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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Ramirez Wants Increased Vieques ProtectionPresident Bound To AgreementBush Meets With Hispanic CaucusPataki To Visit ViequesDelgado Is Seen As HeroLast Term For BurgosPuerto Rico Sees Racial Breakdown***** Ramirez Asks Governor To Provide Adequate Protection In Vieques April 3, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Because of the heated controversy the Navy exercises unleash among the Viequenses, New Progressive Party (NPP) Sen. Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer asked the Governor Sila Calderon to increase the police surveillance on the island municipality, alleging that she has received complaints from Vieques residents who claim tension has been mounting between anti and pro Navy demonstrators. "Both the superintendent and I have been keeping an eye on the situation in Vieques and I have to say peacefulness has reigned among the different organizations in Vieques," said Calderon. Police Superintendent Pierre Vivoni said there has been no more disputes between Vieques residents and the Navy ever since an individual threw a rock at Camp Garcia. ***** President Bush Bound To Vieques Agreement April 3, 2001 SAN JUAN - President George W. Bush told Hispanic Caucus members that although he recognized the sensitivity of the Vieques issue, he thinks he's bound to the agreement reached by the past administration and doesn't know if he has any flexibility to change it, according to New Jersey Rep. Robert Menendez. Bush's comments were said while a new legislation is being discussed that could stop the transfer of 8,000 acres of U.S. Navy land to the Vieques municipal government and the U. S. Interior Department, that according to the agreement, should be completed May 1. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) presented a bill that will condition the land transfer to the commitment of the Puerto Rican government to comply with all the obligations stated in the agreement reached by former President Clinton in January 2000. ***** Bush Meets With Hispanic Caucus By SUZANNE GAMBOA April 3, 2001 WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met Monday in a White House gathering that some members said left them optimistic, but others said was short on commitment. In the meeting's opening remarks, Bush reiterated his ``respect for the Hispanic culture.'' Bush said he and the caucus members would talk about a variety of issues, most important how to ``make sure the world is more peaceful, more educated and more prosperous.'' ``We are well on our way to a good relationship, a productive relationship that we hope will be mutually beneficial because we feel very passionately about issues that affect Latinos all across the country,'' said caucus chairman, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas. Rep. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, was less optimistic. ``I think the president was long on listening and short on commitments,'' Menendez said. ``The fact of the matter is while he has sensitivity to Vieques, he's not committed to the cessation of bombing.'' The caucus gave Bush a letter asking him to end the Navy training on the island. The letter was signed by more than 100 members of Congress. "Your fellow Americans are seriously concerned about the ailing health, the violation of human and civil rights of the Viequenses, as well as the impact on their environment and natural resources," the letter said. The Hispanic caucus has 18 members, all Democrats. Before the meeting, caucus members said growth in the Hispanic population makes addressing some of the problems they face more urgent. Nationally, the Hispanic population grew 58 percent from 22.4 million in 1990 to 35.3 million in 2000. ***** Pataki To Visit Vieques To End Bombing April 2, 2001 NEW YORK - Already pressing the Bush administration for a permanent end to naval bombing exercises on Vieques , Gov. George Pataki announced plans Sunday to visit the Puerto Rican island with a delegation of like-minded officials. "No mas bombas! No more bombing!" Pataki shouted at a small but raucous rally in East Harlem, where he outlined plans for the trip, scheduled to begin April 9 at the invitation of Puerto Rico 's Gov. Sila Maria Calderon. For Pataki, who is expected to seek a third term, the issue offers a chance to make major political capital in New York City's large Puerto Rican community. Pataki said it was through his own efforts that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld agreed to a temporary suspension of all ordnance training that had been scheduled on Vieques for March. But he said there was no promise that the freeze would continue or be made permanent. "I want to see it for myself," Pataki said, "not just for my own knowledge, but so that I can come back, and go down and meet with President Bush, and tell him, `I have been there, Mr. President, I have seen the devastation. No mas bombas."' ***** Carlos Delgado Is Seen As Hero And Fighter In Return To Homeland March 31, 2001 VIEQUES , Puerto Rico (CP) _ Toronto Blue Jays first basemen Carlos Delgado is not revered in his homeland only because he plays baseball, according to a report by the Toronto Star. Delgado is also appreciated as a supporter and a fighter of local causes. The Toronto Blue Jays first baseman has donated money to local causes and spoken out against the United States at its' decades-old naval base on Vieques . ``It is our responsibility to help people less fortunate than ourselves because we have the means to do it,'' said Delgado's father, Carlos Sr. ***** Last term for Sen. Norma Burgos March 30, 2001 SAN JUAN - New Progressive Party (NPP) Sen. Norma Burgos announced that she won't seek reelection for another term in any position. "I don't have any aspirations in the political arena for an elective post in the 2004 elections," Burgos said. The senator, who will begin law school in August, has served as president of the Planning Board and secretary of State. ***** Puerto Rico Sees Racial Breakdown March 30, 2001 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- When asked to describe their race, many Puerto Ricans say they are Hispanic or ``boricua,'' the Taino Indian word for the island's people that encompasses black, white and all shades in between. For the first time since 1950, the U.S. Census last year posed the question of race to Puerto Ricans. Figures released Friday showed that 80.5 percent described themselves as white, while 8 percent said they were black. Overall, Puerto Rico's population increased 8.6 percent during the 1990s to more than 3.8 million last year. Not surprisingly, 98.8 percent of Puerto Rico's residents described themselves as Hispanic. Puerto Rico has participated in the census since 1910, 12 years after the United States wrested it from Spain during the Spanish-American War. Last year's response rate of 53 percent was worse than any state's and far below the U.S. average of 67 percent.
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