Monday Dec 16, 2024

Meggan Haller/The New York Times

2 GOOD MORNING

The San Juan Daily Star, the only paper with News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday edition, along with a Weekend Edition to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Today’s Weather

Puerto Rico’s outlook for 2025 remains uncertain

By THE STAR STAFF

uerto Rico’s economic outlook for 2025 remains uncertain, a report from the Financial Oversight and Management Board says.

The June 2024 Commonwealth Fiscal Plan (CFP) of Puerto Rico projected real gross national product (GNP) to grow by 1.0% in fiscal year (FY) 2024, down from 1.6% in FY2023, before a contraction of -0.8% in FY2025.

While official statistics from the Government of Puerto Rico on real GNP performance are not yet available for FY2024, other proxies such as the Economic Activity Index (EAI), suggest this contraction may have come earlier and started in the second half of FY2024, the report states.

Starting in November 2023, the EAI showed six consecutive months of month-over-month contraction, with the April 2024 reading being 2.8% below October 2023’s peak and the lowest point since January 2023. Despite showing a slight rebound over the last two months of FY2024, the January to June FY2024 period weakened by 0.2% when compared to the same period of FY2023, the report says.

“The outlook for FY2025 remains uncertain, and it is too early to tell whether the economic contraction projected by the June 2024 CFP began earlier than anticipated or the underlying trends have shifted over the last few months of FY2024,” the report says.

Puerto Rico’s year-over-year inflation rate has decreased from its peak of 6.6% in the first quarter of FY2023 to 2.4% in

the fourth quarter of FY2024. That behavior mirrors the trend observed in the mainland U.S., where inflation fell from 6.3% to 3.4% over the same period.

Employment in Puerto Rico increased by around 20,000 jobs in June 2024 compared to June 2023, reflecting a yearover-year growth rate of 2.2%. Similarly, employment in the mainland U.S. increased by some 1.7% in the same period.

Puerto Rico’s labor force participation rate, nonetheless, remains significantly lower than that of the U.S. mainland. Despite improvements, Puerto Rico’s labor force participation rate averaged 43.9% in Q4 FY2024, compared to the mainland rate of 62.6% during the same period.

Structural challenges in Puerto Rico, such as limited access to child and elder care, regional inequities in job availability and extended time to complete advanced degrees contribute to this gap.

The unemployment rate has stopped declining, leveling at around 5.8% in FY2024. Furthermore, the speed at which federal disaster relief funds are being deployed is lagging behind forecasts, and mid-to-long-term growth is still expected to slow as federal disaster funding ramps down.

The unprecedented influx of federal funds in recent years may be masking underlying weaknesses in the Puerto Rico economy. In recent years, Puerto Rico has received an unprecedented influx of federal funds and recovery packages of over $120 billion, equivalent to approximately 145% of the 2023 GNP, which has resulted in higher tax collections.

murder-suicide in Ponce

By THE STAR STAFF

Vannesa Lynmar Martínez García, 22, a resident of Santa Isabel who had been reported missing, was found dead at 6:30 p.m. Saturday along with a man who authorities suspect killed her at a residence on Calle Infanta in Ponce’s Valle Real Urbanization in Ponce.

Martínez García, a graduate student in psychology and law at Catholic University in Ponce, was last seen last Tuesday in the southern coastal city.

According to the preliminary report, the agents found the body of the woman with several gunshot wounds inside a residence.

Police also found the body of Rubén Antonio Pagán Banchs, 36, with a bullet wound in the head.

Tools exist for victims of gender violence, as well as patterns of abuse or mistreatment, authorities said. Citizens can call the police or the Office of the Women’s Advocate if they are the victim of violence or know someone who is.

Confidential assistance is available with the police at (787) 792-6734 or (787) 343-2020, as well as the Office of the Women’s Advocate at (787) 722-2977.

Deborah Maldonado, president of Kilometers of Change, said Sunday in response to the news of the killing of Martínez García that it was time for femicides to end in Puerto Rico.

“To men, if you find yourself angry with your partner, look for help, look for a social worker or a psychologist,” she said. “Now is the time for women to stop dying in their own homes.”

Vannesa Lynmar Martínez García

By THE STAR STAFF

In a significant announcement on Sunday, Agriculture Secretary Ramón González Beiró revealed the allocation of $8.2 million for the Local Food Acquisition Program

Over $8 million allocated for food security program

(LFPA), a move that is expected to make a significant impact on the island.

The new investment represents a record-breaking boost. With it, the total funds allocated to the program have reached an all-time high of $26.4 million, a testament to the program’s growth and potential to strengthen food security in Puerto Rico, the agriculture secretary said.

The resources are not just a financial boost, but a lifeline for many, González Beiró said, as they will significantly expand the reach of initiatives that benefit disadvantaged populations, a key focus of the program, and are channeled through non-profit organizations.

“With this allocation, we reaffirm our commitment to strengthen local agriculture and ensure access to nutritious food for those who need it most,” the official said. “It is essential to continue working to boost all agricultural sectors, ensure sustained growth, and increase the supply of local food for the people.”

Information on the application process for interested

entities will be provided soon, González Beiró added. The Agriculture Department also approved more than $2.5 million to purchase fresh local produce for school cafeterias as part of the program. Additionally, $902,083 was allocated for the purchase of food for child and senior care centers under the Child and Adult Food Supply Program (LFSCC).

The secretary stressed that the initiative is the result of a continuous effort by the agency to guarantee resources and promote inclusion in federal programs.

“For the first time in these four years, we have been able to integrate the Department of Agriculture into the LFPA and LFSCC programs, which represents a significant advance for our farmers and communities,” González Beiró said.

The announcement marks a key opportunity to consolidate the growth of the agricultural sector, meet the needs of thousands of Puerto Rico residents, and promote an economic and social model based on local production, the official noted.

Senate expected to deal with nominations in extraordinary session

By THE STAR STAFF

The island Senate is expected to tackle today the nominations sent by outgoing Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia last week.

After the House of Representatives opted to close the session indefinitely (sine die), arguing a lack of consensus among New Progressive Party (NPP) lawmakers on 10 bills, Pierluisi amended the call for the extraordinary session, asking the Senate to consider 24 nominations.

The appointments entail the renomination of 14 judges, two promotions of prosecutors and eight new appointments.

“All renominations are for positions held by appointed judges, whose terms expired or expire before December 31,” La Fortaleza said in a written statement.

In the original call for the extraordinary session, the governor only included 10 bills and resolutions, but he left

Dispute over campaign sign ends in physical altercation

By THE STAR STAFF

Adispute over a political sign ended in a physical altercation involving the former Popular Democratic Party mayor of Maunabo, Jorge Márquez Pérez, who lost in the recent general elections, according to a Puerto Rico police report.

The incident occurred at a three-story property belonging to the Gallardo family, where Márquez Pérez operates a stable agency on the first floor.

Márquez Pérez had already had other incidents with the owner, the report said. According to the complaint, Diego Gallardo alleges having been struck in the face by Márquez Pérez while the former was installing a roof sign in support of the current New Progressive Party mayor, Ángel Omar Lafuente Amaro, for whom Gallardo is a campaign worker.

Gallardo described the attack as one of “frustration” by the ex-mayor as a result of his electoral defeat.

At least one witness supported that version of events, saying that Márquez Pérez lost his composure upon seeing the sign.

the door open to amend the summons and submit appointments that are exclusively evaluated by the Senate, such as nominations.

The eight new nominations are for six judges, a registrar, and a member of the General Services Administration Tender Board, which was recommended by the commonwealth comptroller.

The NPP Senate delegation has said it will not give its vote for new confirmations but may consider the renominations.

“For the purposes of renominations that are expired and about to expire, I understand that if they are people who have a judicial career, there should be no opposition,” NPP Sen. Carmelo Ríos said. “If they are new appointments, informally, we have decided not to deal with them.”

A new central government administration is slated to take over Jan. 2.

Agriculture Secretary Ramón González Beiró

Sen. Carmelo Ríos

Maunabo City Hall (Wikidata)

Governor-elect forms task force to weigh energy options, tackle end of LUMA contract

By THE STAR STAFF

Governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón is creating a task force to analyze public energy policy options and replacing LUMA Energy with another private operator to manage the island’s electric power transmission and distribution (T&D) system.

“In the next few days, I will be putting together a working group to review Puerto Rico’s energy policy, because that will allow me to … see the changes we have to make, whether I want to have new natural gas generation plants or technology that is cleaner and more economical and that we can have faster,” González Colón said late last week. “I have to have a working group that helps me identify that.”

González Colón named the members of that task force on Sunday. She also said she would start analyzing who would replace LUMA Energy as the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA) T&D system operator.

“In the same way, I am talking about the fact that we are going to end the LUMA contract, so I have to start to see who the next operators will be, and I want to have the input of people from different sectors who give me their ideas on how to start executing, managing that,” González Colón said Friday in response to questions from the press. “We would be doing that in [the second half of] December, so we can start in earnest then.”

The governor-elect added that addressing PREPA’s bankruptcy situation will be a priority. The utility and its bondholders have been in a stalemate for months on how to settle the dispute over PREPA’s $9 billion debt.

“That is one of the most critical issues I will face in the next four years, not only in terms of bankruptcy, generation, transmission, distribution, and recovery,” González Colón said. “I am staying on it; in fact, I have meetings with credit rating agencies next week, and I am very attentive to what [U.S. District] Judge [Laura] Taylor Swain is reviewing and recommending. I want to make room for that because that case is still alive. There are pending negotiations, and hopefully, an agreement can be reached before we take office.”

The governor-elect said she would not intervene in the negotiation with the creditors and would leave the matter in the hands of the oversight board.

Governor-elect Jenniffer González Colón

“It is the Board that has to negotiate at this time,” González Colón said. “First, I am not yet the acting governor; that is on January 2. So I am going to allow both the Board and the court to handle the situation that is before them.”

Just as she did with the appointments to the Incoming Transition Committee, the governor-elect appointed people who are not from her own political party to the new task force.

They are:

1. Rafael Rojo, president of VRM Companies, a real estate development firm and former president of the Builders Association.

2. Federico Stubbe Jr., president of Prisa Group, a family development, construction and investment company with residential, hotel and entertainment projects in Puerto Rico and Florida. He is a member of several boards of organizations on the island and the U.S. mainland.

3. Frances Berríos, the first woman president of the Electrical Experts Association, and technical adviser for several engineering projects.

By THE STAR STAFF

To celebrate the magic of Christmas and strengthen its commitment to Puerto Rican families, the Administration for the Comprehensive Care and Development of Children (ACUDEN) on Sunday announced “Christmas Mission: The Tour” (Misión Navidad: The Tour), a free event that combines tradition, learning and community support.

The event, which will take place Friday, Dec. 20 from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the Cataño bayfront, will offer educational activities, games and guidance on the benefits of the Child Care program.

Christmas Mission: The Tour will begin with a Christmas party from the Puente del Centro Gran Caribe Mall in Vega Alta at 11 a.m., touring the municipalities of Toa Baja and San Juan before ending in Cataño. On the seafront, families will be welcomed with the Puerto Rico Friends of Children fair, a space designed to share in community and enjoy the best of the island’s traditions.

The event will include the special participation of beloved characters from the Fundación Atención Atención, and families will be able to enjoy interactive activities, games and a traditional party that celebrates Puerto Rican Christmas traditions.

4. Eric Santiago, president of the Manufacturers Association, who has worked in medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing; he was a member of the Advisory Board to the White House and the U.S. Department of Health on the Safety and Availability of Tissues and Blood (2021-2024).

5. CPA Juan Zaragoza Gómez, current at-large senator for the Popular Democratic Party (PDP); chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Federal Affairs and the Financial Oversight and Management Board; former island Treasury secretary; current member of the government’s Incoming Transition Committee.

6. Engineer Josué Colón, executive director of PREPA, who has over 30 years of experience in the field of electrical engineering.

7. Engineer José Ortiz, former chairman of the PREPA governing board (2011 and 2013), who directed the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) (2007 to 2013) and was former chairman of the board of directors of the Infrastructure Financing Authority (2009 to 2012).

8. Ramón Luis Nieves, a former PDP senator who chaired the Senate Energy Committee, has a master’s degree (LLM) in energy law from Vermont Law & Graduate School. He is currently engaged in energy matters in his private practice.

9. Luis Bernal, executive director of the Energy Affairs Administration (2009-2012) and adviser on energy policies. He has worked in the local and federal public sector and the private sector.

10. Eli Díaz Atienza, an engineer, who during 2017 to 2020 was chairman of the PREPA governing board, executive director of PRASA and member of the Financial Oversight and Management Board as a representative of the government.

11. Juan Carlos Díaz Galarza, a project management professional who is a member of the Green Energy Trust and was executive director of the Energy Affairs Administration (2011-2013).

12. Engineer Francisco E. López García, who has vast experience in the production and operation of fossil fuel power plants and is an expert in energy systems and planning.

The group will begin work immediately, although its structure, duties and responsibilities will be contained in one of the first executive orders that González Colón signs when she enters office as governor after her swearing-in on Jan. 2.

families to enjoy a ‘Christmas Mission: The Tour’ party & fair in Cataño

“Christmas is a time to unite as a community and share with our families,” Family Secretary Ciení Rodríguez Troche said. “Through Christmas Mission: The Tour, we want to offer families the opportunity to enjoy this season with activities that combine fun and learning, while strengthening support for Puerto Rican children.”

During the fair, ACUDEN specialists will provide detailed information about the Child Care program, which offers high-quality child care services to support working families in the upbringing and comprehensive development of their children. Among the benefits available are subsidies for child care and access to educational resources. The

San Juan Daily Star

By MARIA CRAMER and SHAYLA COLON

Investigators received a tip from the San Francisco Police Department identifying Luigi Mangione as a suspect before he was arrested in the killing of an insurance executive in midtown Manhattan, the New York FBI field office said late last week.

The tip, which the bureau passed to New York police, was one of many that law enforcement officials received in the days after the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, was fatally shot Dec. 4.

Mangione’s family had reported him missing in San Francisco weeks before the killing. The timing of when the bureau gave that information to New York police remains unclear, as well as whether it might have helped speed his arrest.

Joseph Kenny, chief of detectives for New York police, has said that Mangione was not on the department’s radar before he was captured Monday in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a McDonald’s customer recognized him from pictures distributed by authorities.

Mangione has retained Karen Friedman Agnifilo, a defense lawyer and a former top official in the Manhattan district attorney’s office, and will waive extradition and be in New York soon, a person with knowledge of the decision said late Friday night. Prosecutors have charged Mangione with second-degree murder.

On Friday, scraps of new information and theories emerged about the killing, which struck a resonant chord in a nation where health insurance and access to care have been political flashpoints for decades.

New York police said they had new ideas about how the gunman had escaped after he fled through Central Park on a bicycle. After the attack outside the New York Hilton Midtown

hotel on West 54th Street, he most likely abandoned the bicycle on the Upper West Side, where police believe someone saw it and stole it, said Carlos Nieves, the department’s assistant commissioner of public information.

Initially, investigators theorized that the man who shot Thompson had left New York on a bus from a terminal in Washington Heights. Cameras captured the man entering the bus depot on West 178th Street at about 7:30 a.m., but not leaving.

After fleeing midtown on the bike in the early morning, the gunman hailed a cab at 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue and traveled to the bus station, paying the fare in cash.

But surveillance camera footage reviewed more recently by investigators showed him leaving the bus depot by sub-

way. The gunman walked from the bus terminal to the 190th Street station, and from there he took the A train downtown to Pennsylvania Station, police said. A camera in a subway elevator captured his movements, Kenny said.

Though many trains leave the station and head west each day, police are still trying to figure out exactly how the suspect got to Pennsylvania, where he was captured after nearly a week, Nieves said.

The footage of the suspect, whom police have identified as Mangione, 26, gave investigators more information as they tried to retrace his movements from New York to the McDonald’s in Altoona where he was found Monday.

Mangione was eating hash browns and looking at his laptop when a fellow customer remarked to a friend that he resembled the person in photos police had released of the gunman. An employee at the restaurant overheard the customer and called 911 to alert police, who found Mangione with a handgun, ammunition and fake identification cards.

Authorities also found a 262-word handwritten manifesto with him, in which he appears to take responsibility for the killing.

Although Mangione is now expected to be brought to New York soon, his lawyer in Pennsylvania, Thomas M. Dickey, had previously asked the judge to stop extradition and to set bail for his client.

For now, his next scheduled court date is Dec. 23, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where he faces charges including carrying a gun without a license and forgery.

Mangione’s family has not spoken with New York police, Nieves said.

As for the bicycle, police are still hoping to find it, he said. “Bikes don’t last very long on the streets around here,” Nieves said. “Someone sees it. They take it, and that’s it.”

Supreme Court allows Biden plan to address toxic coal ash

By ADAM LIPTAK

The Supreme Court last week rejected a request from an electric utility in Kentucky to block an Environmental Protection Agency effort to address the health risks presented by coal ash, a toxic substance created by burning coal to produce electricity.

The court’s brief order gave no reasons, which is typical when it acts on emergency applications. There were no noted dissents.

The utility, East Kentucky Power Cooperative, challenged the EPA’s plan in a federal appeals court in Washington, saying the agency had exceeded its statutory authority by requiring monitoring and remediation at facilities that were no longer producing coal ash. The utility also asked the appeals court to block the plan while it considered the matter, a request the court denied.

The utility then asked the Supreme Court to intervene, saying the statute at issue applied only to sites where solid waste “is disposed of.” The present tense, it said, excluded inactive sites where it said coal ash had been removed.

Lawyers for the agency responded that the utility’s argument was based on a false premise.

“The evidence before EPA established that legacy impoundments leak into the surrounding soil and groundwater,” the agency’s brief said, “so that even where coal ash

The WA Parish power plant in Thompsons, Texas, outside Houston, Nov. 19, 2018. The Supreme Court on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, rejected a request from an electric utility in Kentucky to block an Environmental Protection Agency effort to address the health risks presented by coal ash, a toxic substance created by burning coal to produce electricity.

(Gabriella Demczuk/The New York Times)

has been removed from an impoundment, coal-ash leachate — which itself constitutes ‘solid waste’ within the meaning of” the law at issue — “would normally be expected to remain at the site.”

The parties differed about the costs the plan would impose. The utility said monitoring at one inactive site would cost more than $16 million. The EPA put the number at $229,000.

In their own brief, several environmental groups said there was no rush to decide the matter.

“The earliest compliance deadline the cooperative faces is far down the line — well into 2028,” the brief said. “And that deadline requires it to comply only with modest groundwater monitoring requirements.”

On the other side of the balance, the groups said, were grave risks.

“Coal ash contains significant concentrations of chemicals like arsenic, boron, lead, selenium and mercury, each of which poses serious dangers to human health and the environment,” their brief said. “Among other things, exposure increases rates of skin, liver, bladder and lung cancer as well as risks of neurological, psychiatric and cardiovascular harm.”

The court’s order denying the utility’s request was of a piece with recent rulings on emergency applications on environmental matters that declined to intervene in cases before they were fully litigated before appeals courts. In a series of orders in October, for instance, the justices refused to block EPA initiatives to limit carbon emissions from power plants and to reduce emissions of two pollutants: mercury, a hazardous neurotoxin, and methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

ABC to pay $15 million to settle a defamation suit brought by Trump

President-elect Donald Trump and Melania Trump, the incoming first lady, pose for photographs on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan after the opening bell ceremony last Thursday morning, Dec. 12, 2024. Under the terms of a defamation settlement revealed over the weekend, ABC News will donate $15 million to Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM and ALAN FEUER

ABC News is set to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Donald Trump.

The agreement was a significant concession by a major news organization and a rare victory for a mediabashing politician whose previous litigation efforts against news outlets have often ended in defeat.

Under the terms of a settlement revealed Saturday, ABC News will donate the $15 million to Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum. The network and its star anchor, George Stephanopoulos, also published a statement saying they “regret” remarks made about Trump during a televised interview in March.

ABC News, which is owned by The Walt Disney Co., will pay Trump an additional $1 million for his legal fees.

The outcome is an unusual win for Trump, who has frequently sued news organizations for defamation and frequently lost, including in litigation against CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Several experts in media law said they believed ABC News could have continued to fight, given the high threshold required by the courts for a public figure like Trump to prove defamation. A plaintiff must not only show that a news outlet published false information, but that it did so knowing that the information was false or with substantial doubts about its accuracy.

“Major news organizations have often been very leery of settlements in defamation suits brought by public officials and public figures, both because they fear the dangerous pattern of doing so and because they have the

full weight of the First Amendment on their side,” said RonNell Andersen Jones, a professor of law at the University of Utah.

“What we might be seeing here is an attitudinal shift,” she added. “Compared to the mainstream American press of a decade ago, today’s press is far less financially robust, far more politically threatened, and exponentially less confident that a given jury will value press freedom, rather than embrace a vilification of it.”

ABC News did not elaborate Saturday about its precise reasons for settling. “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” a network spokesperson said. A lawyer for Trump declined to comment on the agreement.

Trump sued ABC and Stephanopoulos in March, after the anchor asked Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has spoken publicly about being raped as a teenager, why she had continued to support Trump after he was found “liable for rape” in a 2023 civil case in New York City.

In that case, a federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll, but it did not find him liable for rape. Still, the judge who oversaw the proceeding later clarified that because of New York’s narrow legal definition of rape, the jury’s verdict did not mean that Carroll had “failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’”

In his lawsuit, Trump accused Stephanopoulos of harming his reputation by saying multiple times on-air that he had been found liable for raping Carroll. (Trump was ordered by a jury in the Carroll case to pay her damages of $83.3 million. He is appealing the verdict.)

The settlement agreement in the defamation case, filed in U.S. District Court in Miami, was signed Friday, the same day that a judge ordered Trump to sit for a deposition in the case next week in Florida. Stephanopoulos was also on the verge of being deposed.

Under the settlement terms, ABC agreed to place an editor’s note at the bottom of an online

article about the interview with Mace. The note reads: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”

In May, Stephanopoulos was asked about Trump’s pending lawsuit during an appearance on “Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

“How does it feel to be sued by a former president for defamation for just doing your job?” Colbert asked.

“Unfortunately, it now comes with the territory,” Stephanopoulos replied. “But I’m not going to be cowed out of doing my job because of the threat of Donald Trump.”

The audience cheered.

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Fed rate view in focus as robust stocks year draws to close

Abanner year for U.S. stocks gets one of its last big tests with the coming week’s Federal Reserve meeting, as investors await the central bank’s guidance on interest rate cuts.

The Nasdaq Composite index (.IXIC), breached 20,000 for the first time ever in the past week, another milestone for equities in a year during which the tech-heavy index has gained 32% while the S&P 500 (.SPX), has risen about 27%.

Expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates have supported those gains. But while the central bank is expected to lower borrowing costs by another 25 basis points next week, investors have moderated their bets on how aggressively policymakers will move next year due to robust economic growth and sticky inflation.

Bond yields, which move inversely to Treasury prices, have risen in recent sessions as a result, taking the benchmark U.S. 10-year yield to a three-week high of 4.38% on Friday. While stocks have pushed higher despite the rise in yields, the 10-year is approaching the 4.5% level some investors have flagged as a potential trip-wire for broader market turbulence.

“Anything that results in an expectation that maybe the Fed moves even more slowly from here than investors were expecting could create a little bit of downside for stocks,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

The trajectory of monetary policy is closely monitored by investors, as the level of rates dictates borrowing costs and is a key input in determining stock valuations. Interest rate expectations also sway bond yields, which can dim the allure of equities when they rise because Treasuries are backed by the U.S. government and seen as virtually risk-free if held to term.

Fed fund futures indicated a 96% chance the Fed will cut by 25 basis points when it gives its policy decision on Wednesday, according to CME FedWatch data as of Friday.

But the path for rates next year is less certain. Fed fund futures are implying the rate will be at 3.8% by December of next year, down from the current

MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS

level of 4.5%-4.75%, according to LSEG data. That is about 100 basis points higher than what was priced in September.

The Fed’s summary of economic projections released at the meeting will provide one indication of where policymakers see rates heading. Officials penciled in a median rate of 3.4% for the end of next year when the summary was last released in September.

One sign of potential support for a slower pace of cuts came from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who this month said the economy is stronger now than the central bank had expected in September.

Another factor that could make Fed officials more cautious about future cuts is the presidential election of Donald Trump, whose pro-growth economic policies and favoring of tariffs are causing concerns about stronger inflation next year.

Analysts at BNP Paribas said they expect a “hawkish cut,” with the central bank likely to “open the door for a pause in further cuts of undefined

PUERTO RICO STOCKS

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length.”

Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth, said markets “will be trying to read into how worried is the Fed about inflation.”

November data released in the past week showed progress in lowering inflation toward the U.S. central bank’s 2% target has virtually stalled.

Still, analysts say the market’s momentum favors more gains into year end, while sentiment among investors in surveys remains bullish - though some market technicals suggest the rally in stocks may have grown stretched.

The percentage of Nasdaq constituents hitting 52-week highs has declined since the rally after the Nov 5 election, implying fewer stocks are supporting the advance, Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, said in a note on Thursday.

“History suggests the tech-heavy index could be due for a breather before longer-term momentum resumes,” Turnquist said.

Monday, December 16, 2024 9

Israel strikes military sites in Syria, monitor says

By VIVIAN YEE

Israel struck Syrian weapons depots and air defenses overnight, a group monitoring the conflict said Sunday, in what appeared to be part of an effort Israel says is aimed at depriving “extremists” of military assets after rebels seized power in Syria.

In all, Israel struck its neighbor 75 times in attacks that began Saturday night near the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the cities of Hama and Homs, according to the group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based organization that has long tracked the conflict in Syria. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel has struck Syria more than 450 times since the collapse of the Assad regime a week ago, according to the Observatory, destroying Syria’s navy and dozens of air bases, ammunition depots and other military equipment.

Israel’s military has also seized and occupied an expanse of territory in Syria over the de facto border between the two countries, including on the Syrian side of the strategic Mount Hermon. Israel has given no timeline for its departure, apart from saying that it would stay until its security demands were met.

The head of the group leading the rebel coalition that now governs Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said in an interview Saturday with Syria TV, a pro-opposition channel, that Israel was using pretexts to justify its “unwarranted” territorial seizures in Syria. Still, he said, Syria could not afford any further conflict.

“Syria’s war-weary condition, after years of conflict and war, does not allow for new confrontations,” he said, adding that he was focused on diplomatic solutions. “The priority at this stage is reconstruction and stability, not being drawn into disputes that could lead to further destruction.”

The Observatory reported Sunday that Israeli forces in Syrian territory had asked residents of the countryside in western Daraa province to surrender their weapons, as they had done in other villages in the area Israel now occupies.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military about its latest strikes in Syria.

Neither the previous Syrian government, led by President Bashar Assad, nor

the new authorities in Damascus have attacked Israel, and Arab countries and France have called on Israel to withdraw and respect Syria’s sovereignty.

Israeli officials, however, say that the raids are necessary to secure the border and to keep Syria’s weaponry from falling into the hands of extremists while the country remains unstable. U.S. officials have echoed those statements, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying Thursday that Israel had told the Biden administration that its presence in Syria was “a temporary move” to ensure “that this vacuum isn’t filled by something bad.”

With the Assad regime ousted, some fear a security vacuum that could allow the Islamic State group or other extremist groups to exploit the situation.

The group now in power in Damascus, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has long been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and other Western countries for its roots in extremist movements such as al-Qaida.

But the group has installed a technocratic administration in Damascus and promised moderate, tolerant governance. That has led some countries to consider lifting the terrorist designation to establish relations with Syria’s new leaders.

Visiting Israeli troops in the Golan Heights on Friday, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Israel’s military chief of staff, insisted that his country was acting to secure its frontier and its citizens even as it crossed the lines established by a ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel in 1974. Israel had no intention of interfering in the future of a post-Assad Syria, he said.

“There was a country here that was an enemy state, its army collapsed, and there is a threat that terrorist elements could reach here,” Halevi said in remarks released by the military Saturday.

“We moved forward so that these terrorist elements will not establish themselves — extremist terrorists will not establish themselves right next to the border,” he said. “We are not intervening in what is happening in Syria. We have no intention of managing Syria. We are unequivocally intervening in what determines the security of Israeli citizens here.”

The overnight airstrikes lasted for about eight hours, according to the Ob-

Planes destroyed by Israeli air strikes at a Syrian Air Force base in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. Israel struck Syrian weapons depots and air defenses overnight, a group monitoring the conflict said Sunday, in what appeared to be part of an effort Israel says is aimed at depriving “extremists” of military assets after rebels seized power in Syria. (Nicole Tung/The New York Times)

servatory, which said that weapons and ammunition depots as well as bases in the mountains and countryside outside Damascus had been struck.

It said Israel had also targeted warehouses in the countryside outside Homs, air defenses at the airport in Hama and other sites.

Other foreign powers were also maneuvering to preserve their interests in the post-Assad era, including Russia, which in previous years had helped Assad stay in power, partly to hold onto its two military bases in Syria — springboards for its expanding military presence in Africa.

Al-Sharaa, who is better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, was equivocal in his Saturday interview about Russia’s future in Syria, saying only that the relationship should be reevaluated “in a way that serves common interests.”

In Damascus, the authorities led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham said they were trying to reestablish security and public services that would enable the country to return to some semblance of normalcy.

The transitional administration announced on Telegram that all schools and universities were to start classes again Sunday, and institutions in Aleppo, Idlib, Damascus and other provinces did so.

Questions remained about how the new authorities would handle sectarian tensions between Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority, to which Hayat Tahrir al-Sham belongs, and minorities, including the Alawites, a Shiite Muslim offshoot sect that includes the Assad family and many of its strongest supporters. Scattered acts of retribution and threats against Alawites and Shiites continued to be reported in Syria, despite the new administration’s repeated calls for minorities to be respected.

On Saturday, without giving a reason, it announced that it was opening centers in Latakia province, a former Assad stronghold, where people associated with the deposed regime would be required to register.

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The San Juan Daily Star

The impeachment of South Korea’s president, explained

By CHOE SANG-HUN

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law has created

South Korea’s biggest constitutional crisis since the country democratized in the late 1980s.

On Saturday, Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly, making him the third South Korean president to be suspended from power through such a vote.

But the uncertainty over the country’s political future is far from resolved.

The fate of Yoon, a deeply unpopular leader, now rests in the hands of the Constitutional Court, which will decide within the next six months whether to reinstate or formally remove him.

In addition to impeachment, Yoon faces a criminal inquiry, the first to target a sitting South Korean president. He has been banned from leaving the country as police and prosecutors investigate whether he and his supporters in the government and military committed insurrection when they sent armed troops into the National Assembly this month.

Here is where things stand for Yoon and South Korea.

Why was the president impeached?

Yoon’s martial law decree Dec. 3, which put the country under military rule for the first time in 45 years, lasted only six hours. But it threw South Korea’s democracy into chaos and drew public outrage, recalling the country’s painful history of military dictatorship decades ago.

In the impeachment bill, opposition lawmakers argued that Yoon had perpetrated an insurrection when he made the martial law declaration and sent troops into the assembly. They said that was an attempt to stop lawmakers from voting down the decree, as was their right under the constitution.

An initial impeachment vote Dec. 7

failed, after lawmakers from Yoon’s People Power Party boycotted it, saying that he should be given a chance to resign.

On Saturday, the party said that it officially opposed impeachment, but its lawmakers were allowed to cast their secret ballots. The result indicated that 12 lawmakers from Yoon’s party had joined the opposition to impeach him and 11 others abstained or cast invalid votes, sealing his fate.

The vote tally was 204 in favor and 85 against.

What are the criminal accusations against the president?

The investigations into the president center on the deployment of armed troops to the National Assembly.

Col. Kim Hyun-tae, who led a special

forces unit that was sent into the assembly, said he received orders to forcibly remove lawmakers to prevent 150 of them — the number required to repeal martial law — from gathering.

South Korea’s criminal law defines insurrection as any attempt to “overthrow government organs established by the constitution or to render the exercise of their functions impossible by force.”

If Yoon were to be convicted of insurrection and the court ruled that he was its ringleader, he could face the death penalty or life imprisonment. Prosecutors have arrested his former defense minister and two former police chiefs on charges of helping to carry out insurrection.

Why did Yoon do it?

Yoon has said that he declared martial law out of “desperation” in the face of an opposition that used its parliamentary majority to “paralyze” his government. Yoon criticized the opposition for slashing some of his government budgets planned for next year , as well as its frequent attempts to impeach his political appointees.

But such com-

plaints cannot be grounds for declaring martial law, Kim Young Hoon, head of the Korean Bar Association, previously told The New York Times. Yoon also did not immediately notify the National Assembly of his declaration of martial law, as required by law, according to the assembly.

“It’s clear that President Yoon’s declaration of martial law failed to meet the requirements set by the constitution,” Kim said

Cho Ji-ho, head of the National Police Agency, told the assembly Monday that when martial law was briefly in place, the military asked police to help it locate and detain 15 people, including the leaders of the biggest political parties

Even during martial law, however, the president has no right to detain lawmakers unless they are caught in committing a crime.

What happens now?

Yoon has vowed to fight in court to regain his power.

In a recorded speech released shortly after his impeachment, he listed what he considers his accomplishments as president, including his efforts to strengthen military ties with the United States and Japan. Now, his efforts have been paused, he said.

“But I will never give up,” he said.

The court will decide within the next 180 days whether Yoon is guilty of the crimes the National Assembly accused him of and, if so, whether they are serious enough to merit removal. If the court does formally remove him, South Korea is then supposed to elect a new leader within two months.

During Yoon’s suspension from office, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the No. 2 official in the government hierarchy, will serve as interim leader. Because Han is not an elected official, he will lead South Korea with no real political heft as the country faces challenges like North Korea’s growing nuclear threat and the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

As Yoon awaits action by the Constitutional Court on his impeachment, he is also watching for the next steps by investigators. It remained unclear when they would question him or whether they would attempt to arrest him.

The ban on overseas travel “is usually considered a precursor to arrest,” Kim Jongcheol, a professor of law at Yonsei University in Seoul, previously told the Times.

Song Ji Eun reacts to the news of the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, the South Korean president, in Seoul, South Korea on Dec. 14th, 2024. In its second attempt, the National Assembly moved to force President Yoon Suk Yeol from office. But the troubles for him and his country are far from over. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)

It’s going to be normal to have extreme beliefs

By ROSS DOUTHAT

Ipromise not to make every installment of this newsletter a further elaboration on what it means to live after the post-Cold War liberal order, in a world where a certain kind of neoliberal consensus politics has dissolved without any new consensus sweeping in to take its place. But I’ll go once more to the well for the case of Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and who has become a source of general fascination and, to some, a peculiar kind of outlaw hero.

Last week, trying to describe what American politics looks like now and going forward, I wrote that “whatever form of extremism or bigotry or paranoia you fear most will probably have greater representation in our debates than you would like.”

In the wake of Thompson’s violent death, a seeming 21st-century analog to the “propaganda of the deed” favored by some late 19th- and early 20th-century anarchist assassins, we have a clear example of this representation. The extreme view that the health insurance pigs had it coming is percolating in online spaces for everyone to see, while the less extreme but still manifestly illiberal conceit that murder is wrong, but public enthusiasm for the murder of an executive in a deplorable industry reflects the unders-

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tandable anger of people pushed too far has been taken up by mainstream politicians, including notable tribunes of the left like Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Just as a technocratic matter, I think turning the American health insurance industry into a special policy villain — on the grounds that, to quote Ocasio-Cortez, “people interpret and feel and experience denied claims as an act of violence against them” — reflects a fundamental misreading of the developed world’s health care experience. (Ocasio-Cortez said she was not justifying acts of violence, and Warren subsequently supplemented her “people can be pushed only so far” warning with the addendum: “I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.”) We can argue about where to find the true profiteers in the American health care system — whether the worst profit-seekers are among the doctors and hospitals, who are more sympathetic characters than the insurers but also seem to soak up way more of our spending, or whether the costs of the insurance system really seem to reflect administrative bloat.

But the idea that the American model of private insurance is uniquely evil and engaged in acts of social violence because it denies people too much treatment is an evasion of the reality that every system denies people treatment, because the potential forms of care are always larger than the budget — public or private or both — that’s available to pay for them. Maybe it feels better when the dirty work of denial is handled by a bland government bureaucrat rather than a private company, but the effect, broadly speaking, is the same.

So that’s a technocratic complaint about the “murder is wrong, but ...” discourse. The more urgent and nontechnocratic complaint, meanwhile, is that adding a “but ...” seems to tiptoe toward justifying assassination even if you insist that you’re disavowing violence. And having leading politicians doing this kind of tap dance illustrates how easily toxic elements can slip into mainstream politics right now.

With the stalling out of the “Medicare for All” push, the pressure of inflation and the triumph of Donald Trump, the idea of a socialist revolution — led by Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez or anyone else — receded over some distant horizon, awaiting a very different economic and political dispensation.

So if you’re horrified or just unsettled to find yourself sharing a culture with kinda-sorta apologists for violence against health insurance executives, just be aware that such expressions of extremism could be with us for a long time — but without ever necessarily gathering themselves into a mass movement.

Which is a crucial thing to understand in general about our era. Whatever faction you fear most — socialists or reactionaries, cranks or racists — is likely to persist as an influence on one or both political coalitions to a degree

that would have seemed quite alarming 20 years ago. But that persistence doesn’t prove that the extreme elements are destined to fully achieve their wildest dreams or worst intentions. Instead, the fate of many of these groups is probably to coexist somewhat chaotically rather than to dominate and rule.

Finally, there is the suspect himself, who seems to have shared the frustration of some of his online admirers over the supposedly parasitic role of health insurers — but whose general worldview, as analyzed and parsed through scrutiny of his life and online profile, is more complex and contradictory and even illegible, and thus likewise illustrative of a destabilized political culture.

Shake up the elements in his life and worldview, mix up his reading list a little differently, and you could imagine conversions or radicalizations with entirely different destinations.

Indeed, reading through the profiles, I’ve felt intermittent shocks of personal recognition, not just because he shared some of my pundit’s preoccupations — concern about falling birth rates, anxiety about smartphone culture — but because one influence may have been a case of chronic Lyme disease, a mystery illness that reshaped my own life.

Having spent a lot of time, because of that experience, in communities stamped by disillusionment with medical authority, I’ve seen people start from that kind of disillusionment and end up — well, all over the map, with all sorts of worldviews, all kinds of enemies and scapegoats.

And that phrase all over the map is as good a way as any of thinking about our wider moment, suggesting a landscape with no certain ruling power and lots of places to get lost.

Luigi Mangione is escorted by police to his arraignment at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg,

Puerto Rico gana bronce en Olimpiada Mundial de Robótica en Turquía ante 100 países

POR EL STAR STAFF

SAN JUAN – El alcalde de Cayey, Rolando Ortiz Velázquez, felicitó a los los jóvenes de la Escuela Superior Vocacional Benjamin Harrison, a su director escolar Dr. Luis Otero Díaz y sus maestros, por el reciente logro en las Olimpiadas Mundiales de Robótica en Turquía, donde obtuvieron bronce por su labor científica.

“Estas fueron particularmente unas competencias muy reñidas, donde participaron más de 100 países y donde lograron medalla de bronce entre los 32 mejores equipos a nivel mundial. Para nuestra ciudad de Cayey es un gran orgullo contar con estos jóvenes. Lo que ahora lograron en Turquía, es un gran paso para continuar adelante”, señaló el alcalde.

Los estudiantes participantes son Geimian

Solís Gorritz, Davielys Resto Cruz, Okmar Martínez Otero. Karielys Rodriguez Pérez, Sebastián Parrilla,

Carlos Espada Rivera y Joseph Macías Diaz. Sus Maestros Mentores son York Jacob López, Joyce Nelson Santiago y Gabriela Martínez.

“Nuestro reconocimiento va además para Alsibiadisse M. Segarra Meléndez, por destacada participación representando a Puerto Rico en la Feria Científica Internacional Expo Ciencias Nacionales en Chile, con su propuesta ‘Extractos de plantas con potencial actividad inhibidora en las bacterias P. aeruginosa, S. pyogenes, S. aureus y B. cereus’. De igual manera, Shalom Rodríguez Vázquez por su talento excepcional y conquistando el Primer Lugar en el Certamen de Arte Coop. de Seguros Múltiples con la Tarjeta Oficial de Navidad”, finalizó Ortiz Velázquez.

Transición en Peñuelas se hará con todas las de la ley, sin politiquerías, señala alcalde Gregory

Gonsález

POR EL STAR STAFF

PEÑUELAS

– El alcalde de Peñuelas, Gregory Gonsález Souchet reaccionó a las alegaciones del legislador Enrique ‘Quiquito’ Meléndez, asegurando que el proceso de transición de la administración municipal, “se hará con todas las de la ley, y sin politiquerías. Entienda el señor representante que la campaña política ya pasó. El pueblo emitió su determinación y nos acogemos plenamente a eso”

El alcalde popular señaló que ya hubo una comunicación entre los presidentes de ambos comités. “Ciertamente se le solicitó la certificación de la Comisión Estatal de Elecciones (CEE) pero no la tenían. Además, tampoco

presentaron otros documentos solicitados según la ley. Meléndez amenazó con hacer un ‘show’ mediático, como es su costumbre. Nuestro presidente del comité, Miguel Figueroa Torres, le ofreció comenzar el proceso con el presidente del comité entrante, Ing. Larry Seilhamer, mientras hacían el proceso de documentación, pero no aceptaron. Al pueblo peñolano le señalo que la transición se hará con todas las de la ley y de la mejor buena fe. Lo que es inadmisible es que se quiera hacer la transición con alegaciones en los medios”.

De hecho, en la carta emitida por el comité de transición saliente, del 12 de diciembre de 2024, se reconoce positivamente la trayectoria de servicio público y verticalidad de Seilhamer,

solicitándole los documentos de rigor, conforme al Artículo 2.001 (m) del Código Municipal. Los mismos son el Certificado de Buena Conducta, Certificación de no deudas con el Departamento de Hacienda del el Centro de Recaudaciones de Ingresos Municipales (Propiedad Mueble e Inmueble) o en su defecto un plan de pago que esté cumplimiento. De igual manera, se solicitó el Acuerdo de Confidencialidad firmado, tal como señala el Código Municipal vigente.

“Nosotros estamos comprometidos en hacer todo lo posible para que el proceso de transición se trabaje a la perfección, de manera que el nuevo alcalde asuma su posición el 13 de enero de 2025. A todos los que continúan el camino, les deseo la sabiduría y la fortaleza para cuidar de nuestro pueblo como merece. Estoy convencido de que los valores y el espíritu de nuestra gente seguirán brillando en cada rincón de Peñuelas”, finalizó Gonsález Souchet.

Cambiaba goma cuando lo asesinaron junto a su hijo en Barceloneta

BARCELONETA

– Un doble asesinato y una persona herida de bala se reportaron a eso de las 7:07 de la noche del sábado, en el estacionamiento del Centro Comercial Premium Outlets de Barceloneta.

Según el reporte de la Policía, se recibió una llamada a través del Sistema de Emergencia 9-1-1, sobre unos disparos en el lugar.

Se entiende que Rafael Luis “Felo” Lacourt Martínez de 41 años, se encontraba con su familia en el centro comercial y estaba en el proceso de cambiar un neumático de su vehículo Toyota Versa color vino.

En el proceso, fue sorprendido por unos hombres que dispararon contra él y su familia.

Lacourt Martínez y su hijo Rafniel de 16 años murieron en el lugar.

Su esposa fue herida de bala y fue llevada a un hos-

pital en condición estable, en el lugar se encontraba un menor de 4 años que resultó ileso.

Además, dos vehículos de ciudadanos que se encontraban estacionados resultaron con daños por los impactos de bala.

El agente Edwin Calderón Torres y el sargento Roberto Mercado de la división de Homicidios del CIC, de Arecibo, se hicieron a cargo de la investigación junto al fiscal Luis Vega Ramos.

A surprise blockbuster in Brazil stokes Oscar hopes, and a reckoning

By ANA IONOVA

Fernanda Torres still remembers the day her mother, Brazil’s grande dame of film, came within reach of cinema’s most coveted prize: an Oscar.

“It had great symbolism for Brazil,” Torres, an acclaimed actress herself, said in an interview. “I mean, Brazil produced something like her, you know?” she added. “It was very beautiful.”

A quarter-century ago, Fernanda Montenegro, now 95, made history when she became the first Brazilian actress to be nominated for an Academy Award. She lost to Gwyneth Paltrow, and Brazil never got over what it considered a snub.

Now, Torres, 59, is attracting chatter in Hollywood that could put her in line to win the elusive golden statuette for a role that has ignited cinematic fever — and a national reckoning — in Latin America’s largest country.

Millions of viewers are packing theaters to watch “I’m Still Here,” a quiet drama starring Torres about a family torn apart by a military junta that ruled Brazil, by fear and force, for over two decades.

This past week, the movie was nominated for a Golden Globe for best foreign language film, and Torres was nominated in the lead actress category, bolstering Oscar hopes.

Though the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which oversees the Oscars, will not reveal its nominations until January, “I’m Still Here” is Brazil’s official entry in the international feature film category.

At home, the movie has struck a nerve in a nation that suffered through the brutal dictatorship from 1964 to 1985.

Set in Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, “I’m Still Here” tells the story of Eunice Paiva and her five children, whose lives are upended when the family patriarch, Rubens Paiva, a former congressman played by Selton Mello, disappears at the hands of the military government.

By telling this family’s story, the film tackles a “piece of Brazilian history” that is being forgotten, said Walter Salles, the movie’s director and one of the nation’s most prolific filmmakers. “The personal story of the Paiva family is the collective story of a country.”

The film has quickly become a national treasure, breaking box office records and eclipsing usual crowd-pleasers such as “Wicked” and “Gladiator 2.”

Since the release of “I’m Still Here” in early November, more than 2.5 million Brazilians have seen it in theaters, and it has grossed more than six times the amount made by last year’s most-watched Brazilian film.

In a troubling twist, the movie was being widely shown in Brazil just as police revealed new details about a plot to stage a coup and keep the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, a defender of the military dictatorship, in power after he lost the 2022 election.

Against this backdrop, the film’s themes have gained an urgent new meaning, said Marcelo Rubens Paiva, whose book about his family inspired the movie.

“The timing was, unfortunately, perfect,” he said, “because it showed this story isn’t just in our past.”

Fernanda Torres and her mother Fernanda Montenegro, who is 95, at the Torres home in Rio de Janeiro, Dec. 1, 2024. The actresses share the role of Eunice Paiva in the Brazilian film “I’m Still Here,” and Torres is getting Oscar buzz for her performance — as did her mother in 1999, when she was a best actress nominee for her role in the Brazilian classic “Central Station.” (Maria Magdalena Arréllaga/The New York Times)

Human rights groups estimate that hundreds of people were disappeared and some 20,000 were tortured during the dictatorship. But, unlike in Chile or Argentina, where many crimes committed there under military dictatorships have been tried and punished, Brazil has not pursued accountability for its military’s atrocities.

In recent years, what many had seen as the distant past began to creep into the present. Bolsonaro, a retired army captain, spoke frequently in nostalgic terms about the dictatorship, awarded thousands of government jobs to soldiers and dismantled a panel investigating crimes committed during the military’s rule.

Dr. José B. Morales Claudio Médico

Movies and other forms of cultural works were frequent targets of censorship during the dictatorship, which considered them political foes. Now, films like “I’m Still Here” can serve as “instruments against forgetting,” Salles said. “Cinema reconstructs memory.”

And the film has surely ignited Brazil’s collective memory. In classrooms and newspaper pages, heated debates are unfolding over the legacy of the dictatorship. On social media, stories of suffering at the hands of the military government have gone viral, drawing millions of views.

If she is nominated in the best actress category, Torres would be following a remarkably similar path to that of her mother, who was nominated in 1999 for her role as a letter writer for illiterate people in “Central Station,” a Brazilian classic also directed by Salles.

“There was this feeling in the country that she was deeply wronged,” said Isabela Boscov, a Brazilian cinema critic who has been reviewing films for three decades.

“I’m Still Here” is widely expected to receive a nomination in the international film category, according to Hollywood insiders, but Torres’ chances are more uncertain.

Sony Pictures Classics, the studio distributing “I’m Still Here” globally, which launched the successful best actress nomination bid for Montenegro, is making a concerted push for Torres. Yet she may face tough odds this year in a crowded field that includes names like Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman.

To Torres, an Oscar nomination “would be a big victory” in itself, but she is not getting her hopes up. “It would be an incredible story if I got there, following my mother,” she said. “Now, winning — I consider it impossible.”

Since the first Oscars ceremony in 1929, only two actresses have won awards for leading roles in foreign-language films.

Monday, December 16, 2024 14

The San Juan Daily Star

Learning a language, and a few life lessons, in France

By JENNY GROSS

When I booked a one-on-one intensive language program in France, I envisioned a dreamy getaway where I could practice French while getting to know Provence through the eyes of a local.

But as soon as I arrived, I had immediate doubts. Days earlier, my long-term relationship had collapsed. As my head spun, I wondered how I was going to weather four days of forced small talk, away from home, in another language, with a stranger.

Or was this exactly what I needed?

Brigitte Miramont, the host of my program, suggested over the phone that we meet at the Starbucks near the Marseille train station’s “dépose minute.” I had no clue what that was, but at our agreed upon time and day, I found the Starbucks and met a beaming Miramont. She pointed out the “dépose minute,” explaining it meant “drop-off point.”

That explanation was the last exchange we had in English.

There are no official statistics on how many language homestay programs exist, but many have popped up in recent years as alternatives to formal language schools, not just in France, but also in Britain, Spain, Italy and elsewhere. There are companies, like Lingoo, that connect students with preapproved home stay programs, while other hosts, like Miramont, operate independently.

Miramont started hosting students at her home seven years ago when she retired from her position as a teacher of French for foreign speakers at Aix-Marseille University. She has had more than 100 students, and most sign up

There are no official statistics on how many language homestay programs exist, but many have popped up in recent years as alternatives to formal language schools, not just in France, but also in Britain, Spain, Italy and elsewhere. (Gwen Keraval/The New York Times)

for a one-week course and stay at her countryside house, which has an infinity pool and panoramic views of the Mediterranean.

I chose her program, Live and Learn en Provence, which I found on Google, because it had good reviews and offered both rigorous study and cultural immersion. She shows students her favorite spots in the region, planning excursions tailored to their interests. For me,

that was swimming, hiking and trying local food.

On that first day, from the train station Miramont took me on a tour of Marseille that included dinner and a jazz concert. We didn’t get to her home until late. There I settled into my room, which had its own entrance, bathroom and a private patio where I could do my homework.

I had studied French for more than a decade, enchanted by the beauty of the language and motivated by the progress I was making. At the same time, I felt like I was hitting a wall, repeating mistakes, no matter how many flashcards I reviewed or episodes of “The Bureau” and “Lupin” I watched. I had come to Provence hoping for a breakthrough, but instead I felt mounting frustration.

The problem, Miramont said, was that incorrect grammar had been “fossilized” — “fossilisé” — in my head. What she needed to do was deprogram me.

A deprogramming of any sort sounded like a good idea. We headed to Miramont’s study, a place that she told me her students refer to as “la chambre de torture,” to start our first lesson. She marked up a test she had as-

ked me to complete before the trip, pointing out my misplaced pronouns, misused transitions and, with blue and pink highlighters, misgendered nouns.

Later, over lunch in the shady gardens of the Hôtel de Caumont in Aix-en-Provence, I ordered a “tarte aux abricots,” mangling the pronunciation. “Liaison! Liaison! Liaison!” Miramont said, referring to the rule that requires the gliding together of certain words in French. She enunciated “tarte aux abricots” (pronounced: tar-toh-zabry-koh) for me to repeat. I contemplated taking a break from speaking altogether.

Even in my haze, parts of the trip brought me unfiltered delight, in the way that discovering new places has always done. Miramont took me to Christophe Madeleines, a hole-in-the-wall bakery where I sampled a warm, orange-flavored madeleine, the best I have ever eaten.

Miramont gave me recommendations for hiking trails outside Cassis with access to secluded narrow inlets, known as calanques, where I swam in turquoise waters. At an outdoor concert at the Théâtre de la Sucrière in Marseille, we got lost in the beauty of a performance by Cuban jazz pianist Omar Sosa. Miramont also took me to the Eden Theater in the town of La Ciotat. Opened in 1889, the Eden is the oldest public cinema in the world in operation and where the Lumière brothers, among the first to create motion pictures, screened their early films.

Over car rides, walks along the coast and glasses of wine, Miramont and I discussed not only grammar and usage, but also a decision by her daughter, a dentist, to become a professional actress, our careers and ambitions and how to talk about politics with friends who had different opinions.

With Miramont, there was no glossing over mistakes. She tells her students that she is “not a magician” and that progress takes daily, hard work. You screw up, you accept what went wrong, and you start again. Maybe this was what I needed to remember, and not just in my approach to learning French.

On my last day of the trip, Miramont drove me to La Ciotat train station to see me off. I asked the clerk for a ticket “à Marseille.” “Pour Marseille,” Miramont corrected me a few minutes later, explaining that “pour” was used when buying a ticket to a destination. We hugged, and I boarded the train, heading somewhere new.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN

FIRSTBANK

PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. RAFAEL OMAR

GARCIA SANTIAGO: SU ESPOSA; MARELINE ACEVEDO MORALES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES

COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SJ2024CV04143. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA - IN REM. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: RAFAEL OMAR

GARCIA SANTIAGO Y SU ESPOSA MARELINE ACEVEDO MORALES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES

COMPUESTA

POR AMBOS: LA AUTORIDAD PARA EL FINANCIAMIENTO DE LA VIVIENDA DE PUERTO RICO A SU ORDEN: Y AL PÚBLICO EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil que suscribe, certifica y hace constar que en cumplimiento de Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América. Todo pago recibido por el (la) Alguacil por concepto de subastas será en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del (de la) Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Todo derecho, título, participación e interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento número mil dos (1002) localizado en la 10ma planta del Edificio número 2 del Condominio Torres de Andalucía, que radica en la Calle Marginal Oeste de la Carretea Estatal número181, Expreso Trujillo Alto, kilómetro 1, Hectómetro 2, Barrio Sabana Llana, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. Tiene un área superficial

de 808.73 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 75.13 metros cuadrados y consta de sala, comedor, tres dormitorios, cocina, lavandería, baño y closets. Colinda por el NORTE, con el patio delantero; por el SUR, donde tiene su acceso de entrada y salida, con un pasillo que lo comunica con el resto del edificio; por el ESTE, con el patio lateral izquierdo; por el OESTE, con el apartamento número 1003. Le corresponde un porcentaje en los elementos comunes de 0.2390% por ciento y un espacio de estacionamiento identificado con el mismo número del apartamento. Consta inscrita al folio 85 del tomo 619 de Sabana Llana, finca número #25,128, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección V de San Juan. La propiedad objeto de ejecución está localizada en la siguiente dirección: Condominio Torres de Andalucía, Edificio #2, Apartamento 1002, San Juan, P.R. 00923. Según figura en el Estudio de título, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada al siguiente Gravamen posterior a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: a. Hipoteca a favor de La Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $15,000.00, sin intereses, vencedero el día 1 de abril de 2012, constituida mediante la escritura número 108, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 1 de abril de 2004, ante el notario Jorge J. Villavicencio, e inscrita al folio 52 vuelto del tomo 1000 de Sabana Llana, finca número 25,128, inscripción 5ta. Se requiere el consentimiento del acreedor en caso de venta o transferencia (no se expresa término). Se le notifica al acreedor posterior anteriormente identificado para que pueda concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Se informa que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravamen posterior, una vez sea otorgada la escritura de venta judicial y obtenida la Orden y Mandamiento de cancelación de gravamen posterior. (Art. 51, Ley 210-2015). En relación a la finca a subastarse, se establece como tipo mínimo de licitación en la Primera Subasta la suma de $74,000.00, según consta mediante la escritura número 107, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 1 de abril de 2004, ante el notario Jorge J. Villavicencio, e inscrita

al folio 52 vuelto del tomo 1000 de Sabana Llana, finca número 25,128, Inscripción 4ta. La PRIMERA SUBASTA, se llevará a cabo el día 9 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mis oficinas sitas en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, el tipo mínimo para la primera subasta es la suma de $74,000.00. Si la primera subasta del inmueble no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una SEGUNDA

SUBASTA el día 16 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo sitio y servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes del precio pactada para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $49,333.33.

Si la segunda subasta no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA

SUBASTA el día 27 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar y regirá como tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta la mitad del precio pactado para la primera, o sea, la suma de $37,000.00. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo, para con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: La suma de $50,598.44, más intereses a 5.625% anual, desde el 1 de octubre de 2019, hasta el presente y los que se continúen acumulando hasta su total y completo pago, más los cargos por demora que se corresponden a los plazos atrasados desde la fecha anteriormente indicada a razón de la tasa pactada de 5% de cualquier pago que éste en mora por más de quince (15) días desde la fecha de su vencimiento, más una suma equivalente a $7,400.00 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otra suma que resulte por cualesquiera otros adelantos que se hayan hecho la demandante, en virtud de las disposiciones de la escritura de hipoteca y del Pagaré hipotecario. Para más información, a las personas interesadas se les notifica que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal, durante las horas laborables. Este EDICTO DE SUBASTA, se publicará en los lugares públicos correspondientes y en un periódico de circulación general en la jurisdicción de Puerto Rico. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los referentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá

que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente Escritura de Venta Judicial y el Alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días, de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Expedido en San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 22 de noviembre de 2024. IRMA D. CARMONA CLAUDIO, ALGUACIL PLACA #492.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAMUY SUNSET INVESTMENT INC. Demandante V. HECTOR M. MENDOZA COTO, ET. ALS. Demandados Civil Núm.: CM2023CV00628. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Camuy, Camuy, Puerto Rivo, HAGO SABER: A: HECTOR MANUEL MENDOZA COTO, NILSA OMARA PEREZ ARCE Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS. Y AL: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL. Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024, par la Secretaria del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA: Predio de terreno localizado en el barrio Zanjas del término municipal de Camuy, Puerto Rico, marcado en el plano de inscripción con el número dos (2), con una cabida superficial de Novecientos Treinta y Cinco con Cuatro

milésimas metros cuadrados (935.004 MC). En lindes, por el Norte, con área marcada en el plano de inscripción, como uso público; por el Sur, con terrenos de José Arvelo; por el Este, con solar marcado en el plano de inscripción con el número tres (3); y por el Oeste, con solar marcado en el plano de inscripción con el número uno (1). La Escritura de Hipoteca antes descrita consta inscrita al Folio Karibe, Finca 21321 de Camuy, inscripción 2da. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada el 23 DE ABRIL DE 2024, notificada el 25 DE ABRIL DE 2024, en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $37,458.25 en concepto del principal, $51,523.66 en concepto de los intereses acumulados al 31 de agosto de 2023, a razón de 9.75% anual, más las cantidades que se acumulen hasta su complete pago en adición a los garantizados por ley; $4,300.00, suma estipulada de para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra partida acordada en el contrato. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. LA PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a cabo el 7 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA en la Oficina de Alguaciles del Tribunal de Camuy, Puerto Rico. El PRECIO MÍNIMO fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $43,000.00. De ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a cabo el 14 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la ofician antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El PRECIO MÍNIMO fijado para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA es de $28,666.67, equivalente a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA. De ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a cabo el 22 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El PRECIO MÍNIMO fijado para la TERCERA SUBASTA es de $21,500.00, equivalente a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA. De declararse desierta la TERCERA SUBASTA se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor par la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es

igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispuesto en el Artículo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 de 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad lnmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente Escritura de Venta Judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos las licitadores y el público en general, el presente edicto se publicará por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres lugares públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se les informa por último que: a.) Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. b.) Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta coma bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá que el rematante las acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de las mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. EXPIDO el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de las licitadores, en Camuy, Puerto Rico, hoy 6 de noviembre de 2024. WILFREDO OLMO SALAZAR, ALGUACIL REGIONAL. LUIS E. ROMÁN CARRERO, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAMUY. ***

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE ARECIBO SALA SUPERIOR DE MANATÍ

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. JORDAN ROBERTO LLERAS ROSADO Y OTROS

Demandado(a)

Caso Núm.: AR2024CV01398. (Salón: 102 SALA SUPERIOR).

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO Y OTROS. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. JUAN C. FORTUÑO FASJCFORTUNO@FORTUNO-LAW. COM.

A: JORDAN ROBERTO LLERAS ROSADOURB RESIDENCIAL LAS GARDENIAS, BARRIO COTTO NORTE, PARCELA #15, BLOQUE G, MANATÍ, PR 00674; URB. LAS GARDENIAS, 30 CALLE ROSA, MANATÍ, PR 00674. (Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto)

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 05 de diciembre de 2024, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 10 de diciembre de 2024. En Manatí, Puerto Rico, el 10 de diciembre de 2024. VIVIAN Y. FRESSE GONZÁLEZ, SECRETARIA. CARMEN JULIA ROSARIO VALENTÍN, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO UNITED STATES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RURAL DEVELOPMENT A/C/C LA ADMINISTRACION DE HOGARES DE AGRICULTORES Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE IRIS MILAGROS NÚÑEZ CARRIÓN COMPUESTA POR HEREDERO CONOCIDO COMO GILBERTO MALABART NÚÑEZ T/C/C GILBERTO MALAVET NÚÑEZ; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES CON INTERÉS EN DICHA SUCESIÓN

Demandados

Civil Núm.: AR2024CV01754. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA (IN REM). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. A: SUCESIÓN DE IRIS MILAGROS NÚÑEZ CARRIÓN COMPUESTA POR HEREDERO CONOCIDO COMO GILBERTO MALABART NÚÑEZ T/C/C GILBERTO MALAVET NÚÑEZ; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES CON INTERÉS EN DICHA SUCESIÓN - URB. EXT. VILLA BARCELONA, EE-14 CALLE GIRASOL, BARCELONETA, PR 00617; DIRECCIÓN POSTAL: PO BOX 1095, BARCELONETA PR 00617; PO BOX 999, BARCELONETA PR 00617-1095 Y GROVE MINOR 3RD STREET 1360, WINTER HAVEN, FL 33881.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www.

sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 09 de diciembre de 2024. En Yauco, Puerto Rico, el 09 de diciembre de 2024. CARMEN G. TIRÚ QUIÑONES, SECRETARIA. DELIA APONTE VELÁZQUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE PONCE SALA SUPERIOR DE YAUCO

DARRYL DAVIS RIVERA Y OTROS

Demandante V. EXPARTE

Demandado(a)

Caso Núm.: GY2023CV00217. (Salón: 1 SALA SUPERIOR).

Sobre: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. JOSEPH BROCCO SANTIAGO - LCDO.JOSEPH.BROCCOSANTIAGO@HOTMAIL.COM. FISCALÍA DE PONCEFISCALIAPONCE@JUSTICIA. PR.GOV.

A: PERSONAS

IGNORADAS A QUIENES PUEDA PERJUDICAR LA INSCRIPCIÓN

SOLICITADA.

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto)

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 18 de noviembre de 2024, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 06 de diciembre de 2024. En Yauco, Puerto Rico, el 06 de diciembre de 2024. CARMEN G. TIRÚ QUIÑONES, SECRETARIA. DELIA APONTE VELÁZQUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE PONCE SALA SUPERIOR DE

PONCE ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC

Demandante V. JOSE L. RODRIGUEZ FIGUEROA

Demandado(a)

Caso Núm.: PO2024CV00195. (Salón: 301 - SALA MUNICIPAL). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. KENMUEL JOSÉ RUIZ LÓPEZKENMUEL.RUIZ@ORF-LAW.COM.

JOSE L. RODRÍGUEZ FIGUEROA373 RES PONCE DE LEON PONCE, PUERTO RICO 00716-0275.

A: JOSE L. RODRÍGUEZ FIGUEROA.

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto)

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 06 de noviembre de 2024, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 09 de diciembre de 2024. En Ponce, Puerto Rico, el 09 de diciembre de 2024. CARMEN G. TIRÚ QUIÑONES, SECRETARIA. SANDRA GONZÁLEZ RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR PR RECOVERY & DEVELOPMENT REO, LLC

Demandante. V. KARLA SABRINA AVILÉS PÉREZ H/N/C LITTLE ROCK DAY CARE; JUAN JOSÉ AVILÉS APONTE Y CARMEN MILAGROS PÉREZ RIVERA Demandados Civil Núm.: SJ2021CV00153. Sala: 604. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO, INCUMPLIMIENTO

DE CONTRATO, EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA y GRAVAMEN MOBILIARIO. AVISO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PUEBLO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S. YO, EDGARDO E. VARGAS SANTANA, el(la) Alguacil que suscribe, por la presente anuncia y hace constar, que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia, expedido el 7 de octubre de 2024 por la Secretaría del Tribunal de San Juan, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, quien pagará el importe de la venta en dinero efectivo o en cheque certificado o de gerente, a la orden del Alguacil suscribiente, en moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, el día 28 DE ENERO DE 2025, A LA(S) 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en las oficinas del Alguacil del Tribunal de Bayamón, todo título, derecho o interés que corresponda a la parte demandada sobre el inmueble que se describe a continuación: “URBANA: Solar marcado con el número nueve (9) del Bloque AJ de la Urbanización Rexville, situado en el Barrio Pájaros de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de Trescientos Quince metros cuadrados (315.00m.c.), en lindes por el NORTE, en doce punto seis metros (12.6m.), con la Avenida Las Cumbres; por el SUR, en doce punto seis metros (12.6 m.), con la calle sesenta y siete (67); por el ESTE, en veinticinco metros (25.00m.), con el solar número diez (10); y por el OESTE, en veinticinco metros (25.00m.), con el solar número once (11). Enclava una casa residencial para una familia.” Inscrita al folio 111 del tomo 887 de Bayamón Sur, finca número treinta y nueve mil setecientos treinta y seis (39,736), del Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Primera (1ra) de Bayamón. Dirección Física: AJ-9, 57 Street, Rexville Development, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. La propiedad descrita anteriormente está afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: Afecta por su procedencia: Servidumbre a favor de: Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales; Autoridad de Acueductos Alcantarillados; Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica; Puerto Rico Telephone Company; Municipio de Bayamón; Condiciones Restrictivas de Edificación. Por sí: HIPOTECA: En garantía de un pagaré a favor de First Equity Mortgage Company, o a su orden, por la suma de $102,192.00, con interés al 7.5%, vencedero el 1 de septiembre de 2031, según consta de la escritura #151, otorgada en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, el día 24 de agosto de 2001, ante el Notario Público José A. Aponte Carro, inscrita al folio 113 del tomo 889 de

Guaynabo, inscripción 4ª. HIPOTECA: En garantía de un pagaré a favor de Banco de Desarrollo Económico Para Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma de $270,000.00, con interés al 8.25%, vencedero el 5 de julio de 2037, según consta de la escritura #45, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 22 de junio de 2007, ante el Notario Público Eduardo Tamargo, inscrita al folio 180 del tomo 1856 de San Juan, inscripción 6ª. Según pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré Número 45, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 22 de junio de 2007, ante el Notario Público Eduardo Tamargo, servirá de tipo mínimo para la primera subasta de la Finca Número 39,736, la suma de $270,000.00. De no adjudicarse la propiedad en la primera subasta, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, en las oficinas del Alguacil del Tribunal de Bayamón, el día 4 DE FEBRERO DE 2025, A LA(S) 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. El tipo mínimo para la segunda subasta será dos terceras partes (2/3) del tipo mínimo de la primera subasta, o sea, $180,000.00. De no adjudicarse la propiedad en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA en en las oficinas del Alguacil del Tribunal de Bayamón, el día 11 DE FEBRERO DE 2025, A LA(S) 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. El tipo mínimo para la tercera subasta será la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo que se pactara para la primera subasta, o sea, $135,000.00. Esta subasta se hará para satisfacer a la parte demandante, hasta donde alcance, el importe adeudado a PR RECOVERY & DEVELOPMENT REO, LLC ascendente al 4 de enero de 2021 a la suma de $251,281.00 más los intereses que continúen acumulándose hasta el pago total de la deuda a razón de $31.25 diarios bajo el Pagaré II y $7,548.76 bajo el Pagaré III, más la cantidad adicional de $30,736.50 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados según acordado. La venta en pública subasta de la propiedad descrita anteriormente se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte dicha propiedad. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si lo hubiera, al crédito que da base a esta ejecución, continuará subsistente, entendiéndose además, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría de este Tribunal durante horas laborables. El Alguacil procederá a otorgar la correspondiente

escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble, de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. POR LA PRESENTE, se les notifica a los titulares de créditos y/o cargas registrales posteriores, si alguno, que se celebrará la SUBASTA en la fecha, hora y sitio anteriormente señalados, y se les invita a que concurran a dicha subasta, si les conviniere, o se les invita a satisfacer, antes del remate, el importe del crédito, sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del Acreedor ejecutante, siempre y cuando reúnan los requisitos y cualificaciones de Ley para que se pueda efectuar tal subrogación. Y PARA SU PUBLICACIÓN en el tablón de edictos de este Tribunal y en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio donde se celebrará la subasta señalada. Además, en un periódico de circulación general en dos (2) ocasiones y mediante correo certificado a la última dirección conocida de la parte demandada. EXPEDIDO el presente EDICTO DE SUBASTA en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 22 de noviembre de 2024. EDGARDO ELÍAS VARGAS SANTANA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #193.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN

PHH MORTGAGE

CORPORATION

Demandante V. LAS SUCESIONES DE JUAN MIRANDA MARTELL, TAMBIEN CONOCIDO COMO JUAN MIRANDA MARTEL Y CARMEN JUARBE PICÓN, COMPUESTAS POR JUAN MIRANDA JUARBE Y MARITZA MIRANDA

JUARBE; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: TB2023CV00335. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: LA PARTE DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO

GENERAL:

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que

en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque gerente, giro postal, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América al nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, el 16 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Parcela de terreno en la Urbanización Levittown, en el Barrio Sabana Seca de Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, marcada con el número trece del Bloque “H” con un área de trescientos cincuenta y tres metros cuadrados con ochenta y siete centímetros cuadrados, en lindes: por el NORTE, en diecinueve metros cincuenta centímetros y un arco de dos metros setenta y cinco centímetros con la calle Mireya, según plano con la calle número cuatrocientos cuarenta y siete; por el SUR, en veintitrés metros con el solar número catorce; por el ESTE, en quince metros cincuenta centímetros con el solar número doce; y por el OESTE, doce metros y un arco de dos metros setenta y cinco centímetros con la calle Mireya Oeste, según plano con la calle número cuatrocientos cuarenta y siete. Enclava una casa de cemento y bloques diseñada para una familia. Consta inscrita al folio 61 del tomo 96 de Toa Baja, finca número 6420, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Segunda de Bayamón. Propiedad localizada en: H-13 Mireya St., 4ta Levittown, Toa Baja Puerto Rico 000949. La propiedad objeto de ejecución no está gravada por cargas preferentes a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante. Según figura en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante que se describe a continuación: HIPOTECA en garantía de pagaré a favor del Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano, o a su orden, por la suma de $271,500.00 con intereses al 3.279% anual y vencimiento 14 de marzo de 2091. Constituida por la escritura 846 otorgada en San Juan el 10 de agosto de 2009 ante el notario Raúl Rivera Burgos. Inscrita el 3 de septiembre de 2009, al folio 35 del tomo 693 de Toa baja, finca 6420, inscripción 7ª. Se entenderá que todo

licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo mínimo de subasta la suma de $181,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, el 23 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $120,666.66 dos tercios (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $90,500.00 la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón el 30 DE ENERO DE 2025 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a las siguientes cantidades: $90,053.12 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $81,936.84 en intereses acumulados y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 8.43000% anual hasta su total y completo pago; y otros gastos acumulados. La suma global vencida, líquida y exigible incluyendo intereses y otros gastos acumulados al 25 de abril de 2024 es de $200,764.43 y los cuales continúan acumulándose, así como la cantidad líquida estipulada en los documentos del préstamo para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado en caso de reclamación judicial y que correspondan a intereses y cargos por demora hasta su pago total, todo ello de acuerdo a los términos de la Sentencia dictada, la cual es final y firme. Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo me-

nos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 3 de diciembre de 2024. EDGARDO ELÍAS VARGAS SANTANA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #193, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN, SALA SUPERIOR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO

SHAP ACQUISITION TRUST HB1 Demandante V. BLANCA ESTRELLA SÁNCHEZ NAZARIO, POR SÍ Y EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA, LA SUCESIÓN DE PASCASIO LAGUILLO RODRÍGUEZ COMPUESTA POR CARLOS ROBERTO LAGUILLO SANCHEZ, SANDRA IVELISSE LAGUILLO SANCHEZ, JOSE ALBERTO LAGUILLO SANCHEZ, FULANO DE TAL Y FULANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS CON INTERES EN LA SUCESION; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA Demandados Civil Núm.: AR2024CV01710. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE INTERPELACIÓN. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S. A: LA SUCESION DE PASCASIO LAGUILLO RODRÍGUEZ COMPUESTA POR CARLOS ROBERTO LAGUILLO SANCHEZ, SANDRA IVELISSE LAGUILLO SANCHEZ, JOSE ALBERTO LAGUILLO SANCHEZ, FULANO DE TAL Y FULANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS CON INTERES EN LA SUCESION, BLANCA ESTRELLA SÁNCHEZ NAZARIO, POR SÍ Y EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA.

derá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 21 de noviembre de 2024. ALGUACIL HÉCTOR PEÑA RODRÍGUEZ, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA.

LEGAL NOTICE

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Demandante Vs. YESENIA

CORDERO SANTIAGO

Demandado Civil Núm.: IS2024CV00162. Salón: 0001. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - R.60. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: YESENIA CORDERO SANTIAGO - URB MANUEL CORCHADO 148 CALLE GARDENIA, ISABELA, PR 00662.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// www.poderjudicial.pr/index. php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Jan Miguel Otero Martínez cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518,

teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección jan.otero@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@ orf-law.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, hoy día 15 de octubre de 2024. En Isabela, Puerto Rico, el 17 de octubre de 2024. SARAHÍ REYES PÉREZ, SECRETARIA. ARLENE GUZMÁN PABÓN, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

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COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Parte Demandante Vs. HIBO L. RODRIGUEZ ALICEA

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: QU2024CV00086. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: HIBO L. RODRIGUEZ ALICEA - 805 CALLE

J LLOVERAS, QUEBRADILLAS, PR 00678; URB VISTA VERDE 6, CAMUY, PR 00627.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:///www. poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunal-electronico, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Osvaldo L. Rodríguez Fernández cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en QUEBRADILLAS, Puerto Rico, hoy día 22 de octubre de 2024. VI-

VIAN Y. FRESSE GONZÁLEZ, SECRETARIA. BRUNILDA HERNÁNDEZ MÉNDEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR. LEGAL NOTICE

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Parte Demandante Vs. KELVIN LABOY CRUZ

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: LP2024CV00148. Salón: 205. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: KELVIN LABOY CRUZ

- BO TEJAS K6 H0 INT CARR 183 R917, LAS PIEDRAS PR 00771; HC 02 BOX 72661 LAS PIEDRAS PR 00771.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:///www. poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunal-electronico, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Lcdo. Jan Miguel Otero Martínez cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección jan. otero@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law. com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en HUMACAO, Puerto Rico, hoy día 22 de octubre de 2024. EVELYN FÉLIX VÁZQUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL.

LISA M. FIGUEROA RUIZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

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ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC.

Demandante Vs. MARCOS A. VILLODAS COLLAZO Demandado

Civil Núm.: SJ2024CV07084. Salón: 901. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - R.60. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: MARCOS A. VILLODAS COLLAZO - 2 RES LAS CASAS APT 16, SAN JUAN, PR 00915; 6501 SHADY OAKS MANOR DR APT 2605, FORT WORTH, TX, 76135. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// www.poderjudicial.pr/index. php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Jan Miguel Otero Martínez cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección jan.otero@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@ orf-law.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 25 de octubre de 2024. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ

COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MYRIAM RIVERA VILLANUEVA, SECRETRIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

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ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC.

Demandante Vs. AMOS SABRAS LLUBERES

Demandado Civil Núm.: MZ2024CV00467. Salón: 103. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: AMOS SABRÁS LLUBERESBO MIRADERO 338 CALLE BONET, MAYAGÜEZ, PR, 00682. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www.poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunalelectronico/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Jan Miguel Otero Martínez cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección jan.otero@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orflaw.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, hoy día 22 de octubre de 2024. En Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, el 22 de octubre de 2024. LCDA. NORMA G. SANTANA IRIZARRY, SECRETARIA. JOSSIE D. BOBE RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. VÍCTOR PINA ORTIZ, JULIMA IRIZARRY LUGO Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: SJ2024CV09319. (604). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO; EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE. UU., ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. A: VÍCTOR PINA ORTIZ POR SÍ Y COMO MIEMBRO DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA CON JULIMA IRIZARRY LUGO. Queda emplazado y notificado de que en este Tribunal se ha radicado una demanda de COBRO DE DINERO; EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA en su contra. Se le notifica que deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en !a Secretaría del Tribuna! Superior de Puerto Rico, Sa!a de San Juan y enviando copia a la parte demandante: ABOGADOS DE LA PARTE DEMANDANTE: Lcdo. Reggie Díaz Hernández RUA Núm.: 16,393 BERMUDEZ & DÍAZ LLP 500 Calle De La Tanca, Suite 209 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901 Tel.: (787) 523-2670 / Fax: (787) 523-2664 rdiaz@bdprlaw.com

Se le apercibe y notifica que si no contesta la demanda radicada en su contra dentro del término de treinta (30) días de la publicación de este edicto, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda, sin más citárseles, ni oírseles. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, a 22 de noviembre de 2024. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. LUZ ENID FERNÁNDEZ DEL VALLE, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA. LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE GUAYNABO VAPR FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Parte Demandante V. LUIS A. RODRÍGUEZ RODRÍGUEZ

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: GB2024CV00547. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO

RICO, SS. A: LUIS A. RODRÍGUEZ RODRÍGUEZ.

POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO, se le notifica que se ha radicado en esta Secretaría por la parte demandante, demanda sobre cobro de dinero, en la que se alega adeuda la suma de $16,399.09 por concepto de principal más $6,821.77 por concepto de intereses al 3.45% anual acumulados al 13 de noviembre de 2024 y de esa fecha en adelante acumula intereses a razón de $1.55 diarios hasta su completo pago, más un 5% del balance de la deuda, honorarios de abogado, mas gastos y costas todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Se le advierte que de no comparecer en autos dentro del término de los treinta (30) días siguientes a partir de la publicación de este edicto, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado, sin más citarle ni oírle, debiendo radicar el original de su contestación en este Tribunal, enviando copia a la abogada de la parte demandante: Lcda. Adela Surillo Gutiérrez, Bufete Collazo & Surillo, LLC, P.O. Box 11550, San Juan, PR 00922-1550; Telefono: (787) 625-9999. Para publicarse conforme a la orden dictada por el Tribunal en un periódico de circulación general. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente edicto que firmo y sello en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, hoy 22 de noviembre de 2024. ALICIA AYALA SANJURJO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL INTERINA. SARA ROSA VILLEGAS, SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL CONFIDENCIAL I. LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA CARRINGTON MORTGAGE SERVICES LLC

Demandante Vs. SUCESION NATALIA COUVERTIER RIVERA T/C/C NATALIA COUVERTIER COMPUESTA POR LUZ RODRIGUEZ

COUVERTIER; JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CA2024CV03495. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRE-

SIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO

POSIBLES MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION NATALIA COUVERTIER

RIVERA T/C/C NATALIA COUVERTIER.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al Tribunal su alegación responsiva a la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación de este edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberé presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Greenspoon Marder, LLP Lcda. Frances L. Asencio-Guido R.U.A. 15,622 TRADE CENTRE SOUTH, SUITE 700 100 WEST CYPRESS CREEK ROAD FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33309 Telephone: (954) 343 6273 Frances.Asencio@gmlaw.com Expedido bajo mi firma, y sello del Tribunal, en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 25 de noviembre de 2024. DENISSE TORRES RUIZ, SUB-SECRETARIA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE TOA ALTA

DANIEL

TORRES RODRIGUEZ Demandante Vs. BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO, COMO SUCESOR EN INTERÉS DE; RG PREMIER BANK OF PR; JOHN DOE & RICHARD ROE Demandados Civil Núm.: DO2024CV00274. Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADOS DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: JOHN DOE & RICHARD ROE. Por la presente se emplaza y se les notifica que se ha presentado en la Secretaría de

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Fill in the empty fields with the numbers from 1 through 9.

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Sings Smoker

Monday, December 16, 2024 22

The San Juan Daily Star

In 2024, tennis teemed with action on and off the court

By CINDY SHMERLER

Throughout much of the year, pro tennis players complained that the calendar was more overstuffed than their luggage following a weekslong tournament run and that the offseason was as slim as Sebastian Korda’s lanky frame.

But as 2024 closes and thoughts move to the new season, which begins with the United Cup in Australia this month, the sport has seen several surprises in the last few weeks.

Just as we were committing to memory some extraordinary matches this year — including Carlos Alcaraz’s five-set Roland Garros semifinal victory over Jannik Sinner; his finalround win over Sinner in Beijing that snapped Sinner’s 16-match win streak; Iga Swiatek’s third-set tiebreaker over Aryna Sabalenka in the final of Madrid; and Coco Gauff’s 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Zheng Qinwen in the finals of the WTA Finals — there were even more upending developments off court.

The most unexpected revelation was the news that Novak Djokovic, who split with his longtime coach Goran Ivanisevic in March and played largely coachless throughout the season, suddenly announced that he was adding Andy Murray to his coaching team, at least through the Australian Open in January.

The move dispelled any rumors that Djokovic, 37, who failed to win a major in 2024 for the first time since 2017 — but did capture a gold medal at the Paris Olympics over Alcaraz — is nearing retirement. It also delivered a message to his foes that Djokovic is aiming for a record-breaking 25th major in 2025.

“I feel I can still play at the highest level,” Djokovic told Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport in November. “Sinner and Alcaraz have established themselves as the two best players in the world, not to forget [Alexander] Zverev.”

He added: “However, physically and mentally I am ready to play my tennis again, and I have the feeling that I can challenge these guys.”

In hiring Murray, who retired this summer as a three-time major champion and former No. 1, Djokovic is joining forces with a rival from their junior days. The two played 36 pro matches, with Djokovic beating Murray in four Australian Open finals and Murray beating him in the finals at the 2012 U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 2013.

“We were going through different names, and I realized the perfect coach for

me at this time would be someone who has been through the experiences that I’m going through,” Djokovic told Sky Sports last month. “This collaboration is a surprise to me as well as to everyone.”

The Djokovic-Murray alliance was not the only striking coaching change. Hubert Hurkacz, who worked with Craig Boynton for five years, added two new coaches, former ATP No. 1 and eight-time major champion Ivan Lendl and Nicolas Massu, a gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics. Lendl coached Murray when he won his three majors, while Massu coached Dominic Thiem when he came back from two sets down to win the 2020 U.S. Open over Zverev.

Among the women, Elena Rybakina shed longtime coach Stefano Vukov in favor of Ivanisevic. Naomi Osaka split with Wim Fissette, whom she snatched from Zheng upon her return from maternity leave last year, and teamed with Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached Serena Williams for a decade. Swiatek then grabbed Fissette after letting go Tomasz Wiktorowski, with whom she won five majors and ascended to No. 1.

While many players were vacationing on the beaches and in the mountains, the biggest postseason bombshell was Swiatek’s admission that she had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, also known as TMZ, which appeared in a melatonin supplement that Swiatek used to combat jet lag. The resulting one-month ban, most of which

Swiatek served after the U.S. Open, forced her to skip the fall Asian swing and led to her surrendering the No. 1 ranking to Sabalenka, who won the Australian and U.S. opens.

Swiatek’s ban followed the news, on the eve of the U.S. Open, that Sinner had tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid. Sinner, like Swiatek, successfully argued that the minuscule amount of the substance was in his system because his physiotherapist had inadvertently rubbed the healing cream on his back during a massage. He served no suspension time but was forced to forfeit prize money and ranking points from his semifinal finish at Indian Wells in March.

Unlike Simona Halep, Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova, all of whom served lengthy suspensions for doping, Swiatek and Sinner were let off relatively easily, prompting some of their tour contemporaries to complain publicly about star treatment. Both players acknowledged the emotional toll.

“This experience, the most difficult in my life so far, taught me a lot,” Swiatek said in a video posted to her social media account in late November. “The whole thing will definitely stay with me for the rest of my life.”

There was also plenty of joy in 2024. Sinner and Alcaraz each claimed two majors. Alcaraz still ended the season ranked third behind Sinner and Zverev, who won ATP Masters 1000 titles in Rome and at the Paris Indoors and ended with a 69-21 record compared with Alcaraz’s 54-13. Sinner led the tour with

Jannik Sinner of Italy returns a shot against Taylor Fritz of the United States during the men’s singles final match of the U.S. Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, on Sept. 8, 2024. Sinner won the men’s U.S. Open final in September and led the tour with a 73-6 record. (Karsten Moran/The New York Times)

a 73-6 record.

Zheng won Olympic gold for her native China, and Jasmine Paolini, who captivated the sport during her runs to the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, won the gold medal in Olympic doubles with Sara Errani and then led Italy to victory in the Billie Jean King Cup. Italy, behind Sinner and Matteo Berrettini, captured the Davis Cup.

Taylor Fritz and Jessica Pegula of the United States began to fulfill their promise by reaching the finals of the U.S. Open. Emma Navarro, Jack Draper and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard all provided glimpses of star power to come.

But if 2024 will be remembered for youthful exuberance, it will also be cherished for those who left the game for good.

In all, about 23 ATP pros retired in 2024. Among them were Murray, Thiem, Juan Martin del Potro, Steve Johnson and Ivo Karlovic. Angelique Kerber, a titlist at Wimbledon and the Australian Open and U.S. Open, and fellow former No. 1 Garbiñe Muguruza also left the game, as did Shelby Rogers.

Roger Federer, the retired tennis great, paid tribute to Thiem, who reached three major finals but was ultimately felled by a debilitating wrist injury.

“No matter the surface, you always found a way to beat me with your thunderous backhands,” Federer said. “But more importantly, you did it with grace and sportsmanship.”

Del Potro, who beat Rafael Nadal and Federer to win the 2009 U.S. Open, played his last tour match in February 2022. But he took the court in his native Argentina in an emotional farewell exhibition against Djokovic that left both of them in tears as del Potro draped his signature headband across the center of the net.

But the true sentimentality was reserved for Nadal, who played his final match, a loss to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain. After the Netherlands defeated Spain, ending Nadal’s career — 22 majors, including 14 at the French Open — there was, at Nadal’s request, an understated on-court salute.

Federer, Djokovic, Murray and Williams delivered video tributes. Federer also wrote a love letter to his friend in which he told him, “You know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more. I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you, and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next.”

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 21