immigration status. The Associated Press estimates that over 55,000 people from the Dominican Republic live in Puerto Rico.

Rebecca González-Ramos, ICE’s top investigator in Puerto Rico, told NPR that the agency has made nearly 500 arrests, of which roughly 75% have involved Dominicans. NPR further noted that fewer than 80 of the 500 people arrested have a criminal record, with the most common charge being reentry into the country following a deportation.

An added barrier for those apprehended on the island is that they must be transferred to the U.S. mainland to be processed.

“It’s something that creates a great difficulty because people who had ongoing immigration cases here have been detained — meaning their legal representation is in Puerto Rico,” ACLU lawyer Annette Martínez Orabona said in a news conference earlier this month. “I know it’s terrible anywhere in the United States, but in Puerto Rico’s case, it’s worse because we are not contiguous to the mainland. It’s not a matter of just getting in a car and getting there.”

Bad Bunny’s calling out of ICE’s activities comes as other major Latin American music acts have used their platforms to condemn the ICE raids and align their sympathies with immigrants. Becky G, Ivan Cornejo, Fuerza Regida, Junior H, Grupo Frontera and Maná are among the acts to have voiced concerns recently for the immigrant community.