Wednesday Dec 6, 2023

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

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Staying on Track for ‘Sustained Growth’

Governor, Fiscal Team Meet with Economists to Update Strategic Economic Framework

‘La Comay’ to End After Producer’s Retirement P5

NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL P 16

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Governor: Oversight Board’s Departure May Be Justified by 2026-27

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2 Wednesday, December 6, 2023

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December 6, 2023

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.

Governor says by 2026-27 he may be able to justify fiscal board’s departure

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further demonstrating that we have already had access to the market.”

Pierluisi added that the audited finanov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia said on Tuesday that by 2026-2027 he will cial statements and the loan market access be able to present evidence that attained by the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and may justify the departure of the Financial Sewer Authority will be the evidence needed Oversight and Management Board. to request the oversight board’s exit.

The governor said in a radio interHe said there may be a roadblock or opview that the evidence will be the audited position to the board’s departure. If that were the financial statements. According to the fedcase, the governor said he will go to Congress and say: “‘Look, take action on the matter.’” eral Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), “The other forum you can go to is the the oversight board will terminate overcourt,” he added.

Regarding a disagreement with the seeing the U.S. territory’s fiscal matters when Puerto Rico has adequate access to Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said the evi- oversight board’s executive director, Robert short-term and long-term credit markets at dence that will ultimately clear Mujica, who argues that Puerto Rico has reasonable interest rates to meet the govern- the way for the exit of the Finan- not had balanced budgets, Pierluisi said he ment’s borrowing needs, which will only cial Oversight andManagement believes that there are two or possibly three be possible once the commonwealth can Board from Puerto Rico will be balanced budgets. in the government’s audited “The reality is that [there have been] restructure all its debt. enough of the cuts; we had them at one time In addition, Puerto Rico must balance financial statements. and they cleared the way for the debt being its budget for at least four consecutive fisrestructured and now the government is in cal years by modified accrual accounting standards before the oversight board disbands. A balanced a very solid fiscal state,” he said. “But that’s what I can tell you; if I am waiting, I also long for the day when we don’t budget includes payments on the restructured debt.

“I will be able to demonstrate that at the end of this have a meeting. Let the elected officials, both in the House year. There are [supposed to be] three audited statements and Senate and in [La Fortaleza], be the ones who make the one after the other, which would be 2026, so we are talk- final decisions here in Puerto Rico, in all areas.”

The oversight board was appointed in 2016 as part of ing about mid-2026, or a little later,” the governor said in PROMESA, which allowed Puerto Rico to restructure its debt a radio interview (NotiUno). “Because what I am going to use as tools are the audited, published financial statements. in a bankruptcy process in order to achieve fiscal responsibilUsing the financial statements published by the government, ity and access to the capital markets.

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SIF administrator confirms plans to retire

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he administrator of the State Insurance Fund Corp. (SIF), Jesús Rodríguez Rosa, confirmed on Tuesday his desire to retire soon, after having completed 40 years of work in public service.

“Having completed a process of analysis and introspection about the achievements made in the Corporation these past six years, and having met all the requirements for my retirement, I am seriously evaluating the possibility of retiring from public service in the coming weeks,” Rodríguez Rosa said in a written statement.

Rodríguez Rosa categorically ruled out that his eventual departure from the SIF is related to any ongoing investigation in the Department of Justice and in this regard he clarified that it is he who has made the corresponding referral(s) to the secretary

of Justice and/or other supervisory agencies when it has been determined that it is these agencies that have the competence to address certain matters.

“The decision that I eventually make will be the product, solely, of a reflection in which no factor outside my family and the transformation achieved in the Corporation will be a part,” the administrator said.

Regarding a date for his retirement, Rodríguez Rosa said he hopes to announce it in the coming days so as to, among other things, make room for an orderly transition in the agency.

Earlier in the day, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia said in a radio interview that Rodríguez Rosa would leave office at some point in the not so distant future, because he is retiring.

“He has stated that he […] wants to retire for a long time; we already knew,” Pierluisi told NotiUno.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Pierluisi: González Colón ‘filled an alley’ for her campaign launch

By THE STAR STAFF

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ew Progressive Party (NPP) President Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia said Tuesday that his gubernatorial primary challenger Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón “filled an alley” in Bayamón during her campaign announcement last Sunday.

“We’re talking thousands against hundreds,” the governor said in a radio interview with NotiUno. “I mean, it’s a no-brainer. That is an alley and the alley was filled.”

The governor compared the place where González Colón launched her campaign, in front of the José Celso Barbosa House Museum, with the Dr. Pedro Rosselló González Puerto Rico Convention Center in Isla Grande, where he launched his campaign for reelection.

“There were the three floors of the Convention Center, but I’ll leave that to others to say, but it’s obvious,” Pierluisi said.

“The difference is that once you get on social media, you see my activities everywhere I go. I think there were more people in Trujillo Alto in the party that I held there, than what I saw there, in Bayamón. I mean, everywhere

I go -- the day before was in the mountains -- the amount of people who are supporting my candidacy is excellent.”

Pierluisi said on the previous day that those among the leadership of his party that do not support him for re-election have personal reasons for not doing so.

“It’s just that they are very few, they don’t have a major impact and they are personal reasons,” the governor said in response to questions from the press. “I don’t want to get into that, but some of those endorsements, some of them are for personal reasons … but I respect it. Hey, it’s practically impossible for you to win unanimous support. The [support] I have breaks records, but obviously it’s not unanimous. And I recognize that and I’m going to respect that.”

Pierluisi was referring to the mayors and representatives who are supporting González Colón in the gubernatorial primary. Among the reasons they give for their endorsement is that the NPP needs a person who can ensure victory in the 2024 elections. Three former mayors -- Jaime Barlucea Maldonado (Adjuntas), Víctor Figueroa Orozco (San Lorenzo) and Ángel “Papo” García de Jesús (Yabucoa) -- joined the list of González Colón

supporters on Tuesday.

“There are so few leaders in the party who are saying things like the ones you just mentioned, there are so few …” the governor said. “It’s basically 29 mayors out of 36 who are identified with my party, who openly support me for re-election. In the case of the House of Representatives, you’re basically talking about 90 percent, more than 85 percent. In the case of the Senate, 100 percent.

In other words, the difference is stark. So that’s why they never see me as overconfident, but very sure that I’m going to prevail. Because the support I have is really unprecedented heading into a primary.”

Pierluisi insisted on the need for the continuity that a second four-year term would provide.

“There’s still a lot to be done and that’s largely why I’m running for reelection, because that continuity, that stability that comes with an eight-year government is going to be very good for Puerto Rico,” he said. “We don’t want to go backward, we don’t want interruption here, we want that progress to continue to happen, that reconstruction that was paralyzed when my administration began and now is increasingly continuing.

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi And that social justice that we have tried to give to the people of Puerto Rico to continue. That is important; this is not the time at the level of the central government, this is not the time to change. This is the time to continue.”

More than 1,600 NPP candidates have attended statehood workshop

By THE STAR STAFF

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ome 1,604 candidates for elective positions from the New Progressive Party (NPP), including two for gov-

ernor and four for resident commissioner, have attended a workshop on the history of the statehood movement in Puerto Rico as part of the party’s requirements to run for a seat under its banner.

The workshops are offered by at-large Rep. José Aponte Hernández, the NPP’s assistant secretary of ideological affairs and director of the Statehood Mission

Rep. José Aponte Hernández

Institute.

“The guiding principle of our party, what unites us, is the struggle for equal rights that only statehood provides,” Aponte said. “As part of that, the NPP has instituted as a requirement to run under our banner a workshop on the history of statehood in Puerto Rico and the actions that have been taken and will continue to be taken in favor of that ideal. To date, we have offered some 24 statehood workshops throughout the island, impacting 1,604 candidates.”

“There are three additional workshops to go, so I call on applicants who have not yet taken it, as well as those who plan to file, since the registration period began on Dec. 1 and ends on Jan. 2, 2024, to use those dates to take their course,” the veteran lawmaker said. “The last opportunity will be on Dec. 27 at 8:30 a.m. at the facilities of the NPP state committee in Hato Rey.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

5

‘La Comay’ to end after producer’s retirement

By THE STAR STAFF

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fter producer Antulio “Kobbo” Santarrosa announced in December the end of his gossip program “La Comay” and his official retirement, the administration of TeleOnce, led by the businessman and president of Liberman Media Group, Lenard Liberman, accepted the decision this week.

“Our desire was to continue presenting ‘La Comay’ every afternoon, a space that was enjoyed by a wide audience on the island every afternoon,” Liberman said Tuesday.

“However, we understand and support Mr. Santarrosa’s decision to lead a quieter life.

We wish him the greatest success and that he can enjoy this new stage.”

Santarrosa, through his program “La Comay,” thanked the management of TeleOnce for the trust given since the channel’s signal was relaunched two years ago and wished it many more successes.

La Comay is a life-sized puppet created by Santarrossa to deliver celebrity and political gossip. His program was one of the top-rated programs on the island but it was not without controversies due to its often racist and homophobic content.

In 2013, Kobbo Santarrosa’s then top-rated show “SuperXClusivo” was canceled by Puerto Rico’s WAPA-TV due to a boycott spurred by homophobic remarks made on the show about a publicist who had been killed.

The show returned to Mega TV but in 2020 the Comay puppet ridiculed Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, a Black Puerto Rican senator who was the head of the Puerto Rico Bar Association from 2012-2014. Rivera Lassén, a member of the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC by its Spanish initials) party, is openly lesbian.

In a video, the Comay puppet mocked Rivera Lassén’s accent by acting like a Black servant to the white then-leader of the MVC, Alexandra Lúgaro.

The segment was interpreted by many, including Rivera Lassén, as racist. It also played into racist stereotypes of black servants as being uneducated, humble and poor.

Lenard Liberman, president of Liberman Media Group, which owns TeleOnce, said “we understand and support [La Comay creator] Mr. [Antulio “Kobbo”] Santarrosa’s decision to lead a quieter life.

Court to hear PRIDCO’S request to restructure debt

By THE STAR STAFF

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t a hearing slated for today, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain is to hear the application of the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) for approval of its qualifying modification filed under Title VI of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) to restructure its debt.

The court is expected to devote some 31 minutes to the request. PROMESA provides for two types of debt restructuring. One is through

Title III, which is similar to an ordinary bankruptcy process. The other mechanism, PROMESA’s Title VI, requires that all groups of creditors accept the debt plan before the court can confirm it, and is primarily aimed at financial debt, not pensions or other types of claims.

PRIDCO filed for Title VI bankruptcy to restructure some $189.6 million in bonded debt in October. The amount of the bonded debt will suffer virtually no cuts but will have extended maturities.

Under the terms of the voluntary restructuring filed Oct. 27, bondholders would receive

$30 million in cash and replacement debt for the rest of their bonds. The debt would carry coupons of 7.0% to 8.8% and PRIDCO would have the chance to extend the repayment length.

“Among other benefits afforded PRIDCO pursuant to the qualifying modification is a reduction of its funded indebtedness and an extension of more than twenty years to repay or refinance its funded indebtedness,” the Title VI filing said.

The rent paid by companies using PRIDCO structures is used to pay for PRIDCO bonds. The leases -- made to “large, well-established” U.S.

and foreign companies -- were “fully competitive and highly attractive” compared with other options, according to the 2003 official statement.

A deal to restructure PRIDCO’s debt has been under discussion since 2019 to pay about 94 cents on the dollar. The restructuring support agreement fell through in April 2021, and bondholders sued, voluntarily dismissing the case months later when PRIDCO agreed to a forbearance agreement that included interest-only monthly debt service payments, the application said. At the time, GoldenTree Asset Management held the majority of the bonds.

Governor, economists, fiscal team meet to update strategic economic framework

By THE STAR STAFF

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ov. Pedro PierluisI Urrutia met at La Fortaleza on Tuesday with a group of economists and members of his economic and fiscal team to promote their input in updating the Strategic Economic Development Framework “Purpose.”

“We all recognize that there has been economic growth in Puerto Rico in these three years and that the federal funds that we are using for reconstruction are positive and have an impact on the economy,” Pierluisi said in a written statement.

“Also, we recognize that manufacturing is solid and this is indicated by the indices that monitor manufacturing. And we recognize that tourism is buoyant and breaking records. Likewise, I see great economic activity in the area of technology

because we are exporting technology services and the consumption of professional services has increased internally in Puerto Rico, part of that with federal funds and part with funds from the Government of Puerto Rico.”

During the meeting, the governor established that since January 2021, a positive trend has been registered on the island in the Economic Activity Index, unemployment is at its lowest point in history at 5.8%, and there are over 110,000 more jobs in the local economy.

“The vision is that, during these eight or nine remaining years of reconstruction, we continue to do things well, with balanced budgets and prepare so that the economic development of Puerto Rico is based on the foundation that we have built,” Pierluisi added.

The meeting was attended by Puerto Rico Secretary of State Omar Marrero Díaz, Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés Alicea, Deputy Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Humberto Mercader, Office of Management and Budget Executive Director Juan Carlos Blanco and Planning Board Chairman Julio Lassús Ruiz.

Economists Vicente Feliciano, Rafael Romeu, Fernando Batlle, Kevin González Toro, José Santiago, Alejandro Díaz Marrero, Graham Castillo and Juan Lara were also present.

Castillo remarked that the dialogue “is always good, not only with us who are present here, but also with the economic union of Puerto Rico, which is very capable and opens up discussion and dialogue.”

“That is for the benefit of Puerto Rico,” he

added. “We all have experiences to contribute to this process.”

Fellow economist Lara said “we have had a very interesting and useful meeting in which the governor presented his vision of how the economy is doing and how the government sees the transition toward sustained growth.”

“We have talked about the importance of having updated information and we have received a message about how the governor’s economic team is approaching the economic situation now and into the future,” he said. “We have had the opportunity to give our opinion on this and to present what we understand to be the information requirements that the economic profession and citizens need to be able to follow up on this process and evaluate how it is progressing.”

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Velázquez introduces bipartisan Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act

By THE STAR STAFF

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.S. Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) has introduced the bipartisan Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Territories Act. The bill, introduced last week, would require the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to create a program to identify and address specific capability gaps and challenges that the U.S. territories, including government entities, NGOs, and other grant recipients, experience while conducting recovery activities after a major disaster.

“Our territories face numerous inequities because of their status including how the federal government assists these jurisdictions in responding to natural disasters,” Velázquez said.

“I’m proud to introduce this legislation, which will help FEMA identify and address the vulnerabilities our territories face and ultimately help the territories better prepare and recover from future natural disasters.”

The U.S. territories’ geographic, economic, social and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón institutional vulnerabilities make them particularly prone to natural disasters. As extreme weather events have increased in frequency and strength, U.S. territories, notably Puerto Rico and difficult disaster recovery processes.

The Strengthening Capacity for Disaster Resilient Terand the U.S. Virgin Islands in recent years, have faced long

ritories Act would allow FEMA to build on its efforts to bring equity to disaster recovery efforts by creating a new program requiring the administrator to periodically identify the limitations of public and private entities in the U.S. territories in performing recovery activities -- specifically, those activities related to essential assistance, repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities, debris removal, federal emergency assistance, and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Under the bill, the FEMA administrator would also be required to develop training and best practices to support the administration of recovery projects and help identify disaster recovery shortcomings.

The bill is also cosponsored by Reps. Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Al Green (D-Texas), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Dina Titus (D-Nev.).

Additionally, the legislation is supported by three territorial delegates: Jenniffer González Colón (R-P.R.), Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S.V.I.) and Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-NMI). The bill is also endorsed by Climate Strong Islands Network, Right to Democracy and The Resiliency Law Center.

Busted ring leader laundered drug money in faux lottery winnings scheme

By THE STAR STAFF

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osé Julio Rodríguez Cumba, the accused leader of a drug trafficking organization who was indicted along with 18 others last week by federal authorities, used, among other methods, money laundering under the pretense that he had won prizes from the Puerto Rico Lottery.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico W. Stephen Muldrow said of the accused drug dealer – who has led the organization from a federal prison since 2021 – “in total, in a span of eight months, it is alleged that José Julio Rodríguez Cumba ‘won’ the lottery seven times for a total of $375,050 in lottery winnings.”

As part of the deposits that are understood

U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico W. Stephen Muldrow, at lectern

to belong to money laundering: * Sep. 24, 2020, deposited two winnings of $35,000 and $40,000; * Dec. 16, 2020, deposited winnings of $10,000; * Dec. 29, 2020, deposited winnings of $15,000; * Feb. 26, 2121, deposited winnings of $10,000; * March 10, 2121, deposited winnings of $50,050; and * May 14, 2121, deposited winnings of $250,000.

“As part of the manner and means of the money laundering conspiracy, José Julio Rodríguez Cumba and his co-defendants opened personal and corporate bank accounts to manage the finances of both their businesses and their drug trafficking operation, and structured both cash deposits and withdrawals to evade financial transaction reporting requirements,” Muldrow said. “They made transfers from personal bank accounts to corporate accounts and vice versa to disguise the source and nature of the funds, and used mobile payment systems to transfer income from person to person and avoid detection by authorities.”

Rodríguez Cumba led a large-scale drug trafficking organization that imported and dis-

tributed large cocaine shipments from South America to Puerto Rico and the mainland U.S. The organization also received shipments of several kilograms of marijuana from the mainland U.S. for distribution throughout Puerto Rico.

Also arrested was businessman and contractor Emiliano Feliciano Hernández, who allegedly used his businesses to launder money for the criminal organization.

Feliciano Hernández had maintenance and decoration contracts with several municipalities and agencies of the island government.

A federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an additional 60-count indictment against 18 individuals for importing cocaine and marijuana into Puerto Rico and the continental United States, and for money laundering.

Of the 18, Luis “La L” Crespo Cumba has yet to be arrested.

The individuals charged in the additional indictment face up to 10 years to life in prison if convicted.

The additional indictment alleges that Rodríguez Cumba’s drug trafficking organization is involved in the distribution and sale of more than 2,000 kilograms of cocaine and marijuana.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

7

Supreme Court appears split over opioid settlement for Purdue Pharma

By ABBIE VANSICKLE

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he Supreme Court justices seemed divided earlier this week over a fiercely contested bankruptcy settlement for Purdue Pharma that would funnel billions of dollars into addressing the opioid epidemic in exchange for shielding members of the wealthy Sackler family from related lawsuits.

The U.S. Trustee Program, an office in the Justice Department, had challenged the deal for Purdue, the maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin. It said the agreement violated federal law by guaranteeing such wideranging legal immunity for the Sacklers, who once controlled the company, even though they themselves had not declared bankruptcy.

Questions from the justices reflected why the deal has drawn intense criticism in a dispute that pits money against principle.

Under debate was the practical effect of unraveling the agreement, painstakingly negotiated for years for victims and families who have urgently sought settlement funds, and broader concerns over whether releasing the Sacklers from liability would free them from further scrutiny over their role in the opioid crisis.

A decision in the case could also have consequences for similar agreements resolved through the bankruptcy system that have been structured to insulate a third party from liability.

“The opioid victims and their families overwhelmingly approve this plan because they think it will ensure prompt payment,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh said. He asked why the government was pushing to end a tactic approved over “30 years of bankruptcy court practice.”

The lawyer for the government, Curtis E. Gannon, acknowledged that tension, but he argued that the U.S. trustee “has been given this watchdog role” and that a ruling for the government would not foreclose an opioid deal with the Sacklers. He noted that after a federal judge rejected the deal, the Sacklers increased their cash offer, to $6 billion from roughly $4 billion, to settle thousands of claims.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett raised what a victory for the U.S. trustee would mean “for other victims of mass torts,” including plaintiffs who have accused the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church of sexual abuse. Those settlements have included similar releases of liability, known as nonconsensual third-party releases.

Gannon responded that Congress could pass legislation that specified how such deals

Protesters hold up signs and mock grave markers as they rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. The Supreme Court justices seemed divided on Monday over a fiercely contested bankruptcy settlement for Purdue Pharma that would funnel billions of dollars to address the opioid epidemic in exchange for shielding members of the wealthy Sackler family from related civil lawsuits. could work. It was not the government’s role, he said, to speak for victims but rather to be “concerned about the entire process.”

Inside the crowded courtroom, the justices appeared deeply engaged, leaning forward periodically during two hours of argument.

Their questions did not appear to line up along ideological lines, signaling the decision could be closely divided.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson seemed skeptical that releases of liability were the only way to compensate opioid victims, asking why the agreement needed to be reached through bankruptcy court.

A lawyer for victims’ groups, Pratik A. Shah, insisted that the releases were critical to the deal. Otherwise, he said, members of the Sackler family would not sign on to an agreement, which risked leaving victims with nothing.

“Without the release, the plan will unravel,” he said. “There will be no viable path to any victim recovery.”

“Well, that sounded very emphatic,” Justice Elena Kagan replied, to laughter.

Kagan appeared to be puzzling through her views from the bench. She seemed doubtful of the U.S. trustee’s position and asked whether the government was standing in the way of an

agreement that had the overwhelming approval of victims. They are among those “who think that the Sacklers are pretty much the worst people on Earth,” she added.

But she later pointedly asked whether such deals subverted the bankruptcy process: Did the settlement allow wealthy people such as the Sacklers to shield themselves from lawsuits, including claims of fraud, without putting “anything near their entire pot of assets on the table?”

“In some ways, they’re getting a better deal than the usual bankruptcy discharge,” Kagan said, because “they’re being protected from claims of fraud and claims of willful misconduct.”

Jackson seemed to share those concerns.

She described frustrations voiced by the original bankruptcy judge that the Sacklers had moved money out of Purdue into offshore accounts. The Sacklers “took the assets from the company, which started the set of circumstances in which the company now doesn’t have enough money to pay the creditors,” she said.

Outside the courtroom, dozens of demonstrators called on the justices to overturn the bankruptcy deal, saying that they believed it did little for families of victims and failed to hold the Sacklers to account.

A decision could come as late as June, near the end of the court’s term.

In recent years, bankruptcy court has become a popular place to deal with massinjury settlements.

In agreeing to take the case, Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, No. 23-124, the Supreme Court temporarily halted the deal, most likely suspending payments to plaintiffs until it issues a ruling.

The U.S. trustee had asked the court to intervene after an appeals court upheld the settlement. The agreement allowed the Sacklers to take advantage of protections meant for those in “financial distress,” the government said, offering “a road map for wealthy corporations and individuals to misuse the bankruptcy system.”

Lawyers for Purdue said in court filings that the plan would “provide billions of dollars and lifesaving benefits to the victims of the opioid crisis.” Striking down the deal, they added, would jeopardize that. The suggestion that the plan laid out a strategy for the rich seeking to avoid accountability was “unfounded,” they added.

Purdue filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2019 as lawsuits against the company and, increasingly, the Sacklers themselves mounted.

Under a restructuring plan, filed in March 2021, the company would dissolve and become a public benefit company focused on trying to counter the opioid epidemic. In turn, members of the Sackler family would pour billions from their personal fortune into aiding states, municipalities, tribes and others in fighting a public health crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of people dead. More than 90% of the plaintiffs who voted on the plan approved it.

That September, Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, New York, approved the plan. The U.S. Trustee Program was among those that appealed the decision.

As an appeal wound through the courts, members of the Sackler family increased their cash offer in February 2022 to settle the thousands of opioid claims up to $6 billion. They continued to insist that they be insulated from all opioid-related lawsuits.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the plan more than a year later, handing a victory to Purdue and prompting the U.S. trustee to appeal.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

White House condemns protest at Israeli restaurant in Philadelphia

By JOHNNY DÍAZ

W

hite House and state officials said a protest Sunday was hateful and antisemitic after dozens of proPalestinian demonstrators opposed to Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip chanted slogans charging “genocide” outside an Israeli-style falafel shop in Philadelphia.

The White House issued a statement Monday that called the protest targeting the establishment “unjustifiable,” adding to reaction from Pennsylvania officials.

A video clip posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed the pro-Palestinian protesters outside Goldie, a vegan falafel shop owned

by Michael Solomonov, an Israeli-born chef, and Steve Cook, a former investment bankerturned-restaurateur, through their Philadelphia hospitality group, CookNSolo Restaurants.

“Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide,” the group chanted in the video taken Sunday.

The White House joined Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro in condemning the focus of protesters on the restaurant.

“It is antisemitic and completely unjustifiable to target restaurants that serve Israeli food over disagreements with Israeli policy,” Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, said in Monday’s statement.

“This behavior reveals the kind of cruel and senseless double standard that is a calling

towns around the United States by pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters.

Jewish advocacy groups such as the AntiDefamation League have reported a rise in antisemitic threats and incidents in the United States. The group said in October that it had recorded 312 antisemitic episodes between Oct. 7 and Oct. 23, with 190 of those directly linked to the Israel-Hamas war.

On Sunday and Monday, state leaders in Demonstrators beginning their march up 18th Street in Philadelphia during a Pennsylvania took to social media to criticize pro-Palestinian rally on Sunday. Some protesters stopped outside the Goldie res- the protest outside Goldie. taurant and chanted slogans.

Shapiro shared a clip of the protest on X and described it as “a blatant act of antisemimonov has several restaurants serving Israeli card of antisemitism,” Bates said. tism — not a peaceful protest.”

He added that President Joe Biden “will food in Philadelphia, including Zahav, which He added that the restaurant “was taralways stand up firmly against these kinds of opened in 2008. A group called the Philly Palestine Coalition has called for a boycott geted and mobbed because its owner is Jewish undignified actions.” and Israeli.”

Social media postings from accounts go- of many of his restaurants.

“This hate and bigotry is reminiscent of After the start of the Israel-Hamas war, ing by The Philly Palestine Coalition and The Philadelphia Free Palestine Coalition called on Solomonov announced he would donate a dark time in history,” he said.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said on X that people to “flood Philly for Gaza” on Sunday, proceeds from sales on Oct. 12 to Friends demonstrators could instead protest “Hamas’ but did not name the restaurant. Their invitation of United Hatzalah, a nonprofit emergency systematic rape of Israeli women and girls” also called for a lift to “the siege on Gaza” and medical service in Israel. or demand that “the remaining hostages be Sunday’s protest came amid mounting to “end military aid to Israel.” It was unclear from their social media posts whether those violence as Israel vowed to root out Hamas, immediately released.”

Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat whose organizations intended to protest at Goldie the Palestinian group that controls the Gaza district includes Philadelphia, said on X that or how long that demonstration lasted, and Strip and launched a surprise attack against “Philadelphia stands against this sort of harassmessages sent to the groups’ social media Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people.

That attack prompted intense retaliation that ment and hate.” accounts had not been answered Monday.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said Through a spokesperson, Solomonov, has killed more than 15,000 people in Gaza, Monday that the Philadelphia Commission who is Jewish and was born near Tel Aviv, according to officials in Gaza. on Human Relations would look into the There have been street demonstrations in declined to comment Monday. protest.

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Retired US diplomat accused of working as a secret agent for Cuba

By GLENN THRUSH, ERNESTO LONDOÑO, DAVID C. ADAMS and FRANCES ROBLES

F

ederal prosecutors earlier this week said that a retired State Department official worked for decades as a secret agent for Cuba and was heard referring to the United States as “the enemy,” a previously undisclosed intelligence breach with potentially significant diplomatic and national security implications.

In a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Miami, the prosecutors said that the diplomat, Manuel Rocha, had secretly aided Cuba’s “clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against the United States” since at least 1981 as he rose through the ranks at

the State Department and worked briefly in a top White House role.

Rocha, 73, appeared to have met with handlers from Cuba’s spy agency as recently as 2017, prosecutors said, and boasted that he had spent 40 years spying on behalf of the communist government in Havana and “strengthened the revolution.”

For more than two decades, Rocha handled matters related to Latin America in a series of roles at the State Department under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, including a stint as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. A native of Colombia who grew up in New York, Rocha served as an adviser to the U.S. military command that includes the Cuba region from 2006 to 2012.

The complaint charged Rocha with

acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and two other crimes, but prosecutors said the investigation was ongoing and could result in more serious charges. The case has prompted an internal damage assessment to determine what secrets might have been revealed and raised serious questions about the effectiveness of counterespionage programs created to ferret out spies, senior officials said.

“This action exposes one of the highestreaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters in Washington on Monday. He said that Rocha had “sought out employment with the U.S. government that would provide him with access to nonpublic information

and the ability to affect U.S. foreign policy.”

John Feeley, a former career diplomat who worked alongside Rocha decades ago, said the case might be among the worst intelligence breaches in recent history. Cuba’s intelligence service has long had close ties with the security agencies of the United States’ adversaries, including Russia.

“Manuel literally had the keys to the kingdom,” said Feeley, whose last government posting was as ambassador to Panama.

“If it had to do with Cuba, he got to see it.”

Rocha’s arrest Friday was first reported

by The Associated Press.

He broke down in tears and watched wordlessly as his family left the courtroom during his initial appearance at the federal courthouse in Miami on Monday.

The San Juan Daily Star A prosecutor indicated that more charges might soon be presented to a grand jury, and the magistrate in the case scheduled a detention hearing for today.

His mournful demeanor contrasted with the garrulous, charming and dapper diplomat that former colleagues remember — and the steely, double-dealing operator portrayed in the government’s filings.

The complaint did not delve into details of how Rocha might have influenced U.S. policy, what information he might have sent to Cuba or how long the government had investigated him. But it described three meetings over roughly the past year between Rocha and an undercover FBI agent whom Rocha believed to be a representative of Cuba’s spy agency, the Directorate of Intelligence.

Several times during those meetings, Rocha spoke of working in that agency’s interest, and he referred to the United States as “the enemy,” according to an affidavit filed in court by Michael Haley, an FBI special agent in Miami.

He was quoted saying that “what we have done” was “enormous” and “more than a grand slam,” although the affidavit did not specify what he was referring to. The conversations were in Spanish and translated by the FBI. Rocha embraced socialism in his youth, according to friends, but seems to have shifted into an anti-Havana conservative at the behest of his handlers over the years — possibly, federal authorities suggested, to avoid suspicion that he was sympathetic to their cause.

In a November meeting with the undercover agent, Rocha said that he had been instructed by Cuba’s spy agency to “lead a normal life” and that he had created the persona of a “right-wing person” to keep his work as a mole from being uncovered, according to the affidavit.

“The entire time he portrayed himself as a guy on the right,” said Eduardo Gamarra, an international relations professor at Florida International University who has known Rocha since the 1980s. “He got more and more Trumpian.”

Rocha attended Yale as an undergrad, and obtained graduate degrees from Harvard and Georgetown in the 1970s. He began his career as a desk officer for Honduras at the State Department in 1981, around the time prosecutors said he first began working for Cuba.

Over the years, he occupied a wide range of diplomatic posts in the Dominican

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Manuel Rocha, a former ambassador to Bolivia, secretly aided Cuba’s “clandestine intelligence-gathering mission,” U.S. authorities said.

Republic, Italy, Argentina and Cuba, and served as director for inter-American affairs at the National Security Council for a year starting in July 1994, according to his official State Department biography.

Rocha held a senior role at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana during one of the most tense moments in bilateral relations in recent decades: Cuba’s shooting down in 1996 of two American civilian planes operated by anti-Castro exiles.

At the time, the Cuban government had keen interest in understanding how the United States might respond to an attack on the group that flew the planes, Brothers to the Rescue. The group, based in Miami, was flying over the Florida straits looking for Cuban migrants aboard rafts and at times entering Cuban airspace to drop antigovernment leaflets over Havana.

Years later, Rocha served as ambassador in Bolivia during another tense period, the 2002 presidential race, which included Evo Morales, an ardently anti-American Indigenous candidate who gained prominence as the leader of a union of coca growers.

Morales lost that race but was elected president in 2005.

Shortly before the 2002 vote, Rocha publicly warned that electing Morales would sour relations with the United States. “I want to remind Bolivian voters that if they elect those who want Bolivia to once more become a cocaine exporter, it would jeopardize assistance from the United States,” Rocha said at the time.

Morales — a staunch ally of Cuba who has sought medical treatment there in recent

years — suggested that Rocha’s warning had helped his campaign and jokingly referred to him as “chief of campaign.”

Otto Reich, a former assistant secretary of state who was Rocha’s supervisor at the State Department, said the remarks had startled his supervisors.

“He never cleared that with State,” Reich remembered. “I remember at the time being annoyed, seriously annoyed.”

Ricardo Zúniga, a retired senior State Department and White House official, called the action highly unusual for a seasoned diplomat, saying such comments would provide an obvious boost to Morales.

“He may have decided he was going to try to act as a caricature of what he thought the United States was,” Zúniga said. If so, “it was a hell of a performance,” he added.

The criminal charges were the latest in a succession of cases brought under Garland, stemming from attempts by foreign governments to spy on, infiltrate and influence American governmental, law enforcement and business institutions.

In October, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was charged with conspiring to act as an agent of Egypt even as he served as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

That case was filed a month after Menendez was indicted on corruption charges. And last week, federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged an Indian citizen with the attempted assassination of a

9 U.S. citizen who backed Sikh independence.

The department has also brought charges against people accused of working on behalf of China, Russia and Iran.

Cuba’s intelligence service is widely regarded as one of the best in the world, and for decades, it has placed a high premium on penetrating U.S. federal agencies.

“It’s an extraordinary testimony of how capable these guys are,” said Zúniga, who negotiated President Barack Obama’s restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2014. “I was always extremely careful for that reason.”

Until now, the most damaging infiltration was the decadeslong espionage career of Ana Belén Montes, who served as a senior analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency, where she specialized in Cuba, until her arrest in 2001.

Montes told investigators that she had been recruited by Cuban intelligence personnel in the 1980s while she had a clerical job at the Justice Department. As her intelligence career advanced, Montes fed information to her Cuban handlers using a shortwave radio. Montes was released from prison this year after serving most of her 25-year sentence.

As part of her plea deal, Montes agreed to tell the FBI everything she knew about Cuban intelligence operations. That information led to the indictment of a former close friend, Marta Rita Velazquez, a former official at the U.S. Agency for International Development who was indicted in February 2004 on charges of being a Cuban agent.

Chris Simmons, a former Defense Intelligence Agency investigator who worked on the Montes case, said it would be very difficult — if not impossible — for the United States to get an accurate damage assessment if Rocha did not provide that information himself.

“They are going to be totally dependent on his cooperation,” Simmons said.

“Even though they know he’s going to lie and minimize, it’s still better than nothing.”

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10 Wednesday, December 6, 2023

The San Juan Daily Star

The climate summit embraces AI, with reservations

By JIM TANKERSLEY

A

rtificial intelligence has been a breakout star in the opening days of COP28, the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. Entrepreneurs and researchers have dazzled attendees with predictions that the fast-improving technology could accelerate the world’s efforts to combat climate change and adapt to rising temperatures.

But they have also voiced worries about AI’s potential to devour energy, and harm humans and the planet.

Exactly one year after the blockbuster debut of ChatGPT, the chatbot that introduced AI to hundreds of millions of people, the climate summit opened last week with a burst of events and announcements centered on AI technology.

Many were stocked with representatives from Microsoft, Google and other power players in the emerging AI industry.

The hope for AI breakthroughs in The COP28 climate summit venue in Dubai the fight against rising global temperatures flows from the technology’s ability to process vast quan- Group predicted that AI could help mitigate as much tities of information. That allows it to produce insights as one-tenth of all greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. and efficiencies that far exceed what computers and A team of researchers led by David Sandalow, a former data scientists have been able to do, with a wide range U.S. Energy Department official in President Barack Obama’s administration who is now at Columbia Uniof applications for climate.

The United Nations said on the summit’s opening versity, issued what it called a road map Sunday for AI’s day that it was partnering with Microsoft on an AI- role in speeding emissions reduction across a wide ranpowered tool to track whether countries are following ge of sectors.

In an interview at the conference, Sandalow said through on their pledges to reduce fossil fuel emissions, helping to solve what has been one of the thorniest is- he was particularly excited for the possible ways AI could speed up the discovery and design of new matesues in international climate diplomacy.

Other groups offered research highlighting AI’s po- rials for low-emission energy technologies like advanced tential to reduce emissions in manufacturing and food batteries.

“When Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb, he production, help locate new renewable energy projects physically took different metals to test how they would and balance electricity loads during extreme weather react to electric charges — it took him months to idenevents. tify the best options,” Sandalow said. “Today, with AI Officials from Google and Boston Consulting tools, we can test a million different options in a second and impose chemical structural constraints to figure out what’s realistic and rapidly accelerate the pace of innovation.”

Préstamos Personales Pequeños In a panel discussion Sunday morning, business otorgados para la semana que terminó el executives said AI was already helping their companies sábado, 2 de diciembre de 2023 deliver alerts to people at risk of experiencing flooding, send text messages with hyperlocal planting advice to Tasa Mínima Promedio Tasa Máxima farmers coping with drought and help people exposed (%) Ponderado (%) (%) to high levels of air pollution decide the safest times to venture outdoors.

35.00% 94.32% 153.00% They also said concerns over the technology were

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holding them back from doing more.

“Climate change is a man-made existential threat,” Natalie Blyth, global head of commercial banking sustainability at HSBC, said at the event. “What we don’t want is to move from one manmade to another,” she said, referring to crises. “So we have to be responsible and ethical, and really cautious, in how we release and understand some of these technologies.”

Leaders at the companies developing AI technology have already cautioned that it could someday pose a risk of extinction to humanity, on par with nuclear war. Researchers at COP28 have focused on a different risk — that the computing power required to run advanced AI could be enormous. That electricity appetite could send emissions soaring and make climate change worse.

A peer-reviewed analysis published in October estimated that AI systems worldwide could use as much energy in 2027 as all of Sweden. That would almost certainly add to emissions, even though countries are lagging on their pledges to cut them. (A Boston Consulting Group study for Google also noted that powering AI would quite likely require vast quantities of water and produce an increasing amount of waste.)

Researchers and company representatives said they hoped the relative benefits of AI on the climate would outweigh the significant energy use required to power it. But they were not certain.

Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, said in an interview that AI was creating huge additional demand for energy. To address that, he said Microsoft was working to improve the sustainability of its data centers and help develop more renewable energy.

“We need to maximize the benefits this can create across the economy, including for sustainability, and make sure that it’s all fueled by carbon-free energy with more energy-efficient data centers,” Smith said. “Can I do a mathematical equation? Not yet.”

Environmental groups at the summit have seemed to largely embrace the technology. One coalition of them, called We Don’t Have Time, put out a series of videos last week of young activists calling for more urgent climate action, with a twist.

The activists appeared as simulated middle-aged versions of themselves, as if they were speaking from the future. The aging, the group said, was handled by AI.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

11 Stocks

Wall Street ends mixed after job openings hint at cooling economy

W

all Street finished mixed on Tuesday after fresh employment data bolstered bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates as soon as March.

Wall Street’s most valuable companies rose as Treasury yields dipped to multi-month lows. Nvidia (NVDA.O) and Apple (AAPL.O) rose more than 2%, while Amazon.com (AMZN.O) and Tesla (TSLA.O) gained more than 1%.

Most S&P 500 sector indexes ended down after data showed U.S. job openings dropped in October to the lowest level since early 2021, indicating that the labor market was easing.

“As interest rates rise and as demand slows, companies are pulling back on job openings, which is essentially what the Fed wants,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.

“The Fed probably is done raising rates, and the only question outstanding is when they start to cut,” Stovall said.

Another report showed U.S. services sector activity picked up in November.

The S&P 500 declined 0.06% to end the session at 4,567.18 points.

The Nasdaq gained 0.31% to 14,229.91 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.22% to 36,124.56 points.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index (.RUT) fell 1.4%, ending a four-day winning streak.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively heavy, with 11.9 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 10.6 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, eight declined, led lower by energy (.SPNY), down 1.7%, followed by a 1.37% loss in materials (.SPLRCM).

U.S. stock trading this week has been uneven after the S&P 500 rebounded nearly 9% in November. The index on Friday touched a four-month intra-day high.

Stock market investors widely expect the Fed will keep rates unchanged at its meeting next week. Interest rate futures also suggest a 65% probability of a rate cut by the Fed’s March meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

On Friday, the more comprehensive nonfarm payrolls report for November will offer greater clarity on the state of the labor market.

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Global markets will be swayed by greater volatility in 2024 as the Fed cuts benchmark interest rates fewer times than futures markets are pricing in, strategists at the BlackRock Investment Institute predicted in a panel discussion. Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO.O) dipped 0.5% after a trailer of the latest install-

ment of its best-selling “Grand Theft Auto” videogame franchise was released.

CVS Health (CVS.N) jumped 3.7% after forecasting 2024 revenue above Wall Street estimates, as the insurer expects to benefit from its expansion into health services.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX) by a 4.5-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 83 new highs and 69 new lows.

12 Wednesday, December 6, 2023

The San Juan Daily Star

Israeli forces enter southern Gaza’s largest city as fears grow for civilians

By VICTORIA KIM and SHASHANK BENGALI

I

sraeli troops are fighting in the heart of southern Gaza’s largest city, a military commander announced Tuesday, describing some of the heaviest combat of the two-month war amid growing concerns that there is almost nowhere left for civilians to flee.

After days of warning civilians to leave the city, Khan Younis, Israeli forces stepped up their attacks overnight. Intense bombing was heard early Tuesday from inside Nasser Hospital, the city’s largest, where many Palestinians who have sought shelter were sleeping in hallways.

“We are in the most intense day since the beginning of the ground operation — in terms of terrorists killed, the number of firefights and the use of firepower from the land and air,” the commander of Israel’s southern military command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, said in a statement. “We intend to continue to strike and secure our accomplishments.”

He said that Israeli forces continued to penetrate deeply into areas around Gaza City and were “now also in the heart of Khan Younis.”

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of the general staff in the Israeli military, said Tuesday evening that Israeli forces had encircled Khan Younis in the south and were continuing to fight to consolidate control over Gaza City and other places in the north.

“We have secured many Hamas strongholds in the northern Gaza Strip, and now we are operating against its strongholds in the south,” he said. He said the fighting had often been house-to-house, and that adversaries were sometimes wearing civilian clothes. “Our forces find in nearly every building and house weapons and in many houses terrorists, and engage them in combat,” he said.

It was not possible to independently confirm Israel’s account of the combat. The United Nations’ humanitarian office said that the period from Sunday to Monday afternoon “saw some of the heaviest shelling in Gaza so far.”

After Israeli forces ordered civilians to leave northern Gaza in the first month of war,

Palestinians mourn relatives killed by Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Dec. 4, 2023. before their ground invasion, the military has issued new evacuation orders for large parts of southern Gaza, including areas of Khan Younis. The warnings have led human rights groups and aid agencies to warn that beleaguered civilians are being pushed into a patchwork of smaller and smaller areas.

Even then they have no guarantee that they will be spared from airstrikes.

Thomas White, the Gaza director of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said early Tuesday that neighborhoods that are home to some 600,000 people were ordered to be emptied.

The evacuation could drive an additional half-million people to Rafah, along the southern border with Egypt, doubling the number of the displaced sheltering in the already brimming city, he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The U.N. humanitarian office said Monday that some of the shelters Israel had told people to flee to were “already overcrowded.” With the shelters in Rafah already well beyond capacity, the new arrivals were erecting tents and fashioning makeshift shelters in the streets or whatever empty spaces they can find around the city, according to the daily report from the U.N. office for humanitarian affairs.

Many Palestinians in Gaza were stru-

ggling with the question of where to go.

Khalil Ahmed, 53, a chemistry teacher, said in an interview that before the war he was in Egypt with his wife for medical treatment. They decided to return to their house in the Nuseirat refugee community, just south of Gaza City, because they were

worried about their children and grandchildren.

They crossed the border on the third day of a seven-day truce, he said, carrying as much food as they could. Their community, a former U.N. refugee camp that has been built up over decades, was nearly destroyed, he said. Two buildings next to his were bombed out. The windows of his house had been smashed. No cars were moving on the streets.

Everywhere he looked he saw refugees from other parts of Gaza, who had taken shelter in four U.N. run schools there. Pale, shocked people wandered about searching for food and water. There was no internet, and so no news.

Since the war resumed last week, he said, the sounds of bombing from drones and warplanes has been incessant, accompanied by the din of combat from tanks and infantry. He has weighed fleeing Nuseirat with his family but so far they have stayed put.

“As long as so many people remain, I am staying here,” he said. “They are bombing everywhere and where we are seems to be less dangerous than in Khan Younis and Deir El Balah. They are hitting there very hard.”

A Palestinian woman is supported as she mourns relatives killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. Israel’s renewed strikes have killed hundreds since Friday, Gazan officials say, raising questions about its stated efforts to reduce harm to civilians.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

13

Accounts of sexual violence by Hamas are aired amid criticism of UN executive director of UN Women. “I got no response whatsoever,” said Erdan, “not even, ‘We received your letter.’” he body of one woman had “nails and On Nov. 25, UN Women first addressed different objects in her female organs.” the issue on social media, saying it was In another house, a person’s genitals “alarmed by reports of gender-based violence were so mutilated that “we couldn’t identify if on 7 October,” but the post did not mention it was a man or a woman.”

Hamas.

Simcha Greinman, a volunteer who In a statement on Monday, UN Women helped collect the remains of victims of the condemned “the abhorrent attacks by Hamas Hamas-led Oct. 7 assault on Israel, took long against Israel” and said it had been “closely pauses as he spoke those words earlier this following reports of brutal acts of genderweek at an event at the United Nations. based violence against women in Israel since “Horrific things I saw with my own they first came to light.” eyes,” he said, “and I felt with my own hands.”

The agency added, “We believe a full inShari Mendes, a member of an Israeli military reserve unit tasked with preparing vestigation is essential, so that perpetrators at the bodies of fallen female soldiers for burial, all sides can be held accountable and justice said her team saw several who were killed on can be served.”

Oct. 7 “who were shot in the crotch, intimate Last week, a bipartisan group of more parts, vagina, or were shot in the breast.” Oth- Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, speaks during a panel than 80 members of Congress released a leters had mutilated faces, or multiple gunshots presentation at United Nations headquarters in New York highlighting reports of ter calling the agency’s response “woefully to their heads.

Hamas terrorists committing widespread sexual violence during the Oct. 7 attack unsatisfactory and consistent with the U.N.’s Since the Oct. 7 attack, during which on Israel. long-standing bias against Israel.” more than 1,200 people were killed and some Since the start of the war, UN Women 240 people were kidnapped, Israeli officials has focused its advocacy on bringing attenhave accused the terrorists of also committing widespread bodies of women found partially or fully naked, women tion and humanitarian relief to girls and women in the sexual violence — rape and sexual mutilation — particu- with their pelvic bones broken, the accounts of medical Gaza Strip, and on pushing for a cease-fire as Israeli airexaminers and first responders, videos taken by Hamas strikes resulted in thousands of Palestinian casualties. larly against women.

Yet those atrocities have received little scrutiny from fighters themselves, and even a few firsthand witnesses Several supporters of Israel in Congress expressed human rights groups, or the news media, amid the larger like a woman, in a video made public last month by po- outrage at the silence from international and domestic orwar between Israel and Hamas — and until a few days lice officials, who said she had watched Hamas terrorists ganizations. ago, they had not been specifically mentioned or con- take turns raping a young woman they had captured at “I’ve been internally raging for about two months,” demned by UN Women, the United Nations’ women’s a music festival, mutilate her and then shoot her in the said Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida, who heads the Demorights agency, which has regularly spoken out about the head. cratic Women’s Caucus. “There is antisemitism involved Meni Binyamin, the head of the International Crime and there are some folks who are more interested in porplight of Palestinian women and girls.

Israelis and many Jews around the world say they Investigations Unit of the Israeli police, said in an interview traying the loss of life in Gaza than highlighting the comfeel abandoned by an international social justice com- that it had documented “violent rape incidents, the most plete inhumanity and viciousness and brutality of Hamas.”

At the United Nations on Monday, Sen. Kirsten Gilmunity — women’s groups, human rights groups, liberal extreme sexual abuses we have seen,” on Oct. 7, against celebrities, among others — whose causes they have sup- women and some men. “I am talking about dozens.” librand, D-N.Y., gave an emotional address, speaking of Outside, hundreds of protesters accused the United “raw footage” she had been shown that “takes your breath ported in crises around the world.

Nations of a double standard when it comes to sexual vio- away with the sheer level of evil it depicts.”

On Monday, some 800 people, including women’s lence; some chanted, “Me too, unless you are a Jew.” “When I saw the list of women’s rights organizaactivists and diplomats representing about 40 countries, The United Nations, and UN Women in particular, tions that said nothing, I nearly choked,” Gillibrand said. crowded into a chamber at U.N. headquarters in New York for a presentation laying out the evidence of large- have become a primary focus — though hardly the only “Where is the solidarity for women in this country and in scale sexual violence, with testimony from witnesses like one — of mounting anger for their silence. Secretary- this world to stand up for our mothers, our sisters and our General António Guterres immediately condemned the daughters?”

Mendes and Greinman.

“Silence is complicity,” Sheryl Sandberg, the former Hamas massacre, but not until late November did he issue Meta executive, told those assembled. She, along with Gi- a statement that the related sex crimes specifically must be lad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, was “vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”

Dr. Cochav Elkayam Levy, an Israeli law professor among the event’s primary organizers. “On Oct. 7, Hamas and founder of a commission on Oct. 7 crimes against Tasa mínima, promedio ponderado, y máxima para brutally murdered 1,200 souls and in some cases, they women and children, said that on Nov. 1, she sent a letter first raped their victims,” Sandberg added. “We know this préstamos personales pequeños otorgados para la from eyewitnesses, we know this from combat paramed- to UN Women, signed by dozens of scholars, calling for semana que terminó el sábado, 2 de diciembre de 2023 ics, we would know this from some victims if more had an “urgent and unequivocal condemnation of the massacre committed by Hamas,” including the use of rape as a been allowed to live.”

Tasa Mínima Promedio Tasa Máxima Hamas has denied that its fighters committed sex tool of war. “They didn’t even respond,” she said. (%) Ponderado (%) (%) Erdan, the Israeli ambassador, said he sent two letters crimes, which it said would violate Islamic principles.

30% 30% 31% But ample evidence has been collected, like the about the use of rape by Hamas militants, appended with photographs of victims’ bodies, to Sima Sami Bahous, the

By KATHERINE ROSMAN and LISA LERER

T

Andeno Co

14

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

White House warns Ukraine aid is running out, pressing Congress for more

Ukrainian soldiers with the 22nd Mechanized Brigade fire at Russian positions in the direction of Bakhmut on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. The White House warned on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, that the United States would run out of money to send weapons to Ukraine by the end of the year if Congress does not approve additional emergency support for the war that has been snarled by funding debates.

By KAROUN DEMIRJIAN and LARA JAKES

T

he White House warned congressional leaders earlier this week that the United States would run out of money to send weapons to Ukraine by year’s end, severely jeopardizing Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against a Russian invasion if lawmakers fail to approve emergency military aid soon.

The urgent warning from President Joe Biden’s top budget official, delivered in a blunt letter, was the administration’s latest bid to pressure the Republicans resisting another infusion of aid to Ukraine to drop their opposition.

It came at a critical time in the war, as Ukraine struggles to push back Russian troops in a counteroffensive that has largely stalled. Russian President Vladimir Putin has continued to send a steady stream of his forces into the conflict, willing to endure high casualties amid signs of flagging resolve from Ukraine’s Western allies.

“We are out of money — and nearly out of time,” Shalanda Young, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, wrote in the letter, which was sent to House and Senate leaders in both parties.

“Cutting off the flow of U.S. weapons and equipment will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield, not only putting at risk the gains Ukraine has made, but increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories,” she continued, adding: “This isn’t a next year problem. The time to help a democratic Ukraine fight against Russian aggression is right now.”

On Capitol Hill, Republican backing for Ukraine’s war effort has dwindled substantially in recent months. The party’s leaders have said they will consider additional aid only in exchange for one of their top policy priorities: major changes to border policy to severely limit the number of migrants entering the United States.

And on Monday, the White House plea fell on deaf ears in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Democrats have not done enough to earn the support of his members to send more money to Ukraine.

“The Biden administration has failed to substantively address any of my conference’s legitimate concerns about the lack of a clear strategy in Ukraine, a path to resolving the conflict, or a plan for adequately ensuring accountability for aid provided by American taxpayers,” John-

son said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, responding to the White House letter. “House Republicans have resolved that any national security supplemental package must begin with our own border.”

In recent weeks, the GOP’s ultimatum — and Ukraine’s vanishing funds — prompted a group of Senate Democrats and Republicans to try to hash out a deal on border policies. But the talks have faltered as lawmakers proved unable to resolve a series of impasses over some of the GOP’s most draconian border demands.

The issue is coming to a head this week, as the Democratic-led Senate prepares to vote Wednesday on more than $61 billion in Ukraine-focused assistance as part of a $106 billion national security package that would also fund Israel’s war effort in the Gaza Strip. The bill needs Republican votes to move forward. But the stalemate has left Democrats and the White House with no option to secure them other than pressuring GOP lawmakers who have supported Ukraine in the past to abandon their party’s border security demands, forecasting dire consequences if they do not.

“Any member of Congress who does not support funding for Ukraine is voting for an outcome that will make it easier for Putin to prevail,” Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, told reporters Monday. “A vote against supplemental funding for Ukraine will hurt Ukraine and help Russia. It will hurt democracy and help dictators, and we think that that is not the right lesson of history and that every member Democrat and Republican should vote to support this.”

Further complicating the White House’s warning is an ongoing dispute within the Biden administration over just how urgently Ukraine needs additional aid.

Pentagon officials said they were surprised by the claim that the United States is out of funds, since they are still doling out over $100 million worth of arms and ammunition from stockpiles every week or so. They said they anticipate being able to stretch out shipments to make the remaining $4.8 billion last through the winter, when the pace of fighting is expected to decline.

Defense Department officials also

expect that billions of dollars of new weapons and equipment purchased directly from manufacturers will be delivered to Ukraine over the coming months.

Since Russia attacked Ukraine in early 2022, Congress has poured $111 billion into Ukraine’s war effort, including security and humanitarian assistance. Some GOP leaders, such as Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader, have enthusiastically supported such aid, arguing that the investments are not only a moral necessity, but also economically advantageous to the United States, as most of the weapons sent to Ukraine are produced domestically.

But as the battle grinds on and the U.S. presidential election looms, Republicans increasingly have raised skepticism about providing Ukraine with financial support, and have sought to use the war as a political cudgel against the Biden administration.

Republicans twice refused to include Ukraine war funding in stopgap spending bills to keep the government funded this fall, arguing that the issue would have to be tied to border security. Their demands prompted the Biden administration to ask lawmakers for almost $14 billion to hire additional Border Patrol and asylum officers and build detention facilities as part of the president’s $106 billion national security supplemental request.

Financial investments were not enough to satisfy Republicans, however.

While Democrats have been willing to negotiate changes to asylum laws, such as raising the standard for migrants claiming a credible fear of persecution in their home countries, they were unable to swallow codifying more stringent detention policies, such as one that would keep migrants outside of the United States while waiting for their day in immigration court.

Johnson, who has voted repeatedly against aid for Ukraine, has told GOP senators in recent days that House Republicans would not support more funding for Ukraine unless it was attached to legislation passed by his chamber to revive strict Trump-era administration policies.

“I will not vote for any aid until we secure our border,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He added, “I’m not helping Ukraine until we help ourselves.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

15

The backlash to anti-Israel protests threatens free speech

By MICHELLE GOLDBERG

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f you want to understand the wrenching generational rift over Israel among many left-leaning American Jews, the documentary “Israelism,” which came out this year, is a good place to start.

Much of it centers on the political evolution of Simone Zimmerman, who was raised to be a staunch Zionist, began questioning her beliefs even as she defended Israel at the University of California, Berkeley, and was transformed by her encounter with the harrowing reality of the Palestinian occupation. Zimmerman went on to co-found IfNotNow, an anti-occupation Jewish group that has been at the forefront of many protests against Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

The filmmakers, Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen, are part of the same generation as Zimmerman, and Axelman told me, “We’re telling Simone’s story as a way of partly telling our story.”

But in November, when progressive Jewish students at Penn tried to screen the film, the university denied them permission, reportedly citing fear of a “potential negative response on campus.” The students showed it anyway, and are now facing possible disciplinary action. Earlier that month, New York’s Hunter College also canceled a screening of “Israelism,” with the college’s interim president, Ann

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Kirschner, citing “the danger of antisemitic and divisive rhetoric.” Amid outrage from staff and students, the event was rescheduled for this week.

The fact that a documentary by and about left-wing Jews is seen, on some campuses, as too insensitive to Israel to be shown publicly demonstrates what a confused moment this is for academic free speech. Since Oct. 7, the strident pro-Palestinian militancy of many campus activists, including the justification or outright exaltation of Hamas’ war crimes, has left many observers incredulous, feeling as if a moral chasm has opened between the liberal establishment and its children. “I was stunned when students across the country, including mine, immediately celebrated the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7,” Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley’s law school, wrote in The Los Angeles Times.

Now the backlash to pro-Palestinian activism is building. On Tuesday, Penn’s president, along with the presidents of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was scheduled to appear before Congress for a hearing titled, “Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism.” Both New York University and Berkeley are being sued by people who claim that they’ve allowed antisemitism to flourish. Big donors at several schools are yanking funding. Chris Rufo, the rightwing activist who whipped up nationwide campaigns against critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, told me he’s part of a group at the conservative Manhattan Institute workshopping new policy proposals targeting what it sees as campus antisemitism.

But there’s a fierce political debate about what antisemitism is. Supporters of Israel often promote a definition of antisemitism put out by the International Holocaust

Remembrance Alliance in 2016 that defines rejection or demonization of the Jewish state as a form of anti-Jewish bigotry. According to the alliance’s definition, one example of contemporary antisemitism is “claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavor.” Another is applying double standards to Israel by “requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.”

The question of what constitutes double standards is not one that can be easily codified, and one of the experts who helped draft the alliance’s definition argues against its use to circumscribe campus speech.

Nevertheless, that definition keeps gaining legal traction. The Trump administration issued an executive order adopting it for the purposes of enforcing federal civil rights law. Last month the House passed an amendment to an appropriations bill that would deny federal funds to any college or university that “authorizes, facilitates, provides funding for, or otherwise supports any event promoting antisemitism” under the definition. This week, the House will vote on a resolution embracing the definition and proclaiming that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism.” Some schools, including Harvard, are facing alumni pressure to adopt the alliance’s definition on their own, and the definition is key to the lawsuit against Berkeley.

I asked Chemerinsky, a leading scholar of free expression, what it would mean for schools to enforce a ban on antisemitism as defined by the alliance. “I don’t know how it could possibly be at a public university without violating the First Amendment,” he said.

When it comes to free speech, “Israelism” should be an easy case. Others are trickier. As I write this, the internet is ablaze with outrage over a teach-in planned for this week

by Columbia Social Workers 4 Palestine about the “counteroffensive on Oct. 7 and the centrality of revolutionary violence to anti-imperialism.” This rhetoric, with its grotesque mixture of euphemism and dogma, was disgusting, but it was still a mistake for the school to cancel the event Monday; better allow the organizers to disgrace themselves in public than pose as silenced heroes. Given the growing pressure on school leaders from Israel’s partisans, administrators are going to feel a growing temptation to err on the side of censorship. If we don’t want escalating bigotry to enable escalating repression, we need to err on the side of speech.

“Obviously the rise of antisemitism is very real,” said Axelman. But at the same time, “there has been this phenomenon of people, especially on the pro-Israel right, using the word ‘antisemitism’ very nonchalantly, and throwing it around at anybody who is willing to criticize Israel, be they Palestinian, Jewish, or otherwise. We’ve seen that phenomenon accelerate quite dramatically since Oct. 7.”

16 Wednesday, December 6, 2023

The San Juan Daily Star

Gobernador decreta tres días de duelo por el fallecimiento del actor Luis Antonio Rivera, “Yoyo Boing” POR CYBERNEWS

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A FORTALEZA – El gobernador Pedro Pierluisi, decretó tres días de duelo por el fallecimiento del actor y comediante Luis Antonio Rivera, mejor conocido como “Yoyo Boing”, a los 93 años, por lo que las banderas de todas las dependencias gubernamentales deberán permanecer a media asta desde el miércoles, 6 al viernes 8 de diciembre de 2023.

“La pérdida de “Yoyo Boing” deja un gran vacío en la escena cultural y televisiva de Puerto Rico. Su talento, habilidad para transmitir alegría y estilo inconfundible, lo convirtieron en uno de los comedian-

tes más queridos en la Isla. “Yoyo” tuvo una destacada trayectoria en radio, televisión, cine y teatro, por lo que su legado permanecerá en la historia de nuestro pueblo. Con su partida, Puerto Rico pierde a un verdadero pionero de la comedia y la televisión puertorriqueña. Me uno a la pena que embarga a sus familiares, amigos y allegados, y confío en que Dios les de la fortaleza que necesitan en este momento de pérdida”, sostuvo el gobernador en declaraciones escritas.

Nacido en Humacao, “Yoyo Boing” es considerado como uno de los pioneros de la televisión y la radio puertorriqueña. Participó en múltiples de los exi-

tosos programas de comedia de Tommy Muñiz en las décadas de 1960 y 1970, cuando se originó su peculiar nombre artístico. Algunos de sus programas más recordados son: La criada malcriada, Los suegros y Mi hippie me encanta. Además, en Desde mi Pueblo, tuvo la oportunidad de reseñar las maravillas de cada pueblo de la Isla. Durante sus más de cinco décadas de una polifacética trayectoria, también fue anfitrión, trabajó en el teatro y en la industria del doblaje.

Se informó que el pueblo podrá despedirse de uno de los pilares de la televisión puertorriqueña, mañana miércoles, 6 de diciembre, en la Funeraria Buxeda, en San Juan.

William Villafañe designa a Emilio Díaz Colón como presidente de su campaña para la comisaría residente POR CYBERNEWS

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AN JUAN – El precandidato a la comisaría residente en Washington por el Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP), William Villafañe, nombró el martes al Mayor

General retirado del Ejército de los Estados Unidos, Emilio Díaz Colón, como presidente ejecutivo de su campaña.

“Me complace sobremanera contar con la disponibilidad, experiencia y dirección del Mayor General Díaz Colón; profesional estadista altamente respetado y con amplio conocimiento en programas estatales y federales y sumamente comprometido con nuestros veteranos puertorriqueños que tanta atención necesitan.

Estoy convencido de que hará un gran trabajo como presidente de campaña. Contar con su apoyo y con el de la gran mayoría del liderato del PNP y del pueblo me motiva a trabajar aún más fuerte por la estadidad y los derechos de todo el pueblo puertorriqueño”, manifestó el licenciado Villafañe Ramos en declaraciones escritas.

Díaz Colón cuenta con una amplia experiencia en el servicio público tras fungir como ayudante general de la Guardia Nacional desde 1993 al 2001. De igual forma, ocupó el cargo de comisionado de Seguridad Pública y superintendente de la Policía de Puerto Rico en los años 2011 y 2012.

También, del 1985 al 1990, dirigió la oficina regio-

nal del Caribe y los programas adscritos del Departamento de Vivienda Federal (HUD, por sus siglas en inglés) en la jurisdicción de Puerto Rico e Islas Vírgenes.

Estos programas incluían Vivienda Pública (Sección 8 y proyectos de vivienda pública residencial), así como la Vivienda Asegurada (FHA) y la designación de fondos a los municipios de Puerto Rico en el desarrollo económico y los fondos CDBG (Community Development Block Grant).

Díaz Colón fue director ejecutivo de la Autoridad de Desperdicios Sólidos y Comisionado de Asuntos Municipales.

Díaz Colón fue el primer puertorriqueño designado por el secretario de la Defensa de Estados Unidos, William Cohen, como miembro de la junta especial denominada “Reserve Forces Policy Board”, organismo que se creó en 1952 y que es responsable de evaluar la política y el desempeño de las fuerzas de la Reserva de los Estados Unidos.

“Es un ferviente servidor con la capacidad organizativa necesaria para llevar a cabo una campaña efectiva a todos los rincones de Puerto Rico y Washington D.C.”, expresó Villafañe Ramos.

Padre se entrega por homicidio de bebé en Isabela POR CYBERNEWS

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GUADILLA – Pedro Robledo Lebrón, de 24 años, se presentó en el Tribunal de Aguadilla para enfrentar cargos por el asesinato de su hija de cuatro meses, ocurrido el 2 de febrero de 2021 en Isabela.

De acuerdo con la división de Homicidios de

Aguadilla, la madre había dejado a la niña, Andrea Catalina Robledo Soto, bajo el cuidado del padre mientras trabajaba.

Robledo Lebrón había alegado inicialmente que la menor se ahogó con leche, pero las investigaciones policiales refutaron su versión, llevando a la Fiscalía de Aguadilla a presentar cargos en su contra el martes.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

17

Best video games of 2023

By ZACHARY SMALL

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he return of beloved characters along with ambitious new titles turned this year into one of the video game industry’s best, leaving players with an embarrassment of riches.

Even during traditionally sleepy months, players had the opportunity to navigate the galaxies of Starfield, embark on the high-fantasy adventures of Baldur’s Gate 3 and battle the monstrous forces of Diablo IV. Long development cycles and a willingness to take risks with gameplay and narrative paid off creatively during what was a grueling season of layoffs, mergers and cutbacks within the industry.

Despite those setbacks, video games remain an innovative sector of culture, with critics giving this year’s slate of releases the best review scores in the past 20 years. These games, listed in alphabetical order, excelled at providing players with immersive experiences.

Alan Wake 2 Weirdness should be rewarded, and the Finnish developers at Remedy Entertainment have clearly embraced the edges of what players can expect from a survival horror game.

The offbeat style that concerned publishers when the original game released in 2010 returns in this sequel about an author of crime thrillers who keeps treading between fact and fiction, where the lines between reality and illusion blur. Players will find themselves solving murders and dodging bullets, only to later enjoy an extended musical act by a liveaction band called the Old Gods of Asgard.

(PC, Sony PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S) Baldur’s Gate 3 The developers at Larian Studios in Belgium engineered a love letter to the tabletop Dungeons & Dragons series that prioritizes customizability and surprise. The vampires, shape-shifters, dwarfs and goblins that populate the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 regularly deliver zingers that make every moment of this titanic story a joy to experience. Online multiplayer has also made this game a fan favorite, with dozens of streamers broadcasting their successes and failures to a growing community. (PC, PS5) Chants of Sennaar A shrouded figure emerges from a

coffin, navigating a series of dungeon puzzles whose instructions are written in a language that players cannot decipher — yet. Chants of Sennaar, from French developer Rundisc, is a wonderfully inventive game that plays on the idea of being lost in translation. The celshaded artistic direction seems to evoke the Moorish influences of the palace of Alhambra, creating a meditative maze of castles and gardens that hides a darker secret. The disorientation forces players to rely on a pictorial journal where images and words are connected into a makeshift lexicon. Building that dictionary feels like mastering a new language. (Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S) Dave the Diver Sushi and scuba are only appetizers in this oddball game from South Korean developer Mintrocket that is set in an oceanside haunt, where a giant octopus is terrifying the local fishermen. That is the first of many mysteries awaiting Dave, an unlikely hero who becomes a seaside MacGyver responsible for running a restaurant and overseeing several farms. He also moonlights as a social media manager, sea horse trainer and underwater archaeologist. (PC, Switch) Final Fantasy XVI The flagship franchise of Japanese developer Square Enix was going through something of an identity crisis — what exactly defines a Final Fantasy title? — when the 16th mainline entry arrived. This one takes place in a high-fantasy setting, where kingdoms scheme against one another in a war inspired by the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” The resulting epic contains a tragic hero’s quest but also mundane side quests spent retrieving wildflowers and other meaningless items. Elements of political intrigue and a subplot involving enslaved magic bearers are eventually overshadowed by an evil god and behemoths known as eikons that lead the protagonist into fights recalling the showdowns between Godzilla and Mothra.

But even within its messy later acts, there are shimmers of brilliance found in every Final Fantasy title. (PS5) The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom A direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, one of the most celebrated games of the past decade, created high expectations for

In an undated image provided by Larian Studios, a screenshot from Baldur’s Gate 3. With Baldur’s Gate 3, the developers at Larian Studios engineered a love letter to the tabletop Dungeons & Dragons series.

Nintendo. The resulting adventure saw the industrial revolution come to Hyrule, where players learned to combine relics scattered across the ruined kingdom into motorcycles and airplanes. Tears of the Kingdom slightly disappointed those craving more narrative depth from the series, but the Japanese team’s inventive approach to environmental puzzles remains unparalleled. Trusting players to conquer open-ended challenges with a seemingly infinite number of solutions (and roads to failure) has kept The Legend of Zelda one of the industry’s biggest franchises.

(Switch) Pikmin 4 There have been substantial changes to the Pikmin formula in what might be considered a reboot for the Nintendo series, which has struggled to find a mainstream audience. This entry stands out by streamlining mechanics and combining some of the best features of the first three games, which focus on leading armies of Pikmin — alien plant creatures — to multiply their numbers, collect treasures and battle local invasive species. All the action happens from the ground level as players navigate a crew of space explorers no larger than ants. (Switch) Resident Evil 4 When it started revisiting older games in its Resident Evil catalog, Japanese developer Capcom knew that expectations for one particular entry would be preposterously high. Since its release in the mid-2000s, Resident Evil 4 has been considered by some as one of the greatest video games ever released. The remake is a reminder of why the horror series reigns supreme, bringing new features and unexpected jump scares. A

balance of bloody horror and campy jokes from the protagonist, Leon Kennedy, almost softens the sheer terror of zombie villagers infected by a mind-controlling parasite chasing you through the countryside of Spain.

(PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S) Spider-Man 2 The developers at Insomniac Games, an American studio, were poised to deliver more of the same after its 2018 game SpiderMan seemed to perfect the gameplay loop of a web-slinging superhero with a realistic map of Manhattan to explore. Players were left to happily swing across the city long after they completed the main story. Its sequel delivered more of the same while improving on some of its predecessor’s rough edges.

The superhero has extended his jurisdiction to Brooklyn and Queens, more villains are destroying the skyline, and a partnership between Peter Parker and Miles Morales becomes strained as the elder Spidey’s mind is corrupted by the alien evildoer Venom. (PS5) Viewfinder Playing this game will open your third eye. The puzzles involve perspective-shifting gimmicks that employ trick photography to distort time and space. Developers at the Scottish company Sad Owl Studios have players use a camera to open rifts in the environment, resulting in worlds that sometimes look ripped from an M.C. Escher illustration.

Taking some of its ambience and thematic cues from other prestigious puzzlers — including Portal (2007), The Witness (2016) and Superliminal (2019) — Viewfinder does not overstay its welcome, leaving players eager to dive farther into its world’s many mysteries. (PC, PS5)

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Wednesday, December 6, 2023

The San Juan Daily Star

Five action movies to stream now and learning to work with brass knuckles. The hard work ramps viewers toward Ran’s gladiatorial fights which are shot in fluid, long takes that move with lateral and vertical precision. At one point, the camera captures a fight happening on three levels by simply craning up past each brawl. The sequence is a highlight of the film’s exceptional, multidimensional choreography. (Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.)

‘Lion-Girl’ From the first shot, writer-director Kurando Mitsutake’s “Lion-Girl,” a sci-fi, postapocalyptic, Blaxploitation-stained superhero fantasy, aims to shock. It begins with a nude Lion-Girl (Tori Griffith) From left, Kent Tsai, Berant Zhu, and Edison Song in “Bad Education: Director’s Cut.” at a bathhouse confronted by mutated his month’s picks include devious sequence not only brings Rathore into fighters known as Anoroc.

In 2045, a wave of meteorites teen mayhem, female superhero romantic contact with the lovely officer stories, anticapitalist anarchy and Narmada Rai (Nayanthara), but it’s also nearly obliterated humanity. Earth’s few emblematic of the many stunts Rathore survivors gathered in Japan and formed more. and his team pull to bring this vicious a new totalitarian government. The ‘Bad Education: Director’s Cut’ less fortunate encountered the noxious Kai Ko’s transgressive boys-will-be- government to its knees.

“Jawan” boasts impressive scale, fumes of the meteorite debris, which boys adventure is tonally uneasy and deliciously pulp. Fresh off their high school crafting unlikely set pieces (a shoot- transformed them into man-hungry mugraduation, three friends — Wang (Kent out in a rundown country hospital and tants. Lion-Girl is an Anoroc passing as Tsai), Han (Edison Song), and Chang (Be- a bloody hanging in a women’s prison) human, tasked with protecting people rant Zhu) — dare each other to share their for maximum political effect. Khan even from the murderous, evolved species.

With its ample nudity and its vindeepest, darkest secrets. Chang confess- pulls double duty, playing both Rathore tage film stock appearance, the movie es to a rape, while Han shares a murder and his father. The father-son duo work has a grindhouse feel that bubbles over he committed for fun. The nerdy Wang toward revenge for the death of Rathore’s sheepishly admits to cheating on a test. mother at the hands of a gunrunner. Atlee into gonzo territory. A character using a As a prank, the two friends goad Wang to somehow connects these two arcs (arms special move called “breast flame” is the commit an actual crime: Wang smashes dealing and corruption) to offer a pro- least weird occurrence in “Lion-Girl.” a bottle across a gangster’s head. What democracy message in a jam-packed acwas meant to be a memorable night be- tion vehicle. (Stream it on Netflix.)

‘Knuckle Girl’ comes an evening of doom.

Though her sister’s body was found Though the primary action witnesses the trio hijacking a taxi, Ko’s film is in an apparent car explosion, Ran (Ayaalso a test of friendship. In scenes bathed ka Miyoshi), a boxer, believes she’s still in grisly red hues, these once close bud- alive. All signs point to the menacing dies turn on each other, culminating in gangster Haruki (Hideaki Ito), who conan ending where each must decide if he trols both the corrupt police force and a will sacrifice a piece of himself to save gladiatorial venue where brawlers fight to the death. Ran hopes that by agreeing the other. (Stream it on Netflix.) to fight in Haruki’s arena, she’ll locate ‘Jawan’ This anarchist epic from Indian film- her sister.

Adapted from the same-tilted webtmaker Atlee takes a huge swing at capitalism. It begins with unbelievable panache: oon, Korean director Chang’s “Knuckle Vikram Rathore (Shah Rukh Khan) and a Girl” is a ruthless origin story nestled in sextet of women prisoners commandeer a gnarly revenge flick. Ran enlists the a train holding its passengers, including help of a tech genius (Kanata Hosoda) the daughter of a political official, hos- and a former flame (Goki Maeda) betage. They blackmail the father, donating fore employing unconventional training “Sri Asih” his money to impoverished farmers. The methods, such as lifting tires on her back

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Exploding heads and copious gore are the finishing touches on a proudly silly action flick that’s unlike anything I’ve seen this year. (Rent or buy on most major platforms.)

‘Sri Asih’ Similar to “Lion-Girl” and “Knuckle Girl,” Indonesian director Upi’s “Sri Asih” is a superhero origin story that takes a different angle on the genre. The film follows Alana (Pevita Pearce), who was born during the volcano eruption that would claim her parents’ lives. That day, however, she gained special powers triggered by her rage. As an adult, she channels that fury into her mixed martial arts fighting. But when a demonic gangster (Surya Saputra), harms her adoptive mother after Alana refuses to take a dive, Alana not only snaps into action but she also learns to channel her fury for good.

She is told by a secret society about a hero, “Sri Asih,” the country’s protector, whose spirit Alana carries.

Mixing “Constantine” and “Wonder Woman,” Upi’s film has the kind of clean, open blending of choreography and visual effects that Marvel hasn’t quite nailed. Even when Alana faces the black-clad big bad, the confrontation isn’t cartoonish. Instead, it’s sleek, welldesigned and expertly shot for a surprisingly grounded effect in this inventive superhero flick. (Rent or buy on most major platforms.)

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

19

Omicron, now 2 years old, is not done with us yet

By CARL ZIMMER

As omicron moved from person to person, its descendants gained more mutations. y November 2021, nearly two years afSometimes two omicron viruses would wind ter the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, up in the same cell, which would produce new China, and spread across the world, hybrid viruses with a mix of their genes. One of the surprises seemed to be over. More than these so-called recombinations hit the jackpot 4 billion people had been vaccinated against by mixing together two sets of evasive mutations. The result was a new hybrid called XBB. the virus, and 5 million had died. Two new XBB easily infected people and became variants, known as alpha and delta, had dominant in the United States in early 2023. surged and then ebbed. As Thanksgiving approached, many Americans were planning to Vaccine makers tried to keep up with resume traveling for the holiday. omicron’s rapid evolution. In August 2022, And then, the day after the turkey, the the Food and Drug Administration authorized pandemic delivered a big new surprise. Rebooster shots that targeted the BA.5 omicron searchers in Botswana and South Africa alertvariant, which was then dominant. In Septemed the world that a highly mutated version ber 2023, the agency authorized an XBB shot. of the virus had emerged and was spreading But XBB is now ebbing as a menagerie of even fast. Omicron, as the World Health Organizamore evasive variants has evolved. tion called the variant, swiftly overtook other An image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious “Right now we’re in a period of chaos,” forms of the virus. It remains dominant now, Diseases shows a colorized scanning electron micrograph of a cell said Marc Johnson, a virus expert at the Uni(red) infected with Omicron virus particles, yellow. The dominant versity of Missouri. after its second anniversary.

Several omicron experts said the chaos In the two years since its emergence, variant of the coronavirus has proved to be not only staggeringly might soon end. In August, a variant called omicron has proved to be not only stagger- infectious, but an evolutionary marvel. ingly infectious, but also an evolutionary BA.2.86 emerged with a host of new mutainfecting a single person with a weak immune system. marvel, challenging many assumptions virologists Immunocompromised people can only fight off some tions — most likely the result, once again, of evoluhad before the pandemic. It has given rise to an im- of the coronaviruses during an infection, allowing the tion taking place in an immunocompromised person. pressive number of descendants, which have become ones that remain to acquire mutations that can thwart At first, BA.2.86 did not seem to live up to its genetic potential, failing to spread fast. “If genetics was far more adept at evading immunity and finding new the immune system. victims.

“It becomes like a laboratory for virus evolu- all that mattered, it would have gotten its own Greek “It was almost like there was another pandemic,” tion,” said Peter Markov, a virus expert at the London letter,” said Thomas Peacock, a virus expert at the Pirbright Institute in Woking, England. “But BA.2.86 was said Adam Lauring, a virus expert at the University of School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Michigan.

As public health researchers tracked the omi- a bit of a damp squib.”

Over the past few months, however, the BA.2.86 Lauring and other omicron watchers are trying cron wave in late 2021, they saw a crucial difference to make sense of the past two years in order to pre- from earlier surges. Compared with previous variants, lineage seems to have kicked into high gear, gaining pare for the future. It’s possible that omicron will be- omicron put a smaller fraction of infected people in a mutation that allows it to evade even more antibodcome a permanent part of life, steadily mutating like the hospital. One reason was that so many people ies. JN.1, as this mutated form is known, has become seasonal influenza. had immunity to earlier forms of the coronavirus. Our the most resistant version of the coronavirus. It apWhen omicron first came to light, the United immune defenses include not just antibodies, but spe- pears to be growing quickly in France, and may soon States and other countries wrongly believed they cial immune cells that can recognize and kill infected spread to other countries.

As omicron continues to evolve, public health could stop its spread by barring travelers from South cells. This second line of defense held up even against Africa. In reality, it had already spread far and wide. omicron, preventing many of the new infections from researchers still see a benefit to vaccinations. Justin Lessler, a researcher at the University of North CaroIn a matter of days, Britain, Italy and Germany discov- becoming severe. ered omicron in positive COVID tests.

Still, omicron caused so many new infections — lina, and his colleagues recently ran a projection of Omicron’s gift for spreading fast was the result of the initial wave infected almost half of all Americans, future COVID infections and concluded that annual dozens of mutations. They altered the virus’ surface, according to one recent estimate — that it still un- vaccination campaigns could save up to 49,000 lives so that antibodies produced by vaccines or previous leashed a devastating wave of hospitalizations. a year. infections could not stick tightly to it and prevent the Those vaccines will be more effective if they’re The omicron surge hit the United States and virus from invading cells. updated to keep up with the evolving virus. But Kamost other countries in early 2022. China managed “It was the first virus to figure out in a major way to hold back the waves with its “zero COVID” policy, trina Lythgoe, a biologist at Oxford University, worhow to escape immunity,” said Dr. Jacob Lemieux, an but protests against its brutality grew so intense that ries that their development will slow down as govinfectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General President Xi Jinping dropped it abruptly in November ernments stop paying for genetic sequencing of new Hospital.

2022. The floodgates opened: Within a few weeks, variants.

“If we don’t sequence things, then we won’t see Lemieux and many other omicron experts sus- more than 1 billion Chinese people contracted omipect that the variant gained its new mutations while cron, resulting in over 1 million deaths. them,” she said.

B

20 Wednesday, December 6, 2023

The San Juan Daily Star

In Peru, a fossil-rich desert faces roads, fences and unruly development

By MITRA TAJ

M

illions of years ago, this desert in Peru was a gathering place for fantastical sea creatures: whales that walked, dolphins with walrus faces, sharks with teeth as large as a human face, red-feathered penguins, aquatic sloths.

They reproduced in the gentle waters of a shallow lagoon buffered by hills that still wrap across the landscape today. Eventually, tectonic shifts lifted the land from the sea.

More than 10,000 years ago, people arrived.

With them came art, religion and monumental architecture.

Researchers have pieced together these snapshots of the distant past from the bones and tombs found scattered in the Pisco Basin, a thick layer of fossil-rich sediment that stretches across 200 square miles of badlands and riparian corridors between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific coast of southern Peru.

Discoveries from the region have come at a brisk pace in recent decades, with at least 55 new species of marine vertebrates found so far. In August, paleontologists unveiled what may be the region’s most remarkable find yet: Perucetus colossus, a manateelike whale now considered the heaviest animal known to have existed.

“There seems to be always something new coming from Peru,” said Nicholas Pyenson, a paleontologist and curator of marine mammal fossils at the Smithsonian Institution.

It’s not just the abundance of fossils that makes the region special, he said. “In many cases, they reflect species we see nowhere else, and we don’t really know why.”

But paleontologists in Peru warn that this unique bounty of bones is under threat from one of the more insidious ways the country loses its natural and cultural heritage: unplanned development.

In the farm town of Ocucaje, the gateway to the Pisco Basin, the desert is quickly being carved into plots of land for real estate projects, squatter settlements and chicken farms. New roads cut into wind-swept swaths of desert and sand dunes. Along them, mud barriers and posts strung with barbed wire have gone up.

“We’re being dissected,” Laura Peña, Ocucaje’s mayor, said as she inspected rectangular demarcations in the sand on the outskirts of town. “This used to be an open pampa. There were no roads before. There

was just the land. In the last few years, it’s all been fenced off.”

It has happened so rapidly, Peña said, that she is still trying to sort out who owns what and how much of it is legal. Like many small-town mayors, Peña has no land-tenure map of her district and struggles to track decisions made by the provincial and regional governments.

Many of the subdivisions contain fossils Mario Urbina Schmitt, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in Lima, Peru, and the discoverer of Perucetus colossus, possibly the heaviest animal ever found, in his workshop in Lima, Aug. 11, 2023. or pre-Columbian sites that should have been declared off-limits years ago, she said.

Unruly growth has long been a challenge to preserving Peru’s ancient ruins, especially along the arid coast, where pre-Columbian civilizations once flourished in the river valleys occupied by Peruvians today.

In Ocucaje, Manuel Uchuya, 73, lives in a squatter community atop a ceremonial center of the pre-Columbian Paracas culture.

More than a century ago, German archaeologist Max Uhle unearthed several mummies at the site that were at least 1,000 years old and were wrapped in elaborate funeral bundles, including one with a serpent motif and a headpiece of macaw feathers.

“We had nowhere else to go,” Uchuya said.

The site had already been picked over by looters when he and his wife built a shack on a small plot of land to retire on about 20 years ago, he said. Around the corner from their small shack, the remains of a pre-Columbian adobe wall still stood, and shards of ceramics, corn cobs and shreds of reddish textiles littered the ground.

Because of Peru’s huge housing deficit, neighborhoods tend to be built first and legalized later. In the past 15 years, 90% of urban development has happened informally or outside of regulations, said Andres Devoto, a lawyer.

As available land has dwindled in the arid region between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean — where most of Peru’s population and economic activity is concentrated — speculation has spurred settlement claims in increasingly unlikely areas.

Mario Urbina Schmitt, a paleontologist

based in the capital, Lima, who has emerged as Peru’s most prolific fossil hunter, said he was shocked when he returned to the region in 2021, after the COVID-19 lockdowns.

While many Peruvians spent the year under strict lockdowns, land claims and would-be squatter settlements exploded.

“It’s like going to the Grand Canyon,” Urbina Schmitt said, “and suddenly there are signs everywhere that say, ‘This is mine!’”

Archaeologists know Ocucaje as a crossroads of ancient civilizations — a place where the Paracas and Nazca peoples created figures of animals and warriors on hillsides and the Incas laid a path to connect the region to their empire.

Paleontologists consider the region one of the best places in the world for investigating the evolution of marine animals. The virtual absence of rain — Ocucaje receives 1 millimeter a year on average — has preserved even the red color in the feathers of the 5-foottall Inkayacu penguin and the hairlike filters in the mouths of whales.

“It is beyond a UNESCO World Heritage site in terms of the scope of its abundance,” said Pyenson, comparing the area to Wadi al-Hitan, a celebrated marine fossil site in Egypt. “It’s like you have a Wadi al-Hitan of many different time periods.”

Urbina Schmitt said that even after four decades of exploring the desert of Ocucaje, he still found so many fossils that he could afford to be picky.

“Anyone can find a normal whale,” he said. “They’re everywhere. I don’t count those. I want the new ones. The strange ones.”

A decade ago, he spotted a Perucetus vertebra embedded in the side of a cliff. The revelation of the new species, published last month in a paper in Nature on which he was a co-author, has been celebrated in Peru.

Government officials in Peru have talked for at least a decade about creating some sort of park in Ocucaje. The idea has barely advanced, in part because of a dispute over which state institution should lead the effort.

The Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute, an agency within the Ministry of Energy and Mines, wrested authority for overseeing fossil protection from the Culture Ministry in 2021. But it’s still reviewing which areas to declare off-limits and plans to rewrite Peru’s proposal to add the region to the UNESCO World Heritage list, said César Chacaltana, its director of paleontology.

In the meantime, at least four real estate

projects are advertising plots to build homes in Ocucaje’s desert. In social media videos, one cites the discovery of Perucetus as a reason to invest in the region. Another promotes motorbiking in the desert.

None have requested a permit to certify, before breaking ground, that there are no fossil remains on their sites, as required by law since 2021, Chacaltana said.

Peña suspects that at least some of the newly demarcated areas in Ocucaje are the work of land traffickers who organize squatter occupations to appropriate public lands.

“We don’t know what they want in Ocucaje,” she said. “There’s no water here.

We only get water once a week.”

Under Peruvian laws that aim to protect the landless poor, squatters cannot easily be evicted from vacant public lands and can eventually petition authorities for property titles and public services.

But criminal groups are exploiting those safeguards. They might pay people to put shacks on vacant lots to demand land titles that they can later sell or repurpose, or they might use violence or bribes to win approvals from local officials.

The winds that whip across the desert’s dunes still conceal and reveal clues about the ancient past; it takes trained eyes to see them.

Paleontologists and archaeologists fear that uncontrolled development in Ocucaje could destroy potentially valuable finds before they are known.

“You can be standing there day after day, doing your work, and not see a geoglyph because of the way the sun hits the landscape,” said Lisa DeLeonardis, an art historian with Johns Hopkins University. “And then when you do, the rocks all line up, and you realize, oh, there’s a geoglyph there.”

Geoglyphs — large-scale designs made by scraping the soil or lining up rocks — were once thought to have been made only by the Nazca civilization, whose famous figures stretch across the desert some 50 miles north.

But earlier geoglyphs by the Paracas are increasingly found on hills in Ocucaje and nearby valleys, DeLeonardis said.

One resident, Mirtha Mendocilla, 28, remembered taking her son and his friends to see a geoglyph that locals spotted not far from town — only to be met with fences and a sign that read “Private Property.”

“What private property?” Mendocilla said. “This is our heritage. We have to take it back before it’s ruined.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

21

A cozy one-pot chicken for a fuss-free holiday

Braised chicken thighs with sweet potatoes and dates. This recipe, inspired by tsimmes, keeps ease in mind, turning a simple side dish into a main. Food styled by Simon Andrews

By MELISSA CLARK

T

he Yiddish word tsimmes, or tzimmes, means to make a big fuss over something. It’s also the name of an Ashkenazi dish of sweet potatoes, carrots, dried fruit and sometimes flanken or brisket, traditionally served at Jewish holidays.

You’d think, with a name like tsimmes, it must be a fussy dish, needing chopping, peeling and praying over to get right.

But the tsimmes I grew up with were simple vegetable side dishes, a pretty mix of orange-hued roots dotted with dark prunes and glistening with honey, baked until plush and velvety. Sure, there was some peeling and chopping, but next to frying latkes, pinching kreplach and rolling matzo balls, a pan of tsimmes was the one fuss-free part of the holiday preparation.

With that ease in mind, I created this tsimmes as a convenient holiday showpiece. Since Hanukkah is approaching, I wanted a one-pot dish that was festive enough for a holiday meal, yet easy enough to leave time to make latkes.

Tsimmes recipes vary greatly, but the version I grew up with included honey and orange juice to nudge the natural sweetness of the root vegetables and dried fruit. For this main-course version, I decided to nix the honey and use only orange juice, which reduces during simmering to a vibrant, tangy glaze.

I also substituted dates for the usual prunes, though almost any dried fruit will do. Dried cherries and cranber-

ries add pops of color, while dried apricots blend in with the roots for a chewy-sweet surprise in every bite.

Tsimmes can veer into sweet-enough-for-dessert territory, which would cloy as a main. So another tweak was to add cumin and coriander to the cinnamon and ginger that typically spice the dish, because I wanted those earthy, musky flavors to ground it to the savory side.

Lastly, I added chicken to make the dish substantial enough to anchor the meal. Because root vegetables need to simmer for 45 minutes or longer to turn silky and plush, dark meat chicken is a better partner than breasts. Bonein thighs will work, though the skin becomes limp after all that simmering. I call for boneless thighs because they get wonderfully soft and tender as they bubble away beneath the roots.

This tsimmes is such a simple, cozy main dish that the only fuss will be made over, not by, the cook who serves it.

Braised chicken thighs with sweet potatoes and dates This colorful meal is based on tsimmes, the classic Ashkenazi dish of sweet potatoes, carrots and dried fruit (and sometimes meat) typically served on Rosh Hashana

and other Jewish holidays. This version includes boneless, skinless chicken thighs and spices, and lets everything simmer together in a Dutch oven until fragrant and silky. It’s a festive one-pot meal that’s sweet, savory and a little tangy from some orange juice used for braising.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings Total time: About 1 1/2 hours Ingredients: 2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (see Tip) 2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), more as needed 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 1/4 pounds sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick coins 1 cup dates or prunes, diced (or substitute other dried fruit) 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest 1 teaspoon grated or minced fresh ginger (optional) 1 (2-inch-long) cinnamon stick 1 large pinch ground cayenne or red-pepper flakes 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed 1 large leek, trimmed, halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or dill Preparation: 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine chicken thighs, 1 teaspoon salt, coriander, cumin and pepper, tossing well. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.

2. In another large bowl, add the sweet potato, carrot, dates or prunes, lemon zest, grated ginger if you like, cinnamon stick, cayenne and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine.

3. In a 5- to 7-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high. Add as many pieces of chicken as comfortably fit in the bottom of the pan without crowding and brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken pieces to a plate as they brown. Repeat with remaining chicken, adding more oil as needed.

4. Add leeks, a pinch of salt and more olive oil to the pan if it looks dry. Sauté leeks until golden and tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

5. Place half of the chicken in 1 layer on top of the leeks. Top with half of the sweet potato mixture, spreading it out evenly over the chicken. Repeat layering with the remaining chicken and sweet potato mixture. Pour orange juice into the pan.

6. Cover pot and transfer to the oven. Braise, covered, until the chicken and vegetables are tender, for about 55 to 70 minutes, stirring the mixture after 30 minutes. Sprinkle with herbs and serve.

Tip: Because of the long braising time needed to cook the root vegetables, it can be tricky to use chicken breasts because they’re liable to overcook.

22 NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA legal de los Estados Unidos de SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJAR- América), giro postal o cheque ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DO certificado a nombre del alguaDE PUERTO RICO TRIBUBANCO POPULAR DE cil del Tribunal. LA PRIMERA NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el PUERTO RICO, INC. SALA DE GUAYANILLA EN SAdía 7 DE FEBRERO DE 2024 A Demandante V. BANA GRANDE LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en DIANA GRACE DARRYL DAVIS RIVERA la oficina del referido Alguacil, GARCIA LANZOT localizada en el Centro Judicial Y MADELINE TORRES Demandados de Fajardo, Fajardo, Puerto NIEVES Civil Núm.: FA2019CV00971. Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijaPO BOX 560434 Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO do para la PRIMERA SUBASTA GUAYANILLA PR 00656 - EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTE- es de $109,140.00. Que de ser CA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE necesaria la celebración de una TEL: (787)836-0239 AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma Peticionarios Vs. DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, se llevará a efecto el día 14 DE EX-PARTE Civil Núm.: GY2023CV00217. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO FEBRERO DE 2024 A LAS 9:00 Sobre: EXPEDIENTE DE DO- DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina MINIO. EDICTO. El Estado Li- DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, antes mencionada del Alguacil bre Asociado de Puerto Rico, a Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera que suscribe. El precio mínimo todo el que tenga derecho real Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA sobre el inmueble descrito en Judicial de Fajardo, Fajardo, será de $72,760.00, equivalenla Petición de Expediente de Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la tes a dos terceras (2/3) partes Dominio, a las personas igno- parte demandada y al PUBLI- del tipo mínimo estipulado para radas a quienes pueda perju- CO EN GENERAL: Que en la PRIMERA subasta. Que de dicar la inscripción solicitada, cumplimiento del Mandamien- ser necesaria la celebración así como los colindantes, cau- to de Ejecución de Sentencia de una TERCERA SUBASTA la sahabientes o herederos y en expedido el día 4 de abril de misma se llevará a efecto el día general a toda persona que de- 2023, por la Secretaria del 22 DE FEBRERO DE 2024 A see oponerse. Por la presente Tribunal, procederé a vender LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en se le notifica que comparezca, y venderé en pública subasta la oficina antes mencionada del si creyera que le conviene, a y al mejor postor la propie- Alguacil que suscribe. El preeste Honorable Tribunal, dentro dad que ubica y se describe a cio mínimo para la TERCERA de veinte (20) días a partir de continuación: RÚSTICA: Lote SUBASTA será de $54,570.00, la publicación de este Edicto, once: Parcela de terreno radi- equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) el cual se publicará por tres cada en el Barrio Ciénaga Alta del tipo mínimo estipulado para (3) veces y exponer lo que a del término municipal de Río la PRIMERA subasta. Si se sus derechos convenga en el Grande, Puerto Rico, con una declarase desierta la tercera expediente promovido por los cabida superficial de cero pun- subasta, se adjudicará la finca peticionarios para adquirir el tos dos cero tres cinco cuerda a favor del acreedor por la totadominio de la siguiente pro- (0.2035 cada), equivalentes a lidad de la cantidad adeudada piedad: RÚSTICA: Predio de ochocientos metros cuadrados si ésta es igual o menor que terreno situado en el Barrio (800.00 m.c). En lindes por el monto del tipo de la tercera Macaná del término municipal el NORTE, con la calle; por el subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima de Peñuelas, Puerto Rico, con SUR, con la calle; por el ESTE, conveniente; se abonará dicho una cabida según mensura de con el solar número diez; y por monto a la cantidad adeudada Mil Trescientos Setenta y Uno el OESTE, con el solar núme- si esta es mayor, todo ello a punto Mil Quinientos Veintitrés ro doce. Inscrita al folio 1 del tenor con lo dispone el Articulo Metros Cuadrados (1371.1523 tomo 460, finca #25,413 de Río 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 mc) equivalentes a cero punto Grande. Registro de la Propie- de diciembre de 2015 conocida tres mil cuatrocientos ochenta y dad de Puerto Rico, Sección como “Ley del Registro de la nueve cuerda. Colindando por III de Carolina. La propiedad Propiedad Inmueble del Estado el Noreste con camino vecinal, ubica en: B-11 3 St. Luz Bella, Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”. por el Noroeste con Carretera Río Grande, PR. El producto La propiedad a ser ejecutada Estatal PR-3 131 Km 1.2, por el de la subasta se destinará a se adquiere libre de toda carga Sureste con Rosa Rivera antes satisfacer al demandante hasta y gravamen que afecte la menhoy Steven Arroyo Arroyo y por donde alcance, la SENTENCIA cionada finca según el Artículo el Suroeste con Primitivo Torres dictada a su favor, el día 16 de 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirantes hoy Sucesión Primitivo noviembre de 2020 y notificada mada la venta judicial por el HoTorres. Contiene una estructu- el 25 de noviembre de 2020, en norable Tribunal, se procederá ra destinada a vivienda. Debe el presente caso civil, a saber a otorgar la correspondiente notificar con copia de sus ale- la suma de $99,510.45 por con- escritura de venta judicial y se gaciones a la representación cepto de principal; generando pondrá al comprador en poselegal de los promoventes, Lcdo. intereses a razón de 3.50% sión física del inmueble de conJoseph Brocco Santiago, P.O. desde el 1ro de abril de 2017; formidad con las disposiciones Box 608., Peñuelas, Puerto cargos por demora los cuales de Ley. Para conocimiento de Rico 00624-0608, Teléfono al igual que los intereses con- la parte demandada y de toda 787-836-3020. En Guayanilla tinúan acumulándose hasta el aquella persona o personas en Sabana Grande, Puerto saldo total de la deuda reclama- que tengan interés inscrito con Rico, a 9 de noviembre de da en este pleito, y la suma de posterioridad a la inscripción 2023. CARMEN G. TIRÚ QUI- $10,914.00 para costas, gastos del gravamen que se está ejeÑONES, SECRETARIA RE- y honorarios de abogado; y de- cutando, y para conocimiento GIONAL. ADELAIDA LUGO más créditos accesorios garan- de todos los licitadores y el PACHECO, SECRETARIA AU- tizados hipotecariamente. La público en general, el presente adjudicación se hará al mejor Edicto se publicará por espacio XILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I. postor, quien deberá consignar de dos (2) semanas consecutiLEGAL NOTICE el importe de su oferta en el vas, con un intervalo de por lo ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO acto mismo de la adjudicación, menos siete días entre ambas DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- en efectivo (moneda del curso publicaciones, en un diario de

LEGAL NOTICE

@

staredictos@thesanjuandailystar.com

circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) 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 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 Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 30 de octubre de 2023.

MILDRED I. TORO COLÓN, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #197, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO. JORGE A. ORTIZ ESTRADA, ALGUACIL REGIONAL INTERINO #622.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN SALA SUPERIOR

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante V.

RODOLFO CARLOS FARRO ARROYO, T/C/C RODOLFO FARRO ARROYO

Demandado Civil Núm.: DCD2016-0159.

(701). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la parte demandada y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL: Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 19 de octubre de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento número #A guión tres cero tres

(787) 743-3346

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 (A-303), localizado en el tercer (3er) piso del Edificio A del Condominio Palacios de Versalles, cuyo condominio está localizado en los Barrios Ortiz y Piñas de Toa Alta, Puerto Rico.

Consiste de una vivienda residencial de un piso, con un área superficial de mil quinientos ochenta y nueve punto treinta y seis pies cuadrados (1,589.36 p.c.), equivalentes a ciento cuarenta y siete punto setenta y un metros cuadrados (147.71 m.c.). colinda por el NORTE, en elemento común general exterior, las escaleras del Edificio A y Terraza que es un elemento común limitado del Apartamento número A guión tres cero tres (A-303) y del Apartamento número A guión uno cero tres (A-103), en una distancia de quince punto cuarenta y dos metros (15.42 m.) ; por el SUR, con elemento común general exterior, en una distancia de quince punto cuarenta y dos metros (15.42 m.); por el ESTE, con elemento común general exterior, en una distancia de once punto sesenta y seis s metros (11.66m.); y por el OESTE, con el Apartamento número A guión cuatro cero tres (A-403) y las escaleras y vestíbulo del Edificio A, en una distancia de once punto sesenta y seis metros (11.66 m.). El Apartamento número A guión tres cero tres (A-303) está compuesto de recibidor, sala, área familiar (family-room), cocina, comedor , balcón, pasillo interior, un baño en el área del pasillo interior, closet para calentado (wáter heater closet), closet de lavandería (laundry), closet de pasillo interior, dos (2) dormitorios con un closet cada uno y un dormitorio principal (master bedroom) con closet, closet con pasillo (walk-in closet), baño y área de tocador (power room).

La entrada principal de este Apartamento está localizada en su lindero Oeste, la cual conecta el Apartamento con el vestíbulo del tercer (3er) piso del Edificio A del Condominio Palacios de Versalles, el cual es un elemento común general del Condominio Palacios de Versalles. Le corresponde como elemento común limitado del Condominio Palacios de Versalles dos (2) estacionamientos sencillos identificados con los números diecinueve (19) y veinte (20) y Terraza Adyacentes al Apartamento número A guión tres cero tres (A-303) y Apartamento número A guión uno cero tres (A-103). Este Apartamento tiene una participación de cero punto siete cero cero cuatro por ciento (0.7004%) en los elementos comunes generales del Condominio Palacios de

Versalles y una participación de uno punto tres ocho uno cero por ciento (1.3810%) en los elementos comunes limitados del Condominio Palacios de Versalles. Inscrita en sistema Karibe, finca 28,700 de Toa Alta, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Tercera Sección de Bayamón. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada el 6 de abril de 2023 y notificada en este caso el 14 de abril de 2023, en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $185,144.25 por concepto de principal; $1,069.97 por concepto de intereses acumulados; $584.61 por concepto de cargos por demora; los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $19,931.50 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente. 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 efecto el día 11 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $199,315.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 18 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $132,876.66, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 25 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $99,657.50, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera

The San Juan Daily Star subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Articulo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble 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 los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) 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 (3) 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 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 Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 1 de noviembre de 2023.

EDGARDO ELÍAS VARGAS SANTANA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #193, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

RAÚL GARCÍA ROMÁN Y MARTHA HINGINIA

VALLE ROJAS T/C/P HINGINIA VALLE ROJAS Y POR MARTHA H. VALLE ROJAS

Peticionarios Civil Núm.: AR2023CV01918.

Sobre: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: TODO AQUÉL QUE TENGA ALGÚN DERECHO REAL O INTERÉS SOBRE EL INMUEBLE DESCRITO EN LA PETICIÓN DE DOMINIO QUE MUESTRA EL EPÍGRAFE; A LAS PERSONAS IGNORADAS A QUIENES PUEDA PERJUDICAR LA INSCRIPCIÓN, Y EN GENERAL, A TODA PERSONA QUE DESEE OPONERSE:

Por la presente se le notifica para que comparezcan si creyeren que les conviene, ante este Honorable Tribunal dentro de los VEINTE (20) DIAS a partir de la publicación de este edicto y exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga en el expediente promovido por el peticionario para adquirir el dominio sobre la siguiente propiedad: RÚSTICA: Parcela de terreno marcada con la letra “E” del plano de inscripción en el caso 77-06-D005-APL, con una cabida de mil cuatrocientos cincuenta y cuatro punto mil trescientos diez (1,454.1310 m.c.) metros cuadrados y en lindes por el Norte, en diez y nueve punto cinco mil cuatrocientos treinta y nueve metros (19.5439) con el solar “A” del Plano de Inscripción antes, ahora, Jorge Luis Ruiz Rivera; por el Sur, en veintitrés punto siete mil novecientos ochenta y dos metros (23.7982) con terrenos de Rosa María Jiménez antes, ahora, Raúl García Román; por el Este, en setenta y cuatro punto tres mil quinientos diez (74.3510) con terrenos de Marcial Maldonado antes, ahora, Luz Marisol Maldonado Román; por el Oeste, en dos alineaciones de veintidós punto tres mil doscientos diez y ocho (22.3218) y cuarenta y dos punto cinco mil quinientos cuarenta y dos (42.5542) respectivamente con terrenos del solar marcado con la letra “C”, ahora, América Román Álvarez, con Raúl García Román y con servidumbre de paso. No consta inscrita en el Registro de la Propiedad.

Catastro número 013-035-52483-000. Deben notificar con copia de sus alegaciones a la

The San Juan Daily Star representación legal de los peticionarios: Lcdo. Fernando H. Padrón Jiménez, PO Box 2833, Arecibo, PR 00613-2833. Tel. (787) 816-6732. En Arecibo, Puerto Rico a 24 de octubre de 2023. VIVÍAN Y. FRESSE GONZÁLEZ, SECRETARIA. ALEXANDRA ÁLVAREZ NATAL, SUB-SECRETARIA.

en la Secretaría del Tribunal de San Juan durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 16 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA y en caso de no producir remate ni LEGAL NOTICE adjudicación, se celebrará una ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO TERCERA SUBASTA el 23 DE DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 9:00 NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN sita en el lugar antes indicado.

La propiedad a venderse en JUAN BANCO POPULAR DE pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBAN: ResidenPUERTO RICO tial apartment 1210, located at Demandante Vs. SANTA MARÍA II CONDOMISUCESION DE DIONISIO NIUM, in Sabana Llana Ward NIEVES RODRIGUEZ Y of the Municipality of San Juan, SUCESION DE IVELISSE Puerto Rico, which is regular in shape, with a superficial area ROBLES RIVAS, COMPUESTA POR SUS of SEVEN HUNDRED SEHIJOS JUAN CARLOS VENTY EIGHT (778) SQUARE FEET (gross), measuring NIEVES ROBLES Y (21’) in width at its Northern SANDRA IVETTE NIEVES and Southern wall by (37”), in ROBLES; CENTRO DE length at its Western and Eastern wall. Its boundaries are the RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES following: by the North, with the common corridor; EAST, with (CRIM) apartment 1209; by the WEST Demandados and SOUTH, with the exterior. It Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV04142. consists of a living-dining area, (604). Sobre: COBRO DE DIthree bedrooms with closets, NERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOone bathroom with toilet, wash TECA POR LA VÍA ORDINAbasin and shower stall, an inteRIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. rior hall with linen closet, and a AL: PÚBLICO EN kitchen with sink, electric range, GENERAL. with oven, refrigerator, hot water heater and storage closets.

A: SUCESION DE Le corresponde un porcentaje DIONISIO NIEVES RODRIGUEZ Y SUCESION en los elementos comunes de .57875%. La escritura de DE IVELISSE ROBLES hipoteca se encuentra inscriRIVAS, COMPUESTA ta al folio 87 del tomo 1036 POR SUS HIJOS JUAN de Sábana Llana, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, CARLOS NIEVES Sección Quinta, finca número ROBLES Y SANDRA 23,914, inscripción octava. La IVETTE NIEVES dirección física de la propiedad ROBLES; CENTRO DE antes descrita es: Condominio RECAUDACION DE Santa María 2, 501 Calle MoINGRESOS MUNICIPALES desta, Apartamento 1210, San Juan, Puerto Rico. La Subasta (CRIM).

Yo, PEDRO HIEYE GONZÁ- se llevará a efecto para satisLEZ, Alguacil, Alguacil de este facer a la parte demandante la Tribunal, a la parte demandada suma de $32,806.89 de princiy a los acreedores y personas pal, intereses al 6.50% anual, con interés sobre la propiedad desde el 1ro. de septiembre de que más adelante se describe, 2021, hasta su completo pago, y al público en general, HAGO $5,200.00 para costas, gastos y SABER: Que el día 8 DE ENE- honorarios de abogado; recarRO DE 2024, A LAS 9:00 DE gos acumulados; más cualquier LA MAÑANA en mi oficina, sita otra suma que se haga en viren el Tribunal de Primera Ins- tud de la escritura de hipoteca. tancia, Sala Superior de San Dichas sumas están vencidas, Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, son líquidas y exigibles. Que la venderé en Pública Subasta la cantidad mínima de licitación propiedad inmueble que más en la primera subasta para el adelante se describe y cuya inmueble será de $52,000.00 y venta en pública subasta se or- de ser necesaria una segunda denó por la vía ordinaria al me- subasta, la cantidad mínima jor postor quien hará el pago en será equivalente a 2/3 partes dinero en efectivo, giro postal de aquella, o sea, la suma de o cheque certificado a nombre $34,666.67 y de ser necesaria del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de una tercera subasta, la cantiPrimera Instancia. Los autos y dad mínima será la mitad del todos los documentos corres- precio pactado, es decir, la pondientes al procedimiento suma de $26,000.00. De declaincoado, estarán de manifiesto rarse desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta 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 esta es mayor. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Podrán concurrir como postores a todas las subastas los titulares de créditos hipotecarios vigentes y posteriores a la hipoteca que se cobra o ejecuta, si alguno o que figuren como tales en la certificación registral y que podrán utilizar el montante de sus créditos o parte de alguno en sus ofertas. Si la oferta aceptada es por cantidad mayor a la suma del crédito o créditos preferentes al suyo, al obtener la buena pro del remate, deberá satisfacer en el mismo acto, en efectivo o en cheque de gerente, la totalidad del crédito hipotecario que se ejecuta y la de cualesquiera otro créditos posteriores al que se ejecuta pero preferente al suyo. El exceso constituirá abono total o parcial en su propio crédito. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, 13 de noviembre de 2023. PEDRO HIEYE GONZÁLEZ, ALGUACIL DE LA DIVISIÓN DE EJECUCIÓN DE SENTENCIAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante V.

SUCESION DE CARMEN GARCIA BENITEZ COMPUESTA POR VALERIE MARRERO GARCIA, JESUS MANUEL MARRERO GARCIA, JOHN DOE Y RICHARD DOE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA; CENTRO

23

DE RECAUDACIÓN DE un closet vestidor (“walk-in clo- quier otro adelanto que se haga cripción del gravamen que se UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL virtud de la escritura de hipo- está ejecutando, si alguna, y PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTAINGRESOS MUNICIPALES set”). Los otros dos (2) dormito- en teca y una suma equivalente a para la concurrencia de licitado- DOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO

Demandados Civil Núm.: FBCI201402621.

(404). Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E. U.U., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. Yo, HÉCTOR L. PEÑA RODRÍGUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #278, Alguacil del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Carolina, al público HAGO SABER: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que se me libró con fecha de 20 de abril de 2023, por la Secretaria de este Tribunal, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor con dinero en efectivo, cheque de gerente y/o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal o letra bancaria con similar garantía, todo titulo, derecho o interés de la parte demandada de epígrafe sobre la siguiente propiedad perteneciente a la parte demandada, la cual se describe a continuación: URBANA: Propiedad horizontal: Apartamento residencial marcado con el número cuatrocientos uno D (401 D), ubicado en el piso terrero del edificio D, del Condominio Ciudad Jardín de Canóvanas, gobernado por el régimen de propiedad horizontal y localizado en el Barrio Canóvanas del Municipio de Canóvanas, Puerto Rico. Tiene una cabida de mil trescientos catorce pies cuadrados (1,314 pc), equivalentes a aproximadamente ciento veintidós punto cero setecientos cincuenta y un metros cuadrados (122.0751 mc). El apartamento es de forma irregular y colinda: por el Norte, en distancia de treinta y nueve pies tres pulgadas 39’ 3”) con un área denominada “green area” y con terrenos de la Sucesión de Rafael Calderón Rivera; por el Sur, en dos alineaciones distintas, en una distancia de treinta y cuatro pies (34’ 0”) con la parte de la finca que colinda con Los Flamboyanes Court, y en otra distancia de cinco pies tres pulgadas (5’ 3”) con un área común denominada “lobby”; por el Este, en dos alineaciones distintas, en una distancia de diecinueve pies seis pulgadas (19’ 6”) con el apartamento número cuatrocientos dos D (402 D) y en otra distancia de tres pies seis pulgadas (3’ 6”) con un área común denominada “lobby”; y por el Oeste, en una distancia de veintinueve pies diez pulgada (29’ 10”) con un área denominada “green area” y con el edificio E del referido condominio.

Se compone el apartamento de sala - comedor, cocina, tres (3) cuartos dormitorios, de los cuales el cuarto principal master) está provisto de un baño y de

rios también tienen un (1) closet en su interior. Además, el apartamento está provisto de otro baño, área de laundry y un closet para ropa linen closet”) localizados en el pasillo y una terraza. Le corresponde una participación en los elementos comunes generales del edificio igual a cero punto seis mil veintisiete de porciento (0.6027%).

Se le asigna el uso de dos (2) espacios de estacionamiento señalados en los planos con los números cuatrocientos uno 401), localizados uno al lado del otro. Inscrita al folio 148 del tomo 365 de Canóvanas, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Tercera (III) de Carolina, finca número 14,712.

Dirección física: 401 Condominio Ciudad Jardín, Canovanas, PR 00729. La finca 14,712 está gravada con la siguiente hipoteca cuya ejecución se solicita en la subasta objeto de este edicto: Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Popular Mortgage Inc; o a su orden, por la suma principal de $175,000,00 con intereses al 7% anual, vencedero a la presentación, constituida mediante la escritura número 16, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 9 de abril de 2008, ante la notario Jelka L. Duchesne Sanabria, e inscrita al folio 148 del tomo 365 de Canovanas, finca 14,712 inscripción 4ta. La propiedad está afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: A. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $262,500.00, con intereses al 7% anual, vencedero a la presentación, constituida mediante la escritura número 17, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día el día 9 de abril de 2008, ante la notario Jelka L. Duchesne Sanabria, e inscrita al folio 148 del tomo 365 de Canovanas, finca 14,712 inscripción 5ta. La venta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a Banco Popular de Puerto Rico; por la hipoteca de $175,000.00 total o parcialmente. 1. La venta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, total o parcialmente el importe de la Sentencia emitida el 26 de septiembre de 2022, notificada y archivada en autos el mismo día. El importe de la Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe, asciende a las siguientes cantidades: 297,775.38 de principal, más intereses al tipo pactado de 7% anual a partir del 31 de agosto de 2022, los cuales continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la deuda, más una suma de $17,500.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más la cantidad de $17,500.00 para cubrir cual-

$17,500.00 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. El precio mínimo de licitación con relación a la antes descrita propiedad y la fecha y hora de cada subasta es como sigue: PRIMERA SUBASTA: Se celebrará el día 9 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. PRECIO MÍNIMO: $175.000.00. Segunda Subasta: Se celebrará el día 16 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. PRECIO MÍNIMO: $116,666.66. TERCERA SUBASTA: Se celebrará el día 23 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. PRECIO MÍNIMO: $87,500.00. Las subastas de dicha propiedad se llevarán a efecto en mi oficina situada en el local que ocupa este Tribunal en el Centro Judicial de Carolina, advirtiéndose que el que obtuviere la buena pro de dicha propiedad consignará en el acto del remate el importe de su oferta en moneda legal, en adición a los gastos de la subasta, siendo éste el mejor postor. En cualquier momento luego de haberse comenzado el acto de la subasta, el Alguacil podrá requerir de los licitadores que le evidencien la capacidad de pago de sus posturas. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante el título del inmueble y las cargas o gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistiendo, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda responsable de los mismos sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se le apercibe a los tenedores de gravámenes posteriores al que se ejecuta que, para proteger cualesquiera derechos que tengan sobre el inmueble, deberán comparecer a la subasta, pues de no hacerlo así y de no igualar el precio de venta del gravamen hipotecario que se ejecuta, el Tribunal ordenará la cancelación de todos los gravámenes posteriores. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Si se declara desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento del caso de epígrafe están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala Superior de Carolina, durante horas laborables. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda persona que tenga interés inscrito con posterioridad a la ins-

res y para el público en general LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERel presente edicto se publicará TO RICO, S.S. AVISO DE PÚen un diario de circulación ge- BLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil neral en el Estado Libre Asocia- que suscribe por la presente do de Puerto Rico una vez por anuncia y hace constar que en semana por un término de dos cumplimiento de la Sentencia (2) semanas con un intervalo dictada el 26 de mayo de 2023 de por lo menos siete (7) días y notificada el 26 de mayo de entre cada publicación. Se fija- 2023, la Orden de Ejecución de rá además, en tres (3) lugares Sentencia del 3 de noviembre públicos del Municipio donde de 2023 y el Mandamiento de ha de celebrarse la subasta, Ejecución del 6 de noviembre estos lugares serán la Alcaldía, de 2023 en el caso de epígrafe, el Tribunal y la Colecturía de procederé a vender el día 11 dicho Municipio. Se notificará a DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS la parte demandada copia del 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi edicto de subasta mediante co- oficina, localizada en el Triburreo certificado con acuse de nal de Primera Instancia, Cenrecibo a su dirección que obra tro Judicial de Vega Baja, Sala en autos. Una vez efectuada la Superior, Carretera Número correspondiente venta judicial, Dos (2) Kilómetro 38.3 (al lado otorgaré la escritura del traspa- del Centro Gubernamental) so al licitador victorioso, quien Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, al mepodrá ser la parte demandante, jor postor en pago de contado cuya oferta podrá aplicarse a la y en moneda de los Estados extinción parcial o total de la Unidos de América, cheque obligación reconocida por la de gerente o giro postal, todo Sentencia. Colocaré al licitador título, derecho o interés de la victorioso en posesión física de parte demandada sobre la sila Propiedad mediante el lanza- guiente propiedad: URBANA: miento de los ocupantes en el PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: término legal de veinte (20) Condominio Patio de Vega días desde la fecha de la venta Baja. Apartamento: C guion en pública subasta. Si transcu- ocho (C-8). Cabida: 479.97 rren los referidos veinte (20) pies cuadrados. Su descripción días, el Tribunal podrá ordenar, legal es como sigue: Propiedad sin necesidad de ulterior proce- Horizontal: Apartamento Residimiento, que se lleve a efecto dencial Número C guion ocho el desalojo o lanzamiento del (C-8) de una planta y de forma ocupante o ocupantes de la fin- irregular localizado en la segunca o de todos los que por orden da planta del Condominio Patio o del deudor la ocupen. El Re- situado en la calle José Julián gistrador de la Propiedad can- Acosta del Municipio de Vega celará, libre de derechos, todo Baja, Puerto Rico, teniendo un gravamen posterior a la fecha área aproximada de 44.59 meen que se otorgó la hipoteca tros cuadrados, equivalentes a que ha sido ejecutada median- 479.97 pies cuadrados. El aparte esta acción, y procederá a la tamento colinda por el NORTE, inscripción de la venta a favor distancia de 18’ 4”, equivalendel comprador en subasta libre tes a 5.59 metros lineales con de todo gravamen posterior a la el apartamento C guion siete fecha en que se otorgó la hipo- (C-7); por el SUR, en distancia teca que ha sido ejecutada me- de 19’ 4” equivalentes a 5.89 diante esta acción. Expido el metros lineales con espacio expresente edicto bajo mi firma y terior; por el ESTE, en distancia sello del Tribunal de Primera de 33’ 9”, equivalentes a 10.29 Instancia, Sala de Carolina. En metros, con espacio exterior; y Carolina, Puerto Rico, a 14 de por el OESTE, en distancia de noviembre de 2023. HÉCTOR 33’ 9”, equivalentes a 10.29 L. PEÑA RODRÍGUEZ, AL- metros lineales con pasillo y GUACIL PLACA #278, ALGUA- Apartamento C guion cinco CIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRI- (C-5). La puerta de entrada de MERA INSTANCIA, SALA este apartamento está situada en su lindero OESTE, a través SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA. de la cual se llega al exterior LEGAL NOTICE del edificio. El área de vivienda ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO consta de sala, comedor, coDE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- cina, un cuarto de dormitorio, NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA con closet, un baño y lavanSALA SUPERIOR DE VEGA dería. Tiene una participación BAJA de 12.3821% en los elemenBANCO POPULAR DE tos comunes del condominio.

La propiedad y la escritura de PUERTO RICO hipoteca constan inscritas al Parte Demandante Vs. tomo Karibe de Vega Baja, FinMARIANA RODRÍGUEZ ca 33877, Registro de la ProPEDROZA piedad de Bayamón, Sección Parte Demandada IV. Inscripción segunda (2da).

Civil Núm.: VB2023CV00227. Dirección Física: Cond. Patio, (201). Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE 95 Calle José Julián Acosta, HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA OR- Apt. C-8, Vega Baja, PR 00693.

DINARIA “IN REM”. ESTADOS El tipo mínimo para la primera

24 subasta será de $21,120.00.

De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, el día 18 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $14,080.00. De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 25 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $10,560.00. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por 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. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Sentencia por la suma $20,204.42 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 7.375% anual desde el 1 de febrero de 2013 hasta su completo pago, más $772.74 de recargos acumulados, los cuales continuarán en aumento hasta el saldo total de la deuda, más la cantidad estipulada de $2,112.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo, , incluyendo pero sin limitarse a gastos de mantenimiento, inspecciones y otros adelantos “corporate advances”. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesan los siguientes gravámenes posteriores que afectan la propiedad en cuestión: a. Hipoteca: Constituida por Mariana Rodríguez Pedroza (soltera), en garantía de pagaré a favor de la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma de $19,000.00, sin intereses y vencedero en 15 años, según consta de la Escritura #34, otorgada en San Juan, el 23 de diciembre de 2008, ante el notario Ignacio Villamarzo García, inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Vega Baja, finca #33877, inscripción segunda (2da). Nota: Sujeta a condiciones bajo el programa La Llave para tu Hogar por 15 años. b. Hipoteca: Constituida por Mariana Rodríguez Pedroza (soltera), en garantía de pagare a favor del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Departamento de la Vivienda, o a su orden, por la suma de $40,000.00, sin intereses y vencedero en 15 años, según consta de la Escritura #39, otorgada en San Juan, el 23 de diciembre de 2008, ante la notario Ruth N. Morillo Limardo,

inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Vega Baja, finca #33877, inscripción cuarta (4ta). Nota: Condiciones bajo Home Investment Partnership Act también conocido como Home por 15 años. c. Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico vs Mariana Rodríguez Pedroza (soltera), ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Vega Baja, en el Caso Civil Número VB2023CV00227, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $20,204.42 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 30 de marzo de 2023. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Vega Baja. Anotación A. Se les advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. Se entenderá 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; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 210-2015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, hoy 10 de noviembre de 2023. LUIS F. ORTIZ ROSA, ALGUACIL #888, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE VEGA BAJA. ***

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

ACQUAMARINA HOLDINGS, LLC Demandante V.

ANGEL MANUEL ROMAN DIAZ; JUAN DEL PUEBLO Y JUANA DEL PUEBLO

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Y CUALESQUIERA PERSONA DESCONOCIDA CON POSIBLE INTERÉS EN LA OBLIGACIÓN CUYA CANCELACIÓN POR DECRETO JUDICIAL SE SOLICITA

Demandados Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV10346.

Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: JUAN Y JUANA DEL PUEBLO.

Por la presente se le notifica que ha sido presentada en este Tribunal una Demanda en su contra en el pleito de epígrafe. En este caso la parte demandante ha radicado una Demanda para que se decrete judicialmente el saldo de (1) pagaré hipotecario: pagaré a favor ANGEL MANUEL ROMAN DIAZ, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $1,020,000.00, con intereses al 5% anual, vencedero el 1 de abril de 2016, constituida mediante la escritura número 83, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 6 de abril de 2055, ante el notario Rey J. León Colón, e inscrita al tomo Karibe de Santurce Norte, finca número 46,482, inscripción 6ta.; sobre la propiedad que se describe a continuación: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento Residencial No. 801 ubicado en el 8vo. piso del CONDOMINIO ACQUAMARINA AT ASHFORD 1315, ubicado en el Sector del Condado, del Barrio Santurce del Municipio de San Juan. Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de 3,211.8472 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 298.3904 metros cuadrados.

Su entrada principal es por el lado NORTE del vestíbulo del 8vo. piso, que a su vez es el lado SUR del apartamento.

También tiene otra entrada que da acceso directo al cuarto de servicio por el lado OESTE del vestíbulo, que a su vez es el lado ESTE del apartamento.

Sus linderos los siguientes: Por el Norte en una extensión de 11.59 metros, con espacio exterior; Por el Sur, en una extensión de nueve punto setenta 9.70 metros, con el apartamento residencial No. 803 y en una extensión de 1.89 metros con un área común del Condominio consistente de escalera de emergencia, poso del ascensor vestíbulo; Por el Este en una extensión de 8.71 metros, con espacio exterior y en una extensión de 19.43 metros, con un área común del Condominio: Por el Oeste, en una extensión de 28.14 metros, con espacio exterior. Contiene: Recibidor

(“foyer”), sala, comedor, área de estudio (“den”) con 1 baño completo y 1 closet de pared, “family room”, terraza techada, 2 closets con espacio para aires acondicionados y uno de ellos con espacio para el calentador de agua, cocina con “pantry” y cuarto de lavandería, un medio baño en la entrada y 1 baño completo en el pasillo, 1 cuarto deservicio con su closet de pared y baño completo, cuarto principal (“master bedroom”) con un “walk-in closet”, un closet de pared y su baño completo con “linen closet”, 1 cuarto con un 1 “walk-in closet” y un segundo cuarto con un 1 closet de pared. Le pertenecen y se le anexan a este apartamento 3 espacios de estacionamiento localizados en el sótano de la TORRE RESIDENCIAL cada uno con espacio para un automóvil, identificados con los números 5, 11 y 12. Para propósitos del cómputo del por ciento de participación de este apartamento en los elementos comunes generales y en los elementos comunes limitados del Condominio, se le ha adjudicado al espacio de estacionamiento identificado con el No. 5 una cabida de 133.5000 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 12.4026 metros cuadrados; al espacio de estacionamiento identificado con el No. 11, una cabida de 231.1111 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 21.4709 metros cuadrados y el espacio de estacionamiento identificado con el No.12, con una cabida de 231.1111 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 21.4709 metros cuadrados. Le corresponde y forma parte integral de este apartamento un cuarto de almacén privado, no contiguo, localizado en el 8vo. Piso. La descripción de dicho cuarto de almacén privado es la siguiente: CUARTO DE ALMACÉN PRIVADO No. 6. Unidad de apartamento de almacén de forma irregular identificado con el No. 6, ubicado en el 8vo. piso del Condominio Acquamarina at Ashford 1315. Este cuarto de almacén privado tiene una cabida superficial 62.6960 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 5.8246 metros cuadrados. Su entrada está en su colindancia Oeste, que a su vez es parte de la colindancia Este del vestíbulo del 8vo. piso del Condominio.

Sus linderos son los siguientes: Por el NORTE, en una extensión de 2.90 metros, con área común del Condominio; por el SUR, en una extensión de 0.23 metros con área común del Condominio y en una extensión de 2.67 metros, con espacio exterior; por el ESTE, en una extensión 2.16 metros, con espacio exterior; y por el OESTE, en una extensión de 2.16 metros, con área común del Condominio. Mediante la escritura No.4, otorgada el 25 de marzo de 2008, ante la no-

tario público María del Rosario Pujol Thompson, se constituyó servidumbre de paso a perpetuidad gravando el Apartamento Residencial No. 901, el Apartamento Residencial No.1101, el Apartamento Residencial No. 1201, el Apartamento Residencial No. 1401 y el Apartamento Residencial No. PH-I como predios sirvientes a favor de este Apartamento residencial No. 801 como predio dominante.

Mediante la escritura que se menciona en el párrafo anterior, se constituyó servidumbre de paso a perpetuidad gravando el apartamento residencial No. 801 como predio sirviente a favor de los Apartamentos No. 201, 301, 501 y 601 como predios dominantes. Para propósitos del cómputo del por ciento de participación de este apartamento en los elementos comunes generales y en los elementos comunes limitados del condominio, este apartamento con sus anejos los cuales incluyen los 3 espacios de estacionamiento para vehículos de motor y 1 cuarto de almacén privado tiene una cabida total de 3,870.2654 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 359.5594 metros cuadrados. Finca número 46,482, inscrita al folio 18 del tomo 1,210 de Santurce Norte, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de San Juan. La parte demandante alega que dicho pagaré ha sido saldado según más detalladamente consta en la Demanda radicada que puede examinarse en la Secretaría de este Tribunal. Por tratarse de una obligación hipotecaria y pudiendo usted tener interés en este caso o quedar afectado por el remedio solicitado, se le emplaza por este edicto que se publicará una vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general de Puerto Rico. 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.poderjudicial.pr/index. php/tribunal-electronico salvo que se represente por derecho propio. Debe notificar con copia de ella a la abogada de la parte demandante a la Lcda. Alyssa Rivera Rivera, a la dirección P.O. Box 19815, San Juan, P.R. 00910. Teléfono 787-4007269, dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Se le apercibe que, de no hacerlo así dentro del término indicado, el Tribunal podrá anotar su rebeldía y dictar sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado en la Demanda sin más citarle, ni oírle.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y SELLO DEL TRIBUNAL, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy a 30 de noviembre de 2023.

GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIO-

NAL. TAMARA DE LEÓN, SUB- NORTE y ESTE, con terrenos SECRETARIA. de José L. Pesquera; por el SUR, con terrenos de los meLEGAL NOTICE nores Carmen Altagracia y FerESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO dinand Rodríguez Rosado y por DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- el OESTE, con el citado “camiNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA no sin nombre”. Enclava en diCENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYA- cho solar una casa de concreto armado de una sola planta que MÓN SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE contiene dos cuartos dormitorios, sala, comedor, cocina, serPUERTO RICO vicio sanitario y balcón, según Demandante Vs. inscripción 2da. La propiedad LA SUCESION DE antes relacionada consta inscriFELICITA ESCOBAR ta al Folio 156 del Tomo 109 de CAMACHO COMPUESTA Bayamón Sur, bajo la finca número 5,830, en el Registro de la POR RENI HIRAM ROSARIO ESCOBAR; Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Primera. El tipo mínimo WANDA ROSARIO para la primera subasta del inESCOBAR; FULANO Y mueble antes relacionado, será FULANA DE TAL COMO el dispuesto en la Escritura de POSIBLES HEREDEROS Hipoteca, es decir la suma de DESCONOCIDOS DE LA $38,000.00. Si no hubiere reSUCESION; CENTRO mate ni adjudicación en la prisubasta del inmueble DE RECAUDACION DE mera mencionado, se celebrará una INGRESOS MUNICIPALES SEGUNDA SUBASTA en las (CRIM) oficinas del Alguacil que suscriDemandados be el 24 DE ENERO DE 2024, Civil Núm.: BY2023CV01855. A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA Sala: 502. Sobre: COBRO DE en la Oficina del Alguacil de SuDINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HI- bastas, sita en el cuarto piso del POTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA). Tribunal de Primera Instancia, EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Al- Sala Superior de Bayamón. En guacil que suscribe por la pre- la segunda subasta que se cesente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y lebre servirá de tipo mínimo las hace CONSTAR: Que en cum- dos terceras partes (2/3) del plimiento de un Mandamiento precio pactado en la primera de Ejecución de Sentencia que subasta, o sea la suma de le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil $25,333.33. Si tampoco hubieque suscribe por la Secretaría re remate ni adjudicación en la del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA segunda subasta se celebrará INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDI- una TERCERA SUBASTA en CIAL DE BAYAMON, SALA SU- las oficinas del Alguacil que PERIOR, en el caso de epígra- suscribe el día 31 DE ENERO fe procederá a vender en DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA pública subasta al mejor postor MAÑANA en la Oficina del Alen efectivo, cheque certificado guacil de Subastas, sita en el en moneda legal de los Esta- cuarto piso del Tribunal de Pridos Unidos de América el 17 mera Instancia, Sala Superior DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS de Bayamón. Para la tercera 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la subasta servirá de tipo mínimo Oficina del Alguacil de Subas- la mitad (1/2) del precio pactatas, sita en el cuarto piso del do para el caso de ejecución, o Tribunal de Primera Instancia, sea, la suma de $19,000.00. La Sala Superior de Bayamón todo hipoteca a ejecutarse en el derecho, título e interés que caso de epígrafe fue constituitenga la parte demandada de da mediante la escritura de hiepígrafe en el inmueble de su poteca número 310 otorgada propiedad que ubica en: URBA- en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, el NIZACION BRAULIO DUEÑO, día 27 de octubre de 2008, ante A-24 CALLE 1, BAYAMON, PR el notario Duncan Maldonado 00959 y que se describe a con- Ejarque, e inscrita al folio 82 del tinuación: RÚSTICA: Predio de tomo 1965 de Bayamón Sur, terreno radicado en un camino finca número 5830, inscripción sin nombre que parte hacia el 9na., como asiento abreviado Sur desde la esquina que for- extendida las líneas el día 19 man las Calles Comerío y Las de octubre de 2017, en virtud Marías del pueblo de Bayamón, de la Ley número 216 del día Puerto Rico. Empieza dicho 27 de diciembre de 2010. (Fue predio de terreno a los cuatro- presentado el día 20 de nocientos (400) pies de un monu- viembre de 2008 al Asiento mento de concreto que está 1544 del Diario 1278), en el Recolocado al lado Sur de dicha gistro de la Propiedad de Bayacalle de Comerío en la expresa- món, Sección Primera. Dicha da esquina y mide veinte y cin- subasta se llevará a cabo para co (25) pies de ancho, o sea, de con su producto satisfacer al frente a dicho camino, por Demandante total o parcialochenta (80) pies con veinte mente según sea el caso el imcinco (25) centésimas de largo, porte de la Sentencia que ha equivalentes a ciento ochenta y obtenido contra la parte demanseis metros con treinta y ocho dada ascendente a la suma de centímetros cuadrados $32,904.16 por concepto de (186.38). Colidando por el principal, desde el 1ro de no-

viembre de 2022, más intereses al tipo pactado de 9.25% anual que continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además, la parte co-demandada, La Sucesión de Felicita Escobar Camacho, adeuda a la parte demandante los cargos por demora equivalentes a 5.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $3,800.00. Además, la parte co-demandada, La Sucesión de Felicita Escobar Camacho, se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $3,800.00 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $3,800.00 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMON, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Surge de un estudio de título que, sobre la finca descrita anteriormente, pesa un gravamen posterior a la hipoteca que se ejecuta mediante este procedimiento que se relacionan a continuación; a) Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $25,000.00, sin intereses, vencedero el día 28 de octubre de 2016, constituida mediante la escritura número 311, otorgada en (no expresa), Puerto Rico, el día 27 de octubre de 2008, el notario Duncan Maldonado Ejarque, e inscrita al folio 83 del tomo 1965 de Bayamón Sur, finca número 5830, inscripción 9na., como Asiento Abreviado extendida las líneas el día 19 de octubre de 2017, en virtud de la Ley número 216 del día 27 de diciembre de 2010. (Fue presentado el día 20 de noviembre de 2008 al Asiento 1545 del Diario 1278). Sujeta a

The San Juan Daily Star Condiciones bajo el Programa “La Llave para tu Hogar”, no expresa el término. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 27 de noviembre de 2023. EDGARDO ELÍAS VARGAS SANTANA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #193, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN, SALA SUPERIOR.

LEGAL NOTICE

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 A: JESÚS E. BURGOS TORRES.

POR LA PRESENTE: Se le notifica que contra usted se ha presentado la Demanda sobre Cobro de Dinero de la cual se acompaña copia. Por la presente se le emplaza a usted y se le requiere para que dentro del término de TREINTA (30) días desde la fecha de la Publicación por Edicto de este Emplazamiento presente su contestación 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 la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Coamo, P.O. Box 1923, Coamo, Puerto Rico 007691923 y notifique a la LCDA. GINA H. FERRER MEDINA, personalmente al Condominio Las Nereidas, Local 1-B, Calle Méndez Vigo esquina Amador Ramírez Silva, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00680; o por correo al Apartado 2342, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681-2342, Teléfonos: (787) 832-9620 y (845) 345-3985, Abogada de la parte demandante, apercibiéndose que en caso de no hacerlo así podrá dictarse Sentencia en Rebeldía en contra suya, concediendo el remedio solicitado en la Demanda sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el Sello del Tribunal hoy 14 de noviembre de 2023.

ELIZABETH GONZÁLEZ RIVERA, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. AIDA LUZ MERLY GARCÍA, SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL CONFIDENCIAL II.

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 23 de octubre de 2023, 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 29 de noviembre de 2023. En Humacao, Puerto Rico, el 29 de noviembre de 2023. IVELISSE C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA. KARILIN MORALES FIGUEROA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HUMACAO SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO SALÓN DE SESIONES SALÓN 206

Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: CG2023CV00042.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. JAIME RUIZ SALDAÑA LEGAL@JRSLAWPR.COM

Demandado Civil Núm.: CO2023CV00372.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

tencia, 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 29 de noviembre de 2023. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, el 29 de noviembre de 2023.

LISILDA MARTÍNEZ AGOSTO, SECRETARIA. VIONNETTE ESPINOSA CASTILLO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 29 de noviembre de 2023. En Humacao, Puerto Rico, el 29 de noviembre de 2023. IVELISSE C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA. IVELISSE M. MONCLOVA SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE PONCE SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE SALÓN DE SESIONES 406 - CIVIL SUPERIOR

FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO SUCESION DE LOURDES DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUCOLON MORALES Y NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA OTROS CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HUDemandado(a) MACAO SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO SALÓN DE SESIO- Caso Núm.: PO2022CV02389.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO NES SALÓN 208 BANCO POPULAR DE - ORDINARIO Y OTROS. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA PUERTO RICO POR EDICTO. Demandante V. MARICELI PEREZ GONZALEZ ZULEIKA MARIN QUILES NOTIFICACIONES@ GARCIACHAMORRO.COM Demandado(a) MELISA FIGUEROA CASTRO Caso Núm.: HU2022CV00733.

MELISA.FIGUEROA@GMAIL.COM Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO A: SUCESION DE - ORDINARIO Y OTROS. NOLOURDES COLON TIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. MORALES COMPUESTA GUILLERMO A. SOMOZA POR FULANO DE COLOMBANI TAL, FULANA DE TAL, BILLYSOMOZA@YAHOO.COM

SUTANO DE TAL Y A: ZULEIKA MARÍN SUTANA DE TAL, A, B Y QUILES A SUS ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO C COMO HEREDEROS DIRECCIONES DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUDESCONOCIDOS. CONOCIDAS: Q-14 CITY NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA (Nombre de las partes que se le PALACE II DEV. RIO CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAnotifican la sentencia por edicto) GUAS SALA SUPERIOR DE WARD, NAGUABO, PR EL SECRETARIO(A) que susCAGUAS SALÓN DE SESIO00718, 4241 DESERT cribe le notifica a usted que el NES SALÓN 802 ROSE AVE. KISSIMMEE, 20 de noviembre de 2023, este ORIENTAL BANK FL 34746-2321. P/C LCDO. Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, LEGAL NOTICE Demandante V. GUILLERMO A. SOMOZA Sentencia Parcial o Resolución ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO en este caso, que ha sido debiARMANDO COLOMBANI. DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUdamente registrada y archivada DIAZ VAZQUEZ (Nombre de las partes que se le

ASOCIACIÓN DE PROPIETARIOS DE PLAYA HÚCARES, INC.

Demandante V. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO ELISA MESÍAS ROMERO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL Y OTROS GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIDemandado(a) BUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTAN- Caso Núm.: NG2023CV00024.

CIA SALA DE COAMO Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO BANCO POPULAR DE ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. PUERTO RICO JOSÉ R. GONZÁLEZ RIVERA Demandante Vs. JRG@GONZALEZMORALES.COM

JESÚS E. BURGOS TORRES

HUMACAO, PUERTO RICO, 00792.

A: ELISA MESÍAS ROMERO, MARIA E. ANNONI MESÍAS, JUAN N. ANNONI MESÍAS, DAMIAN ANNONI MESÍAS, ROBERTO ANNONI MESÍAS, P/C DE: JOSÉ R. GONZÁLEZ RIVERA PO BOX 10242,

LEGAL NOTICE

A: ARMANDO DIAZ VAZQUEZ.

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 15 de noviembre de 2023, 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 Sen-

notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 28 de noviembre de 2023, 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

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 30 de noviembre de 2023. En Ponce, Puerto Rico, el 30 de noviembre de 2023. CARMEN G. TIRÚ QUIÑONES, SECRETARIA. EREINA AGRONT LEÓN, SE-

CRETARIA AUXILIAR TRIBUNAL.

25

DEL en distancia de veintiún metros forme a la ley, expido la presencon cincuenta centímetros; por te bajo mi firma y sello de este el SUR, paseo número uno de tribunal, hoy 4 de diciembre de LEGAL NOTICE la referida urbanización, en dis- 2023 en Bayamón, Puerto Rico.

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO tancia de veintiún metros con EDGARDO ELÍAS VARGAS DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- cincuenta centímetros; por el SANTANA, ALGUACIL AUXINAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA ESTE, con solar número once LIAR PLACA #193.

SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYA- de la mencionada urbanizaLEGAL NOTICE MÓN ción, en distancia de nueve metros con ochenta centímetros; y ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO BANCO POPULAR DE por el OESTE, con calle núme- DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUPUERTO RICO ro uno en distancia de nueve NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Demandante V. metros con ochenta centíme- SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN SUCESIÓN DE ANGEL tros. Inscrita al folio 25 del tomo JUAN LUIS PÉREZ RÍOS, 748 de Bayamón Sur, Registro FERNÁNDEZ JUNCOS COMPUESTA POR: de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, HOLDINGS, LLC ZUTANO Y PERENCEJO Sección Primera de Bayamón, Parte Demandante V. finca número 34,133. Dirección DE TAL, COMO SUCESIÓN DE ANA POSIBLES HEREDEROS física: 10#1 ST. ALTURAS DE CELIA RAMOS GARCÍA BAYAMON, BAYAMON, PR. DESCONOCIDOS COMPUESTA POR 00956. B. Que los autos y toDE LA SUCESIÓN; dos los documentos corresFULANA DE TAL, FULANO Y MENGANO pondientes al procedimiento SUTANO DE TAL Y incoado están de manifiesto DE TAL, COMO MENGANO DE TAL POSIBLES HEREDEROS en la Secretaría del Tribunal Parte Demandada durante las horas laborables Caso Núm.: SJ2023CV08070.

DESCONOCIDOS DE bajo el epígrafe de este caso.

Salón Núm.: 505. Acción Civil LA SUCESIÓN DE C. Que se entenderá que todo CRUZ RÍOS CRUZ T/C/C licitador acepta como bastante De: COBRO DE DINERO VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENCRUCITA RÍOS CRUZ; la titularidad y que las cargas TO E INTERPELACIÓN POR y gravámenes anteriores y los DEPARTAMENTO DE EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS HACIENDA DE PUERTO preferentes, si los hubiere, al DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIcrédito ejecutante, continuarán DENTE DE LOS EE.UU. DE RICO subsistentes, entendiéndose AMÉRICA, EL ESTADO LIDemandados que el rematente los acepta BRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO Civil Núm.: BY2023CV03225. y queda subrogado en la resRICO. (503). Sobre: INTERPELAponsabilidad de los mismos, CIÓN; COBRO DE DINERO Y A: SUCESIÓN DE sin destinarse a su extinción el EJECUCIÓN DE GARANTÍAS. ANA CELIA RAMOS precio del remate. La propiedad EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTAGARCÍA COMPUESTA a ser ejecutada se adquirirá DOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, libre de cargas y gravámenes POR FULANA DE TAL, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESposteriores. D. Dicha subasta SUTANO DE TAL Y TADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIse llevará a cabo para satisMENGANO DE TAL. BRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO facer a la parte demandante Quedan emplazados y notificaRICO, SS. el importe de la sentencia que dos que en este Tribunal se ha A: PUBLICO EN ha obtenido ascendente a la radicado Demanda sobre cobro GENERAL. suma principal de $37,253.51, de dinero en la que se alega El Alguacil del Tribunal que sus- que incluye intereses según que la parte demandada, SUcribe anuncia y hace constar: A. pactados, cargos por demora CESIÓN DE ANA CELIA RAQue en cumplimiento del Man- y otros cargos, que se acumuMOS GARCÍA COMPUESTA damiento que me ha sido dirigi- lan diariamente hasta su total y POR FULANA DE TAL, SUTAdo por la Secretaria del Tribunal completo pago, más la suma de NO DE TAL Y MENGANO DE de Primera Instancia de Puerto 10% del principal, por concepto TAL, le adeuda a Fernández Rico, Sala de Bayamón, en el de costas, gastos y honorarios Juncos Holdings LLC, la suma caso de epígrafe, venderé en de abogado. La PRIMERA SUtotal de $281,446.56 correspública subasta y al mejor pos- BASTA se celebrará el día 29 pondiente a las cuotas de mantor de contado y en moneda de DE ENERO DE 2024 A LAS tenimiento de la Suite 102, por curso legal y corriente de los 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA en la concepto de gastos comunes Estados Unidos de América Oficina del Alguacil del Tribunal de mantenimiento adeudados y cuyo pago se efectuará en de Primera Instancia de Baa la fecha de la presentación efectivo, giro postal o cheque yamón, por el tipo mínimo de de la demanda, más las sumas certificado a nombre del Al- $49,400.00. De declararse deque se acumulen por concepto guacil del Tribunal de Primera sierta dicha subasta se celebrade mensualidades de gastos Instancia, todo derecho, título o rá una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el comunes, intereses, penalidainterés que tenga la Parte De- día 5 DE FEBRERO DE 2024 A des, gastos de mantenimientos mandada en el bien inmueble LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en y recargos de los meses subsique se describe a continuación: el mismo lugar antes mencioguientes, más las costas, gasURBANA: Solar identificado nado. El precio para la segunda tos y honorarios de abogado. con el número diez en el plano subasta lo será 2/3 partes del Por otro lado, se notifica que en de inscripción levantado por la precio mínimo de la primera, o este Tribunal se ha solicitado Corporación de Renovación sea, $32,933.33. De declararse y aceptado una interpelación Urbana y Vivienda de Puerto desierta dicha segunda subasjudicial de la parte demandante Rico para su proyecto de sola- ta, se celebrará una TERCERA Sucesión de Ana Celia Ramos res con viviendas a bajo costo, SUBASTA el día 12 DE FEGarcía compuesta por Fulana denominado VBC Once y mejor BRERO DE 2024 A LAS 10:45 De Tal, Sutano De Tal y Menconocido por “Urbanización Los DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo gano De Tal, para que dentro Pastos”, sita en el Barrio Juan lugar antes mencionado. El del término legal de treinta Sánchez, del término munici- precio para la tercera subasta (30) días contados a partir de pal de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, lo será 1/2 del precio mínimo de la fecha de la publicación del con cabida superficial de dos- la primera, o sea, $24,700.00. presente edicto, acepten o recientos diez metros cuadrados Y PARA QUE ASÍ CONSTE, y pudien la participación que les con setenta centésimas del para su publicación en un pecorresponda en la Sucesión. metro cuadrado. En lindes por riódico de circulación general y Si los herederos no se expreel NORTE, con solar número por un término de catorce (14) saren dentro de ese término nueve de dicha urbanización, días en los sitios públicos con-

26 de treinta (30) días en torno a su aceptación o repudiación de la herencia, ésta se tendrá por aceptada. Se le advierte que este edicto se publicará en un periódico de circulación general una sola vez y que, si no comparecen a contestar dicha Demanda y además, aceptar y repudiar la herencia esta se tendrá por aceptada, y que luego del transcurso del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del Edicto, a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al 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, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio así solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle y se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante, y por consiguiente, responden por las cargas de la herencia conforme dispone el Artículo 957 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. §2785. La abogada de la parte demandante es el Lcdo. Alejandro Bellver Espinosa, cuya dirección física y postal es: Cond. El Centro I, Suite 801, 500 Muñoz Rivera Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918; cuyo número de teléfono es (787) 946-5268, y su correo electrónico es: alejandro@bellverlaw.com. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 28 de noviembre de 2023.

GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. MARÍA SERRANO SOTO, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HUMACAO SALA SUPERIOR

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante Vs.

KEISHA LYANNET ORTIZ CINTRON (DEUDOR HIPOTECARIO); VRM DEVELOPMENT, LLC (ANTES VRM DEVELOPMENT, INC.) (TITULAR REGISTRAL)

Demandados Civil Núm.: HU2023CV00325.

Sala: 208. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA).

EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría

del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HUMACAO, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 9 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HUMACAO, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en: D-5 CALLE MEDITERRANEO, URBANIZACION PALACIOS DEL MAR, HUMACAO, PR 00791 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Palacios del Mar, localizada en el Barrio Buena Vista del término municipal de Humacao, Puerto Rico, que se describe en el Plano de Inscripción de la Urbanización con el número, área y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación: número del solar: cinco del Bloque D (D-5). Area del solar: trescientos cuarenta y uno punto cincuenta y nueve metros cuadrados (341.59 m.c). En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar número diecinueve del Bloque A (A-19) y con el solar número veinte del bloque A (A-20), en una distancia de veintitrés punto cero ocho metros (23.08 m.); por el SUR, con el solar número cuatro del bloque D (D-4), en una distancia de veintitrés metros (23.00 m.); por el ESTE, con la Calle Mediterráneo, en una distancia de doce punto cincuenta y siete metros (12.57 m.); y por el OESTE, con el solar número uno del bloque E (E1) y con el solar número dos del bloque E (E-2), en una distancia de diecisiete punto cuarenta y dos metros (17.42 m.). En este solar se ha construido una vivienda de bloques y hormigón reforzado para una familia. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Humacao, bajo la finca número 31,805, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $136,896.46. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 16 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $91,264.31. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 23 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $68,448.23. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura número 58 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 16 de octubre de 2014, ante la Notario Ana Isabel Díaz Cabán y consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Humacao, Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao, inscripción Primera (1ra) modificada en cuanto a su principal que será de $136,896.46, en cuanto a su interés que será al 3.00%; en cuanto a su pago mensual de principal e interés será por la cantidad de $577.16, en cuanto a su vencimiento que será el primero (1ro) de noviembre de 2051; en cuanto al tipo mínimo para la primera subasta en caso de ejecución será la cantidad de $136,896.46, según consta de la escritura de modificación de hipoteca número 295, otorgada el día 26 de noviembre de 2021, en San Juan, Puerto Rico ante la Notario Público Ileana Quintero Aguiló, esta inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Humacao, en la inscripción Tercera (3ra). Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido contra la parte demandada ascendente a la suma de $134,520.66 por concepto de principal, desde el 1ro de octubre de 2022, más intereses al tipo pactado de 3.00% anual que continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además, la parte codemandada Keisha Lyannet Ortiz Cintrón adeuda a la parte demandante los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $11,209.80. Además, la parte codemandada Keisha Lyannet Ortiz Cintrón se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $11,209.80 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $11,209.80 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HUMACAO, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas

laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate.

La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores ni preferentes según las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad.

Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial.

Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en Humacao, Puerto Rico, hoy día 28 de noviembre de 2023.

JENNISA GARCÍA MORALES, ALGUACIL REGIONAL. WILNELIA RIVERA DELGADO, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HUMACAO, SALA SUPERIOR.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE FAJARDO SALA SUPERIOR

ORIENTAL BANK COMO AGENTE DE SERVICIO DE THE MONEY HOUSE, INC. Demandante Vs.

ABEL MARTIN MORALES MEDINA Y KAREN JOANN CACERES CENTENO

Demandados Civil Núm.: FA2022CV00667.

Sala: 307. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA “IN-REM”.

EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE FAJARDO, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, giro postal, o cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal el 10 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE FAJARDO, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en: URBANIZACION SANTA MARIA, F-37 CALLE 8, CEIBA, PR 00735 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar número 37 del Bloque F de la Urbanización Santa María, radicada en el Barrio Machos de Ceiba, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de trescientos sesenticuatro metros cuadrados y en lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de veintiocho metros, con el solar número treintiocho del Bloque F; por el SUR, en una distancia de veintiocho metros, con el solar número treintiséis del Bloque F; por el ESTE, en una distancia de trece metros, con Servidumbre a favor de la Puerto Rico Telephone Company y a su vez con el solar veintiséis del Bloque F; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de trece metros, con la calle ocho. Enclava una casa de concreto reforzado para fines residenciales. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 5 del Tomo 71 de Ceiba, Finca número 4,405, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $81,810.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA en las oficinas del Alguacil que sus-

cribe el día 18 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $54,540.00. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 25 DE ENERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $40,905.00.

La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la Escritura de hipoteca número 302 otorgada en Carolina, Puerto Rico, el día 25 de abril de 2019, ante el Notario Alejandro J. Mues Arias y consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Ceiba, bajo la finca 4,405, inscripción 13ra, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido ascendente a la suma de $78,305.98 por concepto de principal, desde el 1ro de febrero de 2022, más intereses al tipo pactado de 4.75% anual que continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además, se le adeuda a la parte demandante los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $8,181.00. Además, se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $8,181.00 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $8,181.00 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE FAJARDO, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de

las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores desconocidos, no inscritos o presentados que sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial.

Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 27 de noviembre de 2023.

JORGE A. ORTIZ ESTRADA, ALGUACIL REGIONAL INTERINO #622, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE FAJARDO, SALA SUPERIOR. SHEILA S. CRUZ SÁNCHEZ, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #247.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE AGUADILLA SALA SUPERIOR DE AGUADILLA SALÓN DE SESIONES SALÓN 602

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante V.

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATIONCOMO SINDICO DE DORAL BANK PORCONDUCTO DE SU AGENTE AUTORIZADO

CTCORPORATION SYSTEM Y OTROS

Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: AG2023CV01360.

Sobre: CANCELACIÓN O RESTITUCIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. BELMA ALONSO GARCÍA OFICINABELMAALONSO@GMAIL. COM

A: TRADITIONAL BANKERS MORTGAGE CORPORATION15 MENDEZ VIGO ST, ESQ. AURORA, PONCE, PR 00731 Y PO BOX 7383, PONCE, PR 00732-7383GOLDEN FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC H/N/C GOLDEN MORTGAGE BANKERSURB BELISA, 1534 CALLE BORI, SAN JUAN, PR 00927-6116, PO BOX 8449, SAN JUAN, PR 00910-0449SUTANO DE TAL POSIBLE HEREDERO DESCONOCIDO DE JULIO HERNÁNDEZ FIGUEROA, PERENCEJO DETAL, POSIBLE HEREDERO DESCONOCIDO DE MONSERRATE PELLOT PELLOT, FULANO Y MENGANO DE TAL,POSIBLES TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS DEL PAGARÉ.DIRECCION DESCONOCIDA.

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 28 de noviembre de 2023, 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 29 de noviembre de 2023. En Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, el 29 de noviembre de 2023. Sarahí Reyes Pérez, Secretaria. Zuheily González Avilés, Sec Auxc del Trib.

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Wednesday, December 6, 2023

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Three American climbers solve the ‘last great problem in the Himalayas’

By JOHN BRANCH

T

hree American climbers lay in the dark, sharing a custom-made sleeping bag on a portable ledge dangling from a massive cliff high in the Himalayas.

They were anchored to the north face of Mount Jannu, one of the world’s biggest, sheerest rock walls.

The void below them was 10,000 feet of thin black air. Above them, within reach, was something most people can only imagine.

“I know we still have a lot to do,” Alan Rousseau said to his two fellow climbers.

“But I feel like we just did something cool.”

The next day, Rousseau, Matt Cornell and Jackson Marvell — little known outside of climbing circles, for the moment — stood at Jannu’s summit. Before them were the white tips of other major peaks, including Everest and Kangchenjunga.

They may not have had the full perspective. That is now coming from other top mountaineers, who see the group’s ascent of Jannu’s north face as a monumental achievement.

“In my mind, it’s the greatest climb ever — the greatest Alpine climb,” said Mark Synnott, a renowned climber and author who was stymied by Jannu’s north face in 2000 and called it the “last great problem in the Himalayas.”

At 25,295 feet, Jannu — with its remote location and combination of height, steepness and altitude — is one of the most daunting peaks for climbers. Its north face, especially, has stirred and vexed mountaineers.

Others had been to the top of Jannu, but not many. None had done this route in following the minimal ethos of an Alpinestyle ascent: no supplemental oxygen, no ropes fixed in advance, no porters beyond base camp.

The three men used only what they could carry on their backs.

“It’s the simplest way of doing something,” Rousseau said. “You just begin at the bottom and go to the top.”

Rousseau, Cornell and Marvell gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah last week to share their story for the first time — the yearslong dream; the day-to-day struggle to ascend nearly 2 miles of mostly sheer rock and ice; the blackened, frostbitten fingertips that still needed to heal.

From left: Alan Rousseau, Matt Cornell and Jackson Marvell in Salt Lake City, Nov. 27, 2023. No previous climbers had done an Alpine-style ascent — no supplemental oxygen, no ropes fixed in advance, no porters beyond base camp — of the north face of the Himalayas’ Mount Jannu.

The three climbers had not yet fully processed their achievement.

“We did something we didn’t think was possible,” Rousseau said. “It gave us the realization that we can climb in one of the biggest arenas out there.”

They called their expedition “Roundtrip Ticket,” in a nod to Valery Babanov and Sergey Kofanov, who completed an Alpine ascent of Jannu’s west pillar in 2007.

“Perhaps some day, a pair will climb a direct route on the north face in Alpine style,” Kofanov wrote in 2017, “but they’ll need to accept the likelihood that they’re buying themselves a one-way ticket.”

Camping in a crevasse The expedition began with a 30-hour drive from Kathmandu, Nepal. A hiking trek to base camp began at 5,000 feet of elevation, and for six days, the climbers used porters and pack animals to climb out of swampy junglelike terrain.

Base camp was established at the foot of Jannu’s north face in a meadow at 15,500 feet. Arriving Sept. 17, the climbers acclimated to the altitude and studied forecasts, searching for a weeklong window of clear weather.

In early October, they found a promising stretch.

said.

“It removed a lot of stress,” Marvell

They prepared their climbing packs, taking advantage of ever-improving gear.

Climbing tools — ice axes, crampons, ice screws, pitons and so on — are stronger and lighter than ever.

So are ropes. The climbers used two ropes, each 60 meters long. One was a 9-millimeter nylon rope for climbing, the other a thinner one so that the lead climber could lift gear, allowing teammates to concentrate and ascend without cargo on their backs.

They carried dehydrated food. They had one stove, one pot and one 2-pound sleeping bag, wide enough to fit three men, the better for body warmth.

The most helpful technical innovation might have been the two inflatable single-person portaledges, hanging perches that could be anchored to cliff sides so that climbers could rest. The climbers fastened the portaledges side-by-side and slept with their heads resting against the rock, their feet out over the void.

The climb began on a Saturday in October. It was “mixed” climbing — a mix of rock, snow and ice — with the men rotating into the lead position.

The first two days involved about 6,000 vertical feet of climbing, 60 meters of rope at a time.

They slept the first night at 19,000 feet, in a crack “where the glacier movement separates away from the ice that’s stuck to the mountain face,” Rousseau said. “Which sounds crazy to a lot of people, that we camped inside a crevasse, essentially.”

They could feel and hear the movement of the glacial ice.

“It’s just wild to see how fast that is pulling away from the mountain and how active it is,” Marvell said.

Such instability was a constant danger. Falling rock and ice routinely showered the men. Shards sliced through their tarp, as they rested on their portaledges at night, but caused no injuries.

“They weren’t big enough to hurt you,” Cornell said of the shards. “They would just destroy all your gear.”

On the fourth day, Cornell was below Rousseau and Marvell when he saw them disappear in a cloud of falling ice and snow.

“Oh, God, they’re going to be killed by this thing, it’s going to rip the anchor out, and then it’s going to pull me down because I’m attached to the rope,” Cornell recalled thinking. “So, I was just bracing, ready to be sent down the mountain.

And then it all, like, clears past them, and they’re moving around, like: We’re good!”

The men laughed together at the retelling. They slept that night in the pocket that the fallen chunk of ice had left behind.

The hood of Marvell’s jacket was sliced open in the episode. “I was blowing feathers the rest of the climb,” he said.

Cornell led the group through a long block of technical pitches on the fifth day, as the men moved beyond the apexes of other Alpine-style attempts. They were nearing the top of the north face.

“Improbability faded away,” Marvell said.

On a 10-hour sixth day, they reached the top of the wall — the real goal — and climbed a tricky but nonvertical stretch toward the summit.

Before getting there, Marvell took a glove off and found his fingers blistered, a sign of severe frostbite. The men discussed options.

Continues on page 28

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

From page 27 “We’re 100 meters from the top, and we have the weather window of the decade,” Marvell said. “Is it worth potentially losing the tip of a finger, you know, or will this frostbite get worse? And it seemed to me to be worth the risk.”

They reached Jannu’s summit at 4:20 p.m. on Oct. 12 and stayed for just a few minutes. The mission was never the top but the climb.

“Getting to the top of Jannu was kind of like crossing the ‘t’ and dotting the ‘i,’” Rousseau said.

The height is not the point Their accomplishment has the climbing world buzzing. It represents a tonic to the media-obsessed, big-money, guide-led, fixed-rope conga-line parades on mountains such as Everest. Such mass upward migrations do not interest blue-collar mountaineers such as these.

“I have been asked a couple of times if I climbed the north face of Jannu to train to eventually climb Everest,” Rousseau said.

He shook his head. “It’s a different sport than that sport.”

For alpinists, the public’s fascination with the highest mountains is a bit like judging an ocean swimmer by how deep the water is. Marvell has had similar queries from well-meaning acquaintances: How high is Jannu?

“That’s not really the point,” he said.

Hundreds typically reach the summit of Everest every spring. Those with the skill, strength and imagination to consider the likes of Jannu’s north face, with a willingness to dare to be first, might number in the tens.

The mountain’s 3,000-foot head wall, parts of it overhanging and spackled in corniced snow and ice, is roughly the size of El Capitan, in California’s Yosemite Valley. The section foiled previous attempts, including one by Ueli Steck and three others nearly two decades ago.

In 2004, about a dozen Russians laid siege to Jannu’s north face, drilling it with bolts, draping it with dozens of fixed ropes, swapping out men when they became hurt or exhausted. The nearly two-month expedition succeeded and was considered an extraordinary feat, earning the Russians a Piolet d’Or, Alpine climbing’s top award.

This was not that. This was three men, two ropes and one shared sleeping bag.

“It was much more a kind of personal thing as opposed to, like, what outside statement it made about anything,” Rousseau said of their climb.

Conrad Anker, a leading mountaineer

The hands of climber Alan Rousseau, who is recovering from frostbite on some fingers, in Salt Lake City, Nov. 27, 2023.

guides climbers in Utah and beyond. Experience in leading others makes him the logistical leader and a calculated voice when circumstances demand difficult decisions.

Cornell, 29, is known as a quiet, compact free-solo (no rope) ice climber.

He usually spends winters near Bozeman, Montana, and summers around the rockclimbing hub of Yosemite National Park, working at a restaurant (owned by Anker, a mentor) to help fund his pursuits. He lives in a 2003 Freightliner van, with 320,000 miles, fitted with a bed, stove and other amenities.

Marvell, 27, lives in Heber City, Utah, and has a few sponsorship deals and also his own welding business. Tall and wiry, he spends summers off the coast of Alaska, climbing up and rappelling down oil platforms, timing repair work with the tides.

Having grown up in Utah, he was drawn toward the sandstone towers of the desert and was willing to attempt just about anything.

Cornell noted the trusting relationship the three men have built and the necessity

of perfect harmony during an expedition.

“You feel the vibes from partners and you can also, like, feel a vibe or energy that the mountain is giving off that year as well,” Cornell said.

This fall, he said, “just felt like really positive energy going into the trip, real positive energy during the trip. The mountain felt a lot more welcoming and friendly to us.”

The descent from Jannu’s summit, by a series of rappels that hopscotched back down the face, stretched to midnight the next day. By then, Rousseau, too, had frostbite across his fingers. After a day at base camp, the men flew in a helicopter back to Kathmandu, where Rousseau and Marvell spent five days in a hospital, getting their hands treated.

Healing continues, and the men hope not to lose any fingertips.

The three already have plans for another monumental climb.

They do not include Everest. Something bigger.

of the past several decades, considers the Alpine-style climb of Jannu’s north face to be a generational feat. He called it “an antidote to fixed-rope, high-altitude tourism.”

“There are so many different ways we play with gravity on cliffs,” Anker said. “This is the purest, the most demanding, the ultimate expression.”

Anker, 61, said he had reviewed the past 30 years of Piolet d’Or winners, and “there is no climb that matches this.”

He was part of a three-man team, with Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk, that scaled an improbable route up Mount Meru, another vaunted Himalayan peak, in 2011.

That expedition was detailed in the awardwinning documentary “Meru.”

“Meru pales in comparison to this,” Anker said, citing Jannu’s greater length, height and elevation.

Rousseau, Cornell and Marvell have been climbing together for about four years, in pairs and sometimes together. Two previous attempts on Jannu’s north face, in 2021 and 2022, ended early but were valuable scouting trips. Last year, the three scaled what Climbing magazine called “one of the most legendary lines in North American alpinism”: the Slovak Direct route on Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, in Alaska.

“That was sort of a trial run, to see how we all jibe together, moving through that kind of terrain,” Rousseau said. “And that worked out pretty well for us.”

Now, they are climbing’s newest power throuple.

Rousseau, 37, is married and lives along the foothills in Salt Lake City. He Climbing gear at the home of Alan Rousseau in Salt Lake City, Nov. 27, 2023.

The San Juan Daily Star

GAMES

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Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Sudoku

How to Play:

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

Sudoku Rules: Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Crossword

Wordsearch

Word Search Puzzle #V467NY

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Answers on page 30

Daunts Edged Exalt

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Grooved Habitual

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Obstacles Reading Scabs

Scenes Sector

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HOROSCOPE 30 Aries

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

(Mar 21-April 20)

A chance to increase your income could come your way. This could involve extra work or investments. Investments involving land or other real estate could be especially profitable now. There could also be contracts or legal papers involved that bring money your way, so be prepared. The end of this year should see you more financially secure than you were at the beginning.

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

As career and money matters continue to advance for you, more ideas and opportunities for expanding your horizons could come to you.

You may have a hard time deciding which ones are most practical now. It may help to make a list and then judge which ones you want to use.

Expect a lot of action and many changes, particularly regarding business possibilities.

Taurus

(April 21-May 21)

Scorpio

A partnership that may have been moving steadily forward might seem stalled in its tracks.

This could involve either business or romance.

This isn’t a good time to try to pressure your partner toward progress. You’ll only meet stubborn resistance, which will slow things down even more. Be patient and let things progress in their own time.

Your energy and enthusiasm are at an all-time high. Your life, business, and money matters are going very well, and there are no signs that this will change any time soon. Romance should also be going very well. This should be doing wonders for your self-image. Whatever you’ve been doing, keep it up! You’ve got a lot to look forward to.

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Cancer

(June 22-July 23)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

A partnership that may have been moving steadily forward might seem stalled in its tracks. This could involve either business or romance. This isn’t a good time to try to pressure your partner toward progress. You’ll only meet stubborn resistance, which will slow things down even more. Be patient and let things progress in their own time.

The result of a creative innovation you’ve been working on should make itself apparent today.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised! Your ingenuity should pay off big, and your accomplishments won’t go unnoticed. You’re likely to enjoy positive feedback, recognition, and bright prospects for the future development of your ideas. In the evening, go out and have a good time.

Leo

(July 24-Aug 23)

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

Tension between you and a business partner could have you doubting your professional future in the current situation. Don’t waste too much time worrying about it. You may not be aware of it now, but career and money matters are going well and are likely to continue like this for a while. Of course, that depends on you and what you’re willing to do to keep it going.

A long-term dream toward which you’ve been working for a long time, could finally show signs of coming true. You’re feeling especially energetic and enthusiastic now, so you might feel motivated to give it one last push to finally make your dream reality. You’ll probably go out with friends or members of a group you belong to and celebrate tonight.

Aquarius

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

The opportunity to run a business out of your home could arise today, perhaps involving a metaphysical subject. Don’t be surprised if it takes off right away. Friends or past business associates may want to be involved. This is worthy of serious consideration. Benefits through the efforts of others are strongly indicated now. Be prepared for a great future, and start enjoying it now!

Congratulations to you! Career progress is in the wind! If you’ve wanted to create a dream career, you’ll be able to do so today. If you’ve been hoping to start your own business, don’t wait another moment. The next year should be a successful and profitable one for you, although not without its surprises.

Virgo

Pisces

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

A neighbor might be having a hard time and need some extra support now. A new business could open up in your neighborhood that in some way opens doors for you. It could be a new employment opportunity or it could mean a more efficient way of operating in your current profession. Don’t be surprised if you spend a lot of time driving around today.

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

A business opportunity in a distant state or even foreign country could be in the works. It could require a lot of travel or perhaps even relocation. You may have mixed feelings about it, but you’re unlikely to turn it down. This could be a real break! Your health over the next year should be robust and glowing, and you’ll have the energy to take on any project you want.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

31

CARTOONS

Herman

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

BC

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

The San Juan Daily Star

Ziggy

32 Wednesday, December 6, 2023

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