Tuesday Sep 12, 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.

Vargas Vidot slams DCR mental health services provider Physician Correctional

Citing poor performance that he says may have led to the death of a woman in custody, senator insists contract should not be renewed

By THE STAR STAFF

Independent Sen. José Vargas Vidot rejected on Monday the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR)’s plan to renew a contract with Physician Correctional, citing its poor performance in providing mental health services for the inmate population.

The Senate Mental Health Committee investigated the events related to the death last year of Shannel Colón Ponce, a woman who allegedly killed herself while in custody over car theft charges.

INDEX

tion -- men, women and minors. It has been proven that Physician Correctional is unable to achieve this.

6. Collaboration between the DCR and the island Health Department is called for.

7. A protocol must be developed to train DCR personnel on the management of people with mental health issues.

Vargas Vidot accused the firm of dealing poorly with the woman’s mental health problems. During a Senate probe into the death of Colón Ponce, Vargas Vidot said he asked Raúl Villalobos, president of Physician Correctional, if it was true that a psychiatrist did not see the young woman in relation to her symptoms. Villalobos said he would provide information confirming that she was treated, but the evidence never reached the Senate panel.

At the time in which Colón Ponce was admitted, the DCR’s Women’s Center for Rehabilitation had one psychiatrist and one psychologist.

“How is it possible? Is this number sufficient to serve the correctional population?” the senator said. “This number reflects how the lack of attention and personnel could have been a decisive factor in the case of Colón Ponce, and that she could be alive.”

The Senate probe found the following:

1. The DCR failed in its duty to safeguard the safety of Shannel Colón Ponce.

2. Physician Correctional breached its contractual duty by not having the staff adequately address Colón Ponce’s mental health issues. In an act of negligence, she was discharged and returned to the correctional institution, where she subsequently took her own life.

3. Physician Correctional has been in material breach of the contract with the DCR by failing to comply with the obligations of Article 12 on providing monthly reports.

4. The DCR has failed in its duty to monitor Physician Correctional.

5. The DCR must cancel the contract of Physician Correctional and not renew it. The DCR must ensure that the contracted company guarantees the physical and emotional well-being of the incarcerated popula-

In January 2022, Colón Ponce began to suffer from a mental health diagnosis for which she received medical treatment and required hospitalization through the York County Court in Pennsylvania. She was hospitalized at York Hospital, where she received treatment for her condition and was discharged. In April the young woman arrived in Puerto Rico. Her aunt, Cheilian Rosario, found out through the news that her niece was linked to the theft of a car. When she communicated with niece, Colón Ponce told her that she was being chased, so to escape from her pursuers she took the vehicle.

Realizing that her niece was having mental problems, Rosario coordinated her delivery to the Puerto Rico Police Bureau.

On April 22, the Police Bureau filed a complaint against the young woman. A judge found cause to arrest Colón Ponce and set bail at $10,000, which she could not pay.

At a preliminary hearing in May 2022, a Legal Aid Society lawyer, Zamarys Benítez, requested a psychiatric evaluation. Considering this, the hearing was suspended and scheduled for June 10. However, Colón Ponce allegedly killed herself without ever having received a psychiatric evaluation.

Sen. José Vargas Vidot

DE official: Installation of air conditioning in schools would cost $60,000 per classroom

Department invests nearly $1.5 million in 32,000 fans to cool down schools

By THE STAR STAFF

Senate Government Committee

Chairman Ramón Ruiz Nieves led a public hearing Monday where the designated Education (DE) Secretary Dr. Yanira Raíces Vega was summoned to inform the panel how the agency is handling the issue of high temperatures in classrooms in public schools in Puerto Rico.

“I am grateful that Dr. Raíces and her team have appeared today at this public hearing,” Ruiz Nieves said at the outset. “I must start by making a public claim: there is a reality that must be seen and addressed; it is not reacting, it is planning properly. When you plan for the long term, you generate efficiencies in time and costs.”

In her presentation, the designated DE secretary stated that her priority “is to provide a safe environment conducive to learning for our students and we understand the importance of addressing these challenges with diligence.”

“That is why, as a short-term mitigation measure, the department, after a needs study circulated to all schools, decided to buy fans to be distributed in public schools,” Raíces Vega said.

She informed the committee that as of Monday the DE had acquired 32,000 fans, which are being distributed for use in classrooms according to the need established by each school director and prioritizing special education classrooms.

Other measures being taken include

the establishment of hydration centers, which will be equipped with cold water at strategic points within each campus. DE officials are also considering options for evaluating electrical substations with an eye on installing air conditioners in public school classrooms.

“It’s the design, construction, electrical infrastructure, installation and so on,” said José Basora, director of the DE’s Office of Infrastructure and Recovery. “In Hawaii that happened, and it was around $60,000 for each room.”

Also during the hearing, Francisco Cruz Rivera, executive director of the DE’s Office for the Improvement of Public Schools, said that the feasibility of installing air conditioners at schools is something that must be taken into consideration, “especially in older schools.”

“The electrical capacity of the school, the wiring conditions, the electrical installations of the buildings and the type of system to be installed are essential elements that must be weighed in the determination to install air conditioning units,” he said.

The designated education secretary further stated that otherwise, the electrical system would be overloaded, “which

Police arrest one of San Juan’s most wanted on domestic violence, other charges

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Police Bureau announced Monday that in the early hours of Sunday, special operations agents from the bureau’s Intelligence and Arrests Division arrested José Lasanta Sánchez, 33, of San Juan, who was on the capital city’s list of the most wanted.

The arrest occurred at a business on Riaza Street in San Juan.

According to the police report, Lasanta Sánchez faced a $301,000 bail warrant issued by Judge Brenda Salas of the San Juan Court on multiple charges, including violations of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, attempted murder, violations of the Weapons Act and aggravated robbery. The events for which he was wanted occurred on April 21 of this year in a residential area of Hato Rey, where he allegedly physically assaulted his former partner.

Police said that during Lasanta Sánchez’s arrest, a pistol, six magazines, ammunition and an undisclosed sum of cash were seized from him. In addition, the case was consulted with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,

which assumed jurisdiction over the arrested man, who was admitted into the federal jail.

creates risks for the school and the useful life of the equipment.”

“There are classrooms in our schools that have air-conditioning units installed, although this does not necessarily mean that the entire school has the equipment,” reads the official presentation of the DE.

Several examples of estimated costs for air installations were presented at the hearing, such as in Gloria Borrero School in Guayanilla, with a cost of $1,189,670; Pedro Perea Fajardo School in Mayagüez, at a cost of $2,655,655; and Antonio Paoli School in Caguas, at a cost of $493,200.

Air conditioners with a capacity of 24,000 BTU are recommended for a 900-square-foot room along with a dual inverter or commercial technology, with energy efficiency, since window-installed units are cheaper but less efficient and a “split unit” is more expensive and requires installation of ducts, an official noted.

The DE has ruled out central air conditioner systems as their replacement price has cost them between $10,000 and $25,000, and when the system fails the entire school is left without an air conditioner.

Luna Dairy files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

By THE STAR STAFF

An Hatillo dairy farm has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reporting between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities.

Luna Dairy, which primarily operates as a dairy farm business within the island’s agricultural production-livestock and animal specialties sector, has been operating for some 18 years and employs 11 people.

It reported between $1 million and $10 million in assets. Representing the firm is C Conde and Associates.

Designated Education Secretary Yanira Raíces Vega

Governor recognizes the work of the National Guard on 9/11

By THE STAR STAFF

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia paid tribute on Monday to the Puerto Rico National Guard and commemorated the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“I highlight the altruistic service of our National Guard, who are always present at critical moments, demonstrating firm commitment and gallantry,” Pierluisi declared at an official ceremony.

The adjutant general of Puerto Rico, Brig. Gen. Miguel Méndez, emphasized the historic dedication of the National Guard, which he said since 1919 has faced and overcome myriad challenges, including the 9-11 terrorist attacks, during which he said Guard personnel demonstrated bravery and patriotism.

Law 162, dated Aug. 10, 1988, stipulates that the governor designate a week in September to recognize the significant contribution of members of the National Guard, who

“This commemoration not only honors the victims of 9-11, but also recognizes the vital mission of the National Guard in promoting a culture of peace and combating global terrorism,” Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said Monday on the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

are recognized as talented, professional and highly trained.

At the event, Pierluisi also highlighted the recent promotion of Méndez to major general in Puerto Rico, marking the beginning of a series of activities that will be carried out until Sept. 16 to promote the development of members of the National Guard and strengthen cooperation with community and educational entities.

“This commemoration not only honors the victims of 9-11, but also recognizes the vital mission of the National Guard in promoting a culture of peace and combating global terrorism,” proclaimed the governor, who emphasized that the perpetrators of the 9-11 attacks tried, without success, to break the spirit and democratic heritage of the nation.

National Guard Week ceremonies will continue, Pierluisi said, promoting collaboration and continued growth of its members, and honoring those who have dedicated their lives to protecting and defending the nation’s freedoms and values.

Lawmaker urges passage of measure to create 9/11 memorial

By THE STAR STAFF

New Progressive Party Rep. José Aponte Hernández asked the island Senate on Monday to approve House Joint Resolution 214, which orders the Capitol Superintendency to install within the Capitol District a monument that includes the names of the 43 Puerto Ricans born on the island and the other people of Puerto Rican origin who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“September the 11th, 2001, was an extremely sad and shocking moment in the history of our nation and the world. Everything changed as a result of the tragic events of that day, when almost 3,000 people died and thousands were injured,” said Aponte Hernández, who authored the measure, in a written statement. “Among the men, women and children who died on September 11, 2001, are 43 people born in Puerto Rico. Unofficially, however, it is estimated that around 200 people of

Puerto Rican origin were killed in those terrorist acts. To remember the victims of this tragedy, it is pertinent that the Capitol Superintendency take the necessary steps to achieve the acquisition and installation, in the Capitol District, of a monument that honors the memory of these Puerto Ricans.”

In a 45-3 vote on June 23, 2022, the island House of Representatives endorsed a proposal to pay tribute to those Puerto Ricans who lost their lives in the worst terrorist attack in United States history.

However, the measure has been, since June 24 of last year, in the Senate Internal Affairs Committee without being addressed.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. suffered the deadliest terrorist attack in human history when 19 men hijacked four planes, crashing two of them into the Twin Towers in New York and a third into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. A fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, killing all aboard.

CRIM comes out against proposed HIMA hospital system sale

By THE STAR STAFF

The Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM by its Spanish acronym) opposed on Monday the proposed sale of the Grupo HIMA hospital system, arguing that it is an abuse of bankruptcy law and detrimental to the CRIM’s property rights as a senior secured creditor. In a court motion, CRIM says the HIMA Group, which filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 15 to restructure more than $400 million in debt, is seeking to unlawfully prime and cancel CRIM’s senior lien without meeting the applicable

statutory requirements.

The proposed order provides for the sale proceeds distribution in a debtor-in-possession financing scheme that was denied by the court in August and “this unlawful pretension by the Debtors must not be countenanced by this Honorable Court,” the CRIM said through its lawyer Fernando Van Derdys.

The CRIM said the proposed sale of all of the debtors’ properties constitutes an impermissible sub rosa plan, or a transaction entered into in a bankruptcy case that acts as a de facto Chapter 11 plan of reorganization that evades

the requirements of the Bankruptcy Code, including confirmation of a plan and the absolute priority rule.

According to the CRIM, the debtors will transfer to a purchaser or its designee, from the corresponding owners of record, the title of certain real estate free and clear of all claims, interests (including possession), liens, leases, and encumbrances, thus impacting the CRIM’s claims over the parcels.

HIMA recently requested permission to hire a real estate agent to sell the properties, revealing that it has at least three potential buyers.

Rep. José Aponte Hernández

The coast will be clear

Scuba Dogs Society prepares for Saturday’s annual cleanup of island beaches & waterways

By RICHARD GUTIÉRREZ richardsanjuanstar@gmail.com

Puerto Rico is considered perhaps one of the most beautiful islands in the world, its beaches being one of its most impressive scenic assets and places for residents and visitors alike to relax and luxuriate. However, if the beaches aren’t kept clean, they won’t look as beautiful as they should and could have a detrimental effect on aquatic life beyond the island.

While it is the responsibility of beach maintenance personnel and visitors to keep the area clean, sometimes setting out trash cans just isn’t enough to keep the beaches entirely clean. That is why nonprofit organizations set up beach cleanups in which many people join together in order to get rid of all the misplaced trash.

On Monday, the nonprofit organization Scuba Dogs Society (SDS) held a press conference where they provided all the details about their plans for the annual coast cleanup. The event, which is to take place this weekend, goes beyond just Puerto Rico as more than 100 countries will join the cause in the International Coast Cleanup (ICC).

“Scuba Dogs Society is an organization that has been educating about and protecting natural spaces,” SDS Executive Director Karem Pérez González told the STAR. “We have been holding the ICC for 21 years. This event’s main purpose is to educate and gather as much trash as possible from many parts of the island, and while doing so, gather data about what we’re finding in these spaces.”

Now this can’t happen if nobody actually comes to the cleanup, which is why the SDS recruits volunteers to help out. Volunteers are assigned to different parts of the island so that simultaneously on that same day, multiple parts of the island are cleaned up.

“We train our volunteers and call them captains; they are the representatives of the organization in these specific areas,” Pérez González said. “They are provided with a kit that has many materials to be used during the cleanup. The kit has trash bags, gloves, etc.”

“All other volunteers who are added [to a given area’s cleanup crew] are led by the captains,” she noted. “Many of the captains have been with us for many years and participate in the cleanup annually, but we always have new captains because many people participate in other events and so they become enthusiastic and end up working with us as well.”

The SDS’s goal was to recruit about 150 captains this year, and as of Monday they had 175 captains on board, well over their goal. The organization has not only been successful at recruiting people in the past, but also at cleaning up the beaches.

“In all the years we’ve been doing the cleanups, we have removed over 30 million pounds of trash, and last year we removed around 40.3 tons of trash from

117 coasts,” Pérez González told the STAR. “This year we surpassed the amount of places where we’ll have a presence. We’re going to be in 176 different places, such as the ‘San Cristóbal Cannon,’ due to the fact that we want to be able to be in other places that aren’t the coast, which is one of our four goals this year. We want to visit rivers, reservoirs and forests because a lot of the time these items [of debris] find their way to the ocean through a river or stream.”

“Los Machos Beach will also be one of our points of interest, along with Hacienda la Esperanza nature reserve, and Escambrón Beach, among many other places,” she said.

The cleanup will take place this Saturday, Sept. 16 and aims to encourage everyone to have a better understanding of the importance and well-being of the island by educating themselves about environmental and conservation issues. The campaign this year is especially directed toward young people, as the SDS wants to motivate the younger generations to properly take care of the environment.

House majority leader: NPP resident commissioner candidate will lose to PDP candidate

By THE STAR STAFF

Angel Matos García, the majority leader in the island House of Representatives, said Monday that Health Secretary Carlos Mellado López’s decision not to run for resident commissioner under the New Progressive Party (NPP) banner bodes well for the Popular Democratic Party candidate for the D.C. post.

Mellado López acknowledged earlier Monday in the press that although he had flirted with the possibility of a run for resident commissioner under the NPP, he prefers to stay in the department he currently heads.

“Assuming that current [Resident] Commissioner Jenniffer González will challenge Gov. Pedro Pierluisi for the gubernatorial candidacy, the NPP now has to look for two candidates for resident commissioner, one

who answers to Pierluisi and another who answers to Jenniffer,” Matos García said.

The Carolina legislator argued that the campaign message of the PDP candidate for resident commissioner, Pablo José Hernández Rivera, so far “has been solidly received inside and outside the Popular Party” and makes him the clear favorite in next year’s elections over whoever the NPP candidate ends up being.

“We have to have in the federal capital someone with the goal of reactivating the local economy, after 20 years of [resident] commissioners who refused to work for that issue [in order instead] to concentrate on [Puerto Rico’s political] status, and they left us without the rope and without the goat,” Matos García said. “Nor did they attend to economic development, and the illusion of statehood looks farther away every day, as Pierluisi admitted over the weekend.”

Scuba Dogs Society Executive Director Karem Pérez González provides logistical details on the International Coastal Cleanup, which will take place this Saturday on beaches, rivers and lakes throughout Puerto Rico. (Photo by Richard Gutiérrez/The San Juan Daily Star)

Rep. Angel Matos García

Congress embarks on spending battle as shutdown looms at end of September

By CARL HULSE

Congress is poised this week to dive into an epic fight over spending, as the Senate for the first time in years puts appropriations bills on the floor for debate and Speaker Kevin McCarthy tries to find his way out of a complex funding tangle that could ultimately threaten his leadership post.

With less than three weeks remaining before government funding runs out on Sept. 30, Congress has not cleared any of its 12 annual appropriations bills, though there has been more progress than in the recent past. Given the rapidly approaching deadline, leaders of the House and Senate agree that a temporary stopgap funding measure will be needed to avert a government shutdown beginning Oct. 1. But that usually routine legislation is facing major obstacles in the Republican-led House, making its path to President Joe Biden’s desk unusually fraught.

Members of the House’s far-right Freedom Caucus are pledging to oppose even a temporary measure if it does not cut funding substantially or include new border controls and restrictions on prosecuting former President Donald Trump. At the same time, senators of both parties want the stopgap bill to include billions of dollars in new assistance to Ukraine, a demand that House Republicans are resisting. House Democrats want nothing to do with any of the Republican bills, which have also been loaded with conservative social policy riders that have little chance of enactment.

“Honestly, it’s a pretty big mess,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., recently told an audience in his home state.

The major obstacle for McCarthy is that a significant segment of the hard-right members in his ranks are insisting on conditions on the temporary funding measure that could never clear the Democratic-led Senate even as they call for deeper spending cuts in the full-year spending measures that many of their fellow House Republicans will not support. That internal divide and differences over abortion policy and other issues forced McCarthy to pull funding measures from the floor just before the August recess.

With only four GOP votes to spare, McCarthy can afford few defections if he hopes to pass spending bills with only Republican support, and the archconservatives are digging in while dismissing the political and economic repercussions of a government shutdown. They have also rejected McCarthy’s argument that a shutdown would stall Republican investigations and a potential impeachment of Biden.

Rep. Chip Roy, an ultraconservative Republican from Texas, warned last week on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “hiding behind impeachment to screw America with status quo massive funding” would “not end well.” He also ridiculed “hand-wringing” over the potential consequences of a shutdown and urged Republicans to prepare for a showdown when they returned to Capitol Hill.

“Saddle up,” Roy wrote.

An added complication for McCarthy is that a stopgap measure would keep the government funded at a level set in December 2022, when Democrats still controlled both the House and the Senate. Only a handful of House Republicans voted for the money in that huge catchall spending measure, and most of them have since left Congress.

“We are talking about continuing-resolution levels that almost all of us just voted against,” said Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., predicting that many Republicans would balk at backing a stopgap measure if the funding remained steady. “I honestly think McCarthy will need to get it done with Democratic votes, and there will be other consequences for that.”

Should McCarthy be compelled to turn to Democrats to pass the stopgap measure or other funding bills, as he did in May to avert a federal default by suspending the debt limit, some Republicans are threatening to challenge his leadership position by calling on the House to vacate the speaker’s chair.

“I think that everything is on the table to hold the speaker accountable,” Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said last week in an interview on Fox Business Network. He said McCarthy would need to chose between cutting a deal with Democrats or returning government spending to pre-pandemic levels.

One potential advantage for McCarthy is that the Biden administration has requested $16 billion in emergency di-

saster funding for recovery from storms, floods and wildfires in Florida, Hawaii, Vermont and elsewhere. A reluctance to oppose disaster aid can sometimes elicit votes from otherwise recalcitrant lawmakers.

The funding dynamic is entirely different in the Senate, where Republicans and Democrats on the Appropriations Committee have been working cooperatively to advance spending bills at a higher level than what is being considered in the House. Leaders of the panel have also kept the bills free of the contentious policy riders that are drawing fire in the House.

The Senate this week is scheduled to consider measures funding veterans, agriculture and housing programs — the first time in years that spending bills have been considered separately on the floor as the chamber strayed far from the traditional appropriations process. Votes on proposals to change the legislation are anticipated, but Senate leaders hope to win quick approval, providing leverage over the House should McCarthy be unable to push any spending bills over the finish line. The House is planning this week to take up just one spending bill covering the Pentagon.

“We have provided a clear bipartisan road map to fund the government under extremely difficult constraints, proving Congress can work together and through its differences,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., chair of the Appropriations Committee.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks to reporters at the Capitol Building in Washington, July 25, 2023.

Pennsylvania fugitive is seen with new look, miles from previous search area

By JOEL WOLFRAM and CAMPBELL ROBERTSON

On Saturday morning, the fugitive who had escaped Chester County Prison and eluded authorities for more than a week was apparently surrounded, hemmed in by a sprawling law enforcement operation in the Philadelphia suburbs. But that night, the man showed up miles away, freshly shaven, in possession of a van and still very much at large.

As the search has grown and shifted across the county, it has become ever more clear that Danelo Cavalcante, a Brazilian national who has been convicted of murder, is an incredibly elusive target.

Roughly 10 days after his jailbreak, Cavalcante somehow slipped out of a ring formed by nearly 400 federal, state and local officers and appeared on a doorbell camera at the house of a former co-worker in East Pikeland Township, more than 25 miles away. He had driven there, said Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police, in a refrigerated van stolen Saturday from a dairy farm outside the perimeter that authorities had set up to catch him.

That night, Cavalcante stopped at the houses of two people he had once worked with, Bivens said, though neither

was home. Then, he drove west, into the Pennsylvania countryside. The van was found Sunday morning behind a barn in East Nantmeal Township, a small village about 12 miles from East Pikeland, amid cornfields and thick woods. It had apparently run out of gas.

“We will continue aggressively proceeding on this search and this investiga-

tion and we will eventually capture him,” Bivens said at in a news briefing Sunday. “I’m not prepared to say that will be today or tomorrow, I don’t know. But I hope sooner rather than later.”

Bivens was not sure how Cavalcante managed to get past the perimeter, though he said the area, which was focused around a 1,000-acre botanical garden, included tunnels and drainage ditches that “could not be secured.”

The home where Cavalcante was seen on the doorbell camera is not far from the place where he murdered his ex-girlfriend, Deborah Brandão, in April 2021. He was sentenced to life in prison for the murder just days before he escaped. According to testimony at his trial, reported in the Daily Local News of West Chester, Cavalcante had a sister living in Phoenixville, which is next to East Pikeland Township, and he had called on friends there after the murder to help him flee. Authorities believe he was trying to make his way back to Brazil, but he was arrested in Virginia.

The former co-worker whose house Cavalcante visited Saturday night notified police, which was how authorities learned that he had made it away from the search area, Bivens said. Cavalcante went to the house of another former co-worker about 10 minutes later; there, a woman saw him and called a friend, who called police.

Bivens declined to comment as to whether anyone was suspected of helping Cavalcante in his escape. He did confirm a report that Cavalcante’s sister had been recently arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though he gave no further details.

Brandão’s sister and children still live in the Phoenixville area. Last Thursday, Chester County District Attorney Deborah Ryan said that they were “terrified” of Cavalcante and had not left their home since he broke out of jail.

“They’re barricaded inside and very concerned about their safety,” Ryan said, adding that they were under 24-hour police protection.

Cavalcante is also wanted in Brazil for allegedly killing a man in 2017 in Figueirópolis, a small town in a rural part of the country. That time, too, he managed to evade authorities.

On the morning of Aug. 31, Cavalcante clambered up a wall outside the exercise yard at Chester County Prison, pushing through razor wire, running across a roof and scaling a fence to escape. The officer on duty in a watchtower at the time, who did not notice the jailbreak, has been fired.

In small communities near the jail, Cavalcante was seen several times, either spotted by local residents or picked up on security cameras. Baily’s Dairy at Pocopson Meadow Farm, which reported the stolen van, lies between the botanical garden and Chester County Prison.

In a message on Facebook, the owners of Baily’s Dairy acknowledged the theft and said they were “just as disappointed as everyone that he broke through the perimeter.”

Bivens said the keys had been left in the van. He did not know what other supplies Cavalcante may have picked up during his days on the run.

As the search has grown, residents of Chester County, a wealthy and picturesque suburb of Philadelphia, have watched with a mix of dread, frustration and curiosity.

“It’s the most excitement we’ve had,” said Mike Holowis, 63, who was among a small crowd that had gathered in front of the Nantmeal United Methodist Church on Sunday morning as the police searched the area where the van had been abandoned. “I mean, nothing happens here.”

Law enforcement works to recover a stolen vehicle, abandoned by fugitive Danelo Cavalcante in Glenmoore, Pa., on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.

As Massachusetts places migrants around the state, towns are welcoming but worried

By JENNA RUSSELL

Barely two weeks had passed since the migrant crisis arrived in their city of 40,000 people, 10 miles northwest of Boston, but the volunteers gathered at a church in Woburn on a recent evening sounded battle weary.

The small group of locals — a kindergarten teacher, a Methodist pastor and a Haitian American woman who works in health care among them — had stepped up to help some 80 migrant families whom the state placed in Woburn hotels last month. Determined to offer a warm welcome, the volunteers had quickly discovered the daunting complexity of meeting basic needs, a reality check also underway elsewhere in the state and nation.

In Massachusetts, the only state with a right-to-shelter law that guarantees every family with children a place to stay, the crisis has been accelerating, with more than 80 cities and towns receiving migrants to date. (New York City has a similar law that has generated tumult and debate and that goes further, requiring it to provide shelter to anyone who asks.) The number of families living in emergency shelters and hotels statewide has doubled in the past year, to nearly 6,300 last week; the cost has ballooned to an estimated $45 million per month.

Officials estimate that as many as half of currently sheltered families are recently arrived migrants; most have come from Haiti, drawn by word-of-mouth and the pull of the state’s established Haitian community.

Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency on Aug. 8 in a bid for federal help, joining New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., which have taken similar steps. On Aug. 31, Healey authorized more than 200 National Guard members to assist the more than 2,500 families living in hotels, a step meant to address a shortage of social service agencies to help incoming migrants.

The state is housing migrants on two college campuses and on a Cape Cod military base, and has opened two welcome centers to process arrivals, many of whom are coming from the southern border, advocates said. At one of the centers, in Quincy, south of Boston, most of the nurses and caseworkers are Haitian Americans who speak Haitian Creole, allowing them to quickly identify needs and brief families on next steps.

On average, 10 new families show up at the center each day, staff members said. The goals are to assess their health, help them set short- and long-term goals, sign them up for key state services, and move them to housing, all within five days.

In Boston and its suburbs, on Cape Cod and through much of the less populous western half of the state, the rapid influx has stressed local social service agencies and volunteer resources, and heightened political tensions, even among the state’s many liberal-leaning officials and residents. Many costs, such as hotel fees and meals, are covered by the state, which also plans to reimburse local school systems at a rate of $104 per student per day.

Still, some local leaders say the placements are inequitable, skipping over towns without hotels or shelters, and calls have mounted for more planning and advance notice.

By Friday, the number of families placed in Woburn hotels had reached 150, said Mayor Scott Galvin, a seven-term Democrat seeking reelection to the nonpartisan office. He said the situation was not sustainable, and called for state legislators to consider changes to the 40-year-old right-to-shelter law, which he said was “passed at a different time, and was not meant to cover what we’re seeing now.”

“We’re going above and beyond, while

some communities around us are not being impacted, and we don’t have endless capacity in our schools,” he said in an interview. “The benefits that are bestowed on migrants make the state a very attractive destination, and without some changes, this challenge is not going to abate.”

Kelley Hurley, a Woburn teacher, said she saw an opportunity in the migrants’ arrival, to help nudge her changing city toward a warmer embrace of its new diversity. She had observed the trend for years in her kindergarten classroom, where her students spoke eight languages last year. But as she revised her curriculum to reflect the shift, she worried about stubborn pockets of resistance in a place long defined by its white Irish Catholic and Italian heritage.

Woburn’s 4,300 public school students were 65% white last year, compared with 76% in 2013 and 86% in 2003.

“It felt like the city hadn’t quite caught up with the changes, and I thought, ’Here’s a way to get people involved and excited about it,’ ” Hurley said.

She quickly found eager partners at two local organizations, the grassroots Woburn Welcomes and the nonprofit Social Capital Inc., and at several churches. Donations of money, clothing, diapers, toys and car seats flooded

in, while two local women with Haitian roots pitched in as translators and fixers.

Strangers before mid-August, the volunteers were now close-knit allies exchanging dozens of text messages. They had struggled to transport newly arrived migrants to laundromats, chafed with frustration when meals for the families arrived late from a state-contracted company, and seethed when a hospital asked for a $300 deposit from a migrant woman suffering a miscarriage.

“We wanted to take care of the families, and we’re still doing that,” Hurley said. “But we’re trying to be realistic.”

While the outpouring of support has made them hopeful, the volunteers said they were avoiding Facebook, where some other Woburn residents have railed against the local migrant placements and questioned why outsiders should receive free shelter.

Late last month, about 20 people staged demonstrations outside several Woburn hotels housing migrants, with a banner that included the name of a neo-Nazi group. On social media, the group described the action as an “emergency mobilization” to “oppose invaders and their collaborators.” Participants came from several states, according to police.

No one was hurt or arrested. But volunteers who translate for migrant families said some had been afraid to leave their rooms after the demonstrations.

In general, the increasing number of migrants in Massachusetts has given rise to less resistance than in some other places, such as New York, which saw hundreds of people protest an emergency shelter in a former Staten Island Catholic school last week. The city is sheltering more than 50,000 migrants nightly, while many upstate counties continue to fight attempts to place migrants there; Gov. Kathy Hochul has resisted calls to force the issue.

With Massachusetts still seeing far smaller numbers of arriving migrants, a spokesperson for Healey continued to call for “the partnership of communities to ensure that families have a safe place to stay.”

For migrant families, tenuous housing situations, combined with long waits for work permits, create a mix of gratitude and anxiety. On the sidewalk outside a Woburn hotel last month, where Haitian migrants socialized in the sunlight, one 16-year-old, a fluent English speaker, said he was excited to start 11th grade after missing seven months of classes while in transit to the United States.

Translating for several adults, including his father, the teenager said their most pressing concern was how to swiftly become authorized to work. Rules delay asylum-seekers’ ability to work legally; Healey and elected officials in other states have increased pressure on the federal government to revise those policies.

A view across Horn Pond in Woburn, Mass., Sept. 1, 2023. In Massachusetts, the only state with a right-to-shelter law that guarantees every family with children a place to stay.

Automakers and UAW remain far apart as contract deadline nears

By NEAL E. BOUDETTE

The United Auto Workers union and the three established U.S. automakers remain far apart on wages and other issues with just a few days to go before contracts covering 150,000 union workers expire.

So far, the companies — General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis, the parent of Chrysler — have offered to raise pay by 14% to 16% over four years. Their offers include lump-sum payments to help ease the effect of inflation, and policy changes that would lift the pay of recent hires and temporary workers, who typically earn about one-third less than veteran union members.

But the union’s combative new president, Shawn Fain, has dismissed the offers as “insulting,” noting that the three manufacturers have been making near-record profits for almost a decade and that pay packages of top executives have increased substantially. He has been seeking pay increases of about 40% and repeatedly warned that workers were ready to leave assembly lines when the current collective bargaining agreements with the automakers expire

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Fain has said the union is willing to strike at all three automakers simultaneously, a step it has never taken before.

An across-the-board stoppage would deal a big blow to the economies of Michigan and other states.

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“We aren’t going to stand by and allow them to drag out the negotiations like they’ve done in the past,” Fain said Friday in a video on Facebook. “If we hit 11:59 on Thursday without a deal at any of the Big Three automakers, there will be a strike — at all three if need be.”

The talks are taking place during a sweeping shift from combustion engine cars and trucks to electric vehicles, which require fewer parts and less labor to produce. UAW leaders and members are increasingly worried that the transition will eliminate jobs and, over time, reduce wages and benefits.

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day strike against the three companies would reduce the companies’ profits by $1 billion and wages by $900 million for UAW members and workers employed by other companies that depend on the automakers.

Aside from wages, the union and the companies remain far apart on several other matters, including measures to preserve jobs and discourage the closing of U.S. plants, increases in retirement benefits and cost-of-living adjustments, which were once standard in UAW contracts.

The union has made some progress in its discussions with Ford. In response to Fain’s demands, the automaker offered to increase wages by about 15%, through a 9% increase in base wages and one-time lump-sum payments of $11,000 per worker. While Fain rejected that, the two sides have continued bargaining. He was scheduled to update UAW members later Friday about Ford’s latest offer.

Talks with GM and Stellantis have proceeded more slowly. The UAW filed a complaint last week with the National Labor Relations Board, saying the two manufacturers had refused to offer proposals in response to the union’s demands and were not negotiating in good faith.

GM responded by offering a combination of base wage increases and lump-sum payments that would lift worker pay by about 16%. “We have already said we want to reward and recognize our employees with wage increases,” Gerald Johnson, GM’s executive vice president for global manufacturing, said last week.

Agreeing to all of the union’s demands would threaten GM’s ability to compete, he added.

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The automakers are also worried about the transition. GM, Ford and Stellantis are spending tens of billions of dollars to build new factories and scour the world for battery raw materials like lithium. Company executives have argued that offering the UAW members big raises could leave them at a significant cost disadvantage to Tesla, which dominates the U.S. electric car market and employs nonunion workers.

The auto industry is the largest U.S. manufacturing sector and accounts for about 3% of the nation’s economic output. The three Detroit automakers operate dozens of plants that make about 500,000 cars a month.

The Anderson Economic Group, a research firm in East Lansing, Michigan, estimated that a 10-

Fain said the wage offer didn’t go far enough to make up for the effect of inflation on workers’ take-home pay over the last decade and was too little in light of the profits GM was making. The automaker reported profits of $7 billion in the first half of the year. Fain also complained that GM had rejected the union’s proposals on job security, retiree pay, cost-of-living adjustments and other issues.

Stellantis submitted its proposal to the union Friday morning, offering a 14.5% rise in base wages with no lumpsum payments.

“This is a responsible and strong offer that positions us to continue providing good jobs to our employees,” Mark Stewart, chief operating officer of Stellantis’ North American operations, said in a statement. “With this offer, we are seeking a timely resolution to our discussions.”

Stellantis, which is based in Amsterdam and was created by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot in 2021, earned 11 billion euros ($12 billion) in the first half of the year, a record.

United Auto Workers members marching in a Labor Day Parade in Detroit. The theme of this year’s parade was “Labor United Stronger Than Ever!”

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Nasdaq Ends Sharply Higher as Tesla Soars on AI Optimism

The Nasdaq closed sharply higher on Monday as Tesla surged on optimism around artificial intelligence and investors awaited inflation data due later this week.

Tesla rallied 10% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the electric car maker to “overweight” from “equal-weight,” saying its Dojo supercomputer could boost the company’s market value by nearly $600 billion.

Other megacaps also rose, with Amazon climbing 3.5% and Microsoft adding 1.1%.

Meta Platforms jumped 3.25% after a report on Sunday said the social media platform was working on a new, more powerful AI system.

Walt Disney added 1.2% and Charter Communications rose 3.2% after they reached a deal for Disney’s programming, including ESPN, to return to the Spectrum cable service just hours ahead of the start of NFL “Monday Night Football.”

Investors are looking to August consumer price index data due on Wednesday for clues about how close the Federal Reserve may be to ending its campaign of interest rate hikes. That will be followed by producer price data on Thursday.

A New York Fed survey showed Americans’ overall views on inflation were little changed in August, as they predicted rising costs for homes and food, while expecting bleaker personal financial health.

“What we’re seeing is a lot of positive sentiment that is really tied to bullishness around the likely CPI and PPI numbers being more in line with moderation,” said Greg Bassuk, chief executive officer of AXS Investments in New York.

“As long as the inflation numbers for August come in within the band of expectations, we’re going to see the Fed move away from additional rate hikes.”

Wall Street logged weekly losses on Friday after a recent uptick in oil prices and stronger-than-expected economic data fueled concerns of sticky inflation and interest rates staying higher for longer.

Traders see a 93% chance that the central bank will hold its interest rates at current levels at its September meeting, while chances of a pause in November stand at 57%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Fed officials have entered a blackout period, during which they usually do not make public comments, until the policy decision outcome on Sept. 20.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.67% to end at 4,487.46 points.

The Nasdaq gained 1.14% at 13,917.89 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.25% to 34,663.72 points.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 9.3 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 10.0 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, nine rose, led by consumer discretionary, up 2.77%, followed by a 1.17% gain in communication services.

Qualcomm advanced 3.9% after the chipmaker signed a new deal with Apple to supply 5G chips to the iPhone maker until at least 2026.

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Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.5-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 14 new highs and 11 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 36 new highs and 199 new lows.

Shares of Apple suppliers including Skyworks Solutions, Qualcomm and Qorvo slid between 7.1% and 7.6%.

The S&P 500 information technology index fell 1.9%

while the Philadelphia semiconductor index dropped 2.8%.

Fueling concerns about interest rates staying elevated for longer, a Labor Department report showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment claims fell to 216,000 for the week ended Sept. 2, hitting their lowest level since February.

Expectations that the Fed was nearing the end of its ratehike cycle have been watered down in recent days by stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data.

Traders’ bets on the Fed leaving interest rates unchanged in September stood at 93%, while their odds for a pause in the November meeting were at 54.1%, down from nearly 59% a week earlier, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Rescuers reach Moroccan villages in mountains as aid trickles in

By VIVIAN YEE and AIDA ALAMI

Rescuers have begun to reach some remote mountain villages in Morocco that were hardest hit by the strongest earthquake in the area in more than a century, but on Monday, three days after the disaster, many more settlements were still waiting for assistance.

Some roads in the Atlas Mountains near the ancient city of Marrakech remained blocked by landslides after Friday’s earthquake, which had a magnitude of at least 6.8 and killed at least 2,497 people.

In the first remarks to come directly from a senior official, government spokesperson Mustapha Baitas appeared to push back on criticism that the response had been slow and uncoordinated, with many survivors left to fend for themselves. In a video published on social media channels late Sunday, Baitas said Moroccan authorities had mounted “swift and effective” search, rescue and recovery operations. Aid appeared to be flowing into some remote areas on Monday. In the town of Amizmiz at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains in the province of Al Haouz, more ambulances and uniformed emergency personnel were on the streets than on Sunday, and more survivors appeared to be sheltering in disaster relief tents rather than in makeshift structures.

International rescue teams from Britain and Spain have arrived in Morocco, and more are on their way. Though dozens of countries, including the United States, have offered

assistance, the Moroccan government had only officially accepted aid from Britain, Spain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, although small teams of volunteer rescue workers from around the world have started to trickle in.

Here’s what you need to know:

— The death toll from the earthquake rose to 2,497, according to new figures from the Interior Ministry released Monday. Most of those killed were in the province of Al Haouz, the ministry said.

— Many survivors were still without power and phone service, fueling criticism on social media about the government’s response. In some villages, where homes are made of mud bricks, as many as half of the houses were flattened. Many Moroccans had stepped in to fill in the gaps because aid was slow to arrive.

— France’s foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, denied that Morocco was refusing French aid because of frosty diplomatic relations between the two countries, and said it was up to the Moroccan authorities to decide the timing and nature of any foreign assistance.

— On Sunday, villages across the Atlas Mountains — even those just an hour or two from Marrakech, a major city — were getting little or no official help. Ambulances were a rare sight, with most injured people who had been pulled from the wreckage being driven to Marrakech hospitals by private car or motorcycle, if they made it at all.

Far from Morocco, relatives and friends rally to send money and supplies home

By ISABELLA KWAI and AURELIEN BREEDEN

Youssef Choula was asleep in his home in Gloucestershire, England, when he awoke to a call from his brother in Marrakech, Morocco, late Saturday. All he could hear was screams and his brother shouting: “It’s an earthquake! It’s an earthquake!”

By daybreak, the damage was clear: The family’s home in Marrakech was uninhabitable, and another in his ancestral hometown, Amizmiz, was also severely damaged.

“They have nowhere they can go back to,” Choula said of his family, who spent Saturday night sleeping in a field with several other families. “They are camping and they don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

The disaster has stunned the Moroccan diaspora, with many trying to channel grief and horror into action. Some are rallying together to send funds and organize shipments of supplies for survivors while others are heading home to help on the ground.

“There is a very strong attachment to the home country,” said Latif Dehy, 68, who lives in Avignon, a city in southern France with a large Moroccan community.

Dehy, who helps manage a small nongovernmental organization that funds long-term development projects, said he hoped to harness the outpouring of support for Morocco to do that kind of work there — helping to build new roads and schools, for example.

But Dehy said he had received dozens of calls from Moroccans who want to immediately send help home.

“People are saying: ‘I have blankets, I have diapers, I have food,’ and are asking where they can bring it all,” he said.

For Moroccans watching from afar, “the only thing that helps them is knowing that they helped, that they didn’t just stand idly by,” Dehy said.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith, an umbrella group of Muslim organizations, has called upon all mosques in France — which has the largest Moroccan community in Europe because of the countries’ colonial ties — to open their doors to families and friends of the quake’s victims, and it urged people to donate what they could.

Ella Williams, a British doctoral student who has been living in Talat N’yakoub, a town near the quake’s epicenter, was trying to overcome a feeling of helplessness. She arrived in Britain for a visit shortly before the quake struck and has barely slept since, spending hours on the phone trying to locate friends and neighbors as people described to her the horrifying ordeal of searching for relatives in pitch dark.

“It’s been an incredibly difficult few days,” she said. “I’ve lost friends and my friends have lost their families.”

In the midst of her grief, Williams began raising money for the British Moroccan Society, a charity that promotes connections between the two countries.

As of Sunday afternoon, the group had already raised 50,000 pounds, or $62,000, and had sent out a vehicle filled with food, drinking water and blankets, she said. Williams was planning to return to Morocco on Monday to coordinate relief efforts on the ground.

Choula, 41, said he was gathering money to send home. He was born in Amizmiz and has gone back almost every year since, and it was difficult for him to comprehend what will await him upon his next return.

“We are doing the best from our side,” he said, adding that “we will give them comfort if we can.”

A car is crushed by the rubble of a partially-collapsed building in Marrakech, Morocco, on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.

Tourists walking past a damaged building in the old quarters of Marrakesh, Morocco, on Sunday.

In quake-battered mountains, many Moroccans must fend for themselves

By VIVIAN YEE, AIDA ALAMI and JENNY GROSS

With debris and fallen rock blocking roads to Moroccan villages hit hardest by an earthquake, many residents began burying their dead and foraging for scarce supplies on Sunday as they waited for government aid.

That wait may be lengthy.

The most powerful quake to hit the region in a century spared neither city apartment dwellers nor those living in the mud-brick homes of the High Atlas Mountains, but many in the remote and rugged areas of Morocco have been left almost entirely to fend for themselves.

Survivors, faced with widespread electricity and telephone blackouts, said they were running low on food and water. Some bodies were being buried before they could be washed as Muslim rituals require.

The Friday night quake, whose magnitude has been put at 6.8, killed more than 2,100 people and injured more than 2,400, Moroccan state television reported on Sunday.

In one devastated town in southern Morocco, Amizmiz, a woman’s cry suddenly pierced the air. She had just learned after rushing to the town that her two brothers were dead, explained her nephew, Lacher Anflouss, 37.

“A lot of people are reacting quietly at first because they still haven’t processed it,” Anflouss said. “And then when they finally process it …” His voice trailed off.

The Moroccan state media released footage of helicopters airlifting aid to remote areas, and King Mohammed VI said he had ordered the government to provide shelter rapidly and rebuild houses for those in distress, “particularly orphans and the vulnerable.”

But the government has been generally tight-lipped since the earthquake struck, releasing little information about rescue efforts and providing only infrequent updates on casualties. Some Moroccans took to social media to criticize the response as slow and uncoordinated.

In the Atlas Mountains village of Douar Tnirt on Sunday, people sleeping outside for the third night lined up for desperately needed aid, including blankets, diapers and water. But the supplies came not from the government, which villagers said had not offered any assistance since the disaster, but from a charity in Marrakech.

Abdessamad Ait Ihia, 17, who grew up nearby, rushed back to the area on Saturday from Casablanca, where he works, to check on his family. He had seen no sign of govern-

ment rescue or relief workers, he said.

“We just want aid and people to help us, that’s all we want,” he said.

About 20 miles away in another mountain village, Azgour, both power and phone service had been knocked out, so it was not possible even to call for outside help. Young men following screams in the dark pulled people out of the rubble themselves with their bare hands, all the while fearing further collapse.

“We didn’t wait for anybody to start saving people’s lives,” said the village’s imam, Abdeljalil Lamghrari, 33.

With water-pumping mechanisms broken by the earthquake, villagers there were forced to venture miles away to find working wells, and desperation was growing.

Still, the head of a village association, Jamal Elabrki, 54, made an attempt at optimism.

“Rain is forecast for this week,” he said. “Without it, we’re afraid. It’s going to be really bad.”

Dozens of countries have offered assistance. Spain said it was sending search-and rescue teams, and the Qatari state media reported that Qatar would deploy specialized vehicles and equipment. But on Sunday, some governments and aid groups said they were still waiting for Morocco to give the green light, even as rural hospitals were overwhelmed.

Arnaud Fraisse, the founder of Secouristes Sans Frontières, a group that assisted with rescues after the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria in February, said in an interview on France Inter radio that Morocco had not given his organization permission to help.

President Emmanuel Macron of France said his government was in touch with Moroccan authorities and stood ready to assist. “The moment, the second they ask, we will deploy,”

he said on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in India.

Samia Errazzouki, a Moroccan American historian of North Africa at Stanford University, said in an interview that the government’s “heavily controlled and centralized” functions were impeding its disaster response. “The immediate hours of any natural disaster are the most crucial,” she said, yet long hours passed before the king made a public statement.

“How many lives could have been saved?” Errazzouki asked.

The first three days after an earthquake are sometimes called the “golden period” for rescuers, so this is a critical time for emergency workers trying to rescue survivors in Morocco, said Caroline Holt, a director at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

But she also stressed the need to provide people with clean water and to identify damaged buildings that still pose a danger. “We need to make sure we don’t have a disaster within a disaster,” she said in a statement.

As night fell on Sunday, families whose houses had been destroyed or were unsafe prepared to sleep behind makeshift shelters of colorful fabric and plastic tarps held down by rocks or in yellow tents provided by firefighters. Others concerned about aftershocks slept out in the open.

In villages like Azgour, which lies between two ridges of the Atlas Mountains south of Marrakech, homes are commonly built of mud bricks, a traditional construction method that leaves them highly vulnerable to earthquakes and heavy rains. The quake reduced half the homes in Azgour to rubble and left the remaining ones uninhabitable.

More than 300,000 civilians in Marrakech and its outskirts were also affected by the quake, according to a report from the World Health Organization. Seventeen people died in the Marrakech area, Morocco’s Interior Ministry said Sunday. But Marrakech and its walled Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage site, appeared to have been spared heavy damage.

Some Moroccans greeted the government’s anemic response to the disaster with resignation. Memories are still fresh of a 2004 earthquake that was one of the most devastating in recent years: Then the prime minister did not visit the hardest-hit areas immediately because protocol dictated that he not appear before the king did.

Not that the country has a high tolerance for public outrage. Moroccan law criminalizes criticism of the king, which may help explain Moroccans’ muted response.

On Sunday, it was clear that villages across the Atlas Mountains — even ones just an hour or two from Marrakech, a major city — were getting little or no official help. Ambulances were a rare sight, with most injured people who had been pulled from the wreckage driven to Marrakech hospitals by private car or motorcycle, if they made it at all.

An elderly woman at an emergency shelter in the village of Azgour, Morocco, on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.

50 years ago, a bloody coup ended democracy in Chile

By PASCALE BONNEFOY

Fifty years ago Monday, a violent coup ended one of Latin America’s most stable democracies, brought an abrupt halt to the Chilean military’s tradition of noninvolvement in politics and ushered in 17 years of ruthless dictatorship.

Salvador Allende, Chile’s socialist president, had embarked on an ambitious agenda that included the nationalization of the copper industry, land redistribution and state control over other strategic industries and banks.

As the economy spiraled out of control and political polarization fueled increasing violence, business owners, conservative politicians, professionals and some trade groups pressed for military intervention.

The civilian and military conspiracy to overthrow Allende’s government, aided by CIA financing and covert operations to destabilize the country, culminated in a bloody coup, the likes of which Chileans, unlike people in other Latin American countries, had never experienced.

Decades later, the left and the right still exchange blame for the breakdown of democracy. Far from the promises of “never again” pronounced by some military leaders, some on the right justify the coup and play down the human rights violations that followed. This month, right-wing opposition leaders refused to sign a government-sponsored commitment to democracy and declined to participate in official anniversary events.

On Sept. 11, 1973, Allende refused to leave the presidential palace, despite threats from the air force that it would be bombed if he didn’t surrender. The army and police had already gained control of downtown Santiago, the capital. The navy had put the coup in motion early that morning in the coastal port of Valparaíso, while the air force dropped rockets over a handful of leftist radio stations in Santiago.

By noon, rockets had fallen over La Moneda, as the palace was called, and fire quickly spread across its wooden floors, ceilings and

beams.

Dozens of advisers, doctors, government ministers, secretaries, detectives, personal bodyguards and two of Allende’s daughters stayed by his side. Some Cabinet members set out on foot to negotiate with the military and were arrested. Allende secured a brief truce to allow some people to leave. The president’s bodyguards and Allende himself attempted to fight off the uprising, but it was clearly futile.

Allende, a physician by training but a career politician and a member of Congress for 25 years, was democratically elected in 1970. The morning of the coup, before the last radio station loyal to the president was silenced, he delivered a somber farewell: “These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain. I am sure that, at least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish the felony, the cowardice and the treason.”

Hundreds of government officials, political leaders and local leftists were later sent to Dawson Island, a remote spot in the Strait of Magellan, where they endured forced labor and torture.

High-ranking military and police officers had been plotting to overthrow the president for months, but Gen. Augusto Pinochet joined the conspiracy just two days before.

He had risen to army commander in chief weeks earlier, replacing Gen. Carlos Prats, who was known for his adherence to the constitution and was forced to resign. Pinochet, who had kept his political opinions to himself, was also regarded as a “constitutionalist” officer and had Allende’s support.

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Although the military junta had agreed to rotate its leadership, starting with Pinochet, in 1974 he elevated himself to the until-thennonexistent rank of “captain general,” and proclaimed himself supreme leader of the nation and president of the republic.

For nearly 17 years, Pinochet concentrated all political and military power and was ultimately responsible for the widespread human rights violations unleashed by the armed forces and clandestine intelligence agencies under his control.

More than 2,000 dissidents died under torture, were executed or were killed by other means, and nearly 1,500 disappeared, according to reports issued by Chile’s government.

Most of the deaths or disappearances of supporters of Allende took place in the months after he was overthrown, but political repression continued until military rule ended. In August, Chile’s president, Gabriel Boric, a leftist and an admirer of Allende, authorized a plan to search for the 1,469 people who are still missing.

While there is no evidence of direct American involvement in the coup, the Nixon administration made sure to “create a coup climate” as soon as Allende won the presidential election on Sept. 4, 1970, according to declassified U.S. documents.

Eleven days later, President Richard Nixon met with Richard Helms, the CIA director, and ordered the agency to carry out covert operations to impede Allende’s inauguration.

With the capital firmly under military control, Allende ordered everyone left in La Moneda to surrender. He stayed behind and shot himself minutes later.

For decades, many on the left in Chile and across Latin America claimed that the military had killed him, despite witness testimony and the fact that troops had not yet stormed the building. A judicial investigation, which led to the exhumation of his remains in 2011, concluded that the president had indeed taken his own life.

ditions for Chile’s transition back to a democracy. Today, a constitutional council controlled by the right is weighing a draft to replace the constitution, and it will be submitted for a vote in December.

Over 200,000 Chileans were forced into exile, and one of the missions of DINA, the secret agency, was to infiltrate exiled communities and neutralize opposition leaders.

The agency organized a notorious program known as Operation Condor that coordinated intelligence services in South American countries under military rule to facilitate the exchange of information and prisoners and provide support for assassination plots against opponents in several continents.

In 1976, DINA, collaborating with other Condor countries, used a car bomb to kill Chile’s former ambassador to the United States, Orlando Letelier, in Washington. An American, Ronni Moffitt, also died as a result of the bombing.

Tens of thousands of men and women were rounded up during the first few months after the coup and held in massive detention centers throughout the country, including the National Stadium in the capital.

The junta called on people to turn in any suspicious foreigner, and thousands of them, mainly Latin American political refugees fleeing their own dictatorships, were detained.

About 1,200 clandestine detention and torture centers were set up across Chile, where more than 40,000 people were tortured, according to official records.

Civil and political liberties were suspended, political parties and labor unions were outlawed and a state of siege and strict curfew was imposed. Opposition media was banned or censored, dissent was severely punished, and books and other publications considered leftist or subversive were destroyed.

Universities’ liberal arts and social science departments were closed and left-leaning professors and students were expelled, detained or killed.

In September 1974, under Pinochet’s orders, according to a judicial investigation, the regime’s secret intelligence agency, known as DINA, killed Prats and his wife by placing a bomb under their car in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they had gone into exile.

With Congress closed, the legislature and the constitution, in place since 1925, were replaced by a set of decrees and laws designed and approved by the military junta — including at least 150 secret laws, many of them authorizing the allocation of millions of dollars to the military.

No elections were allowed and all of Chilean society was militarized: Officers or projunta civilians would become unelected mayors, university chancellors, Cabinet members and legislators.

A fraudulent election in 1980 approved an authoritarian constitution that gave Pinochet another eight years in power and set the con-

Pinochet stepped down as the army’s commander in chief in 1998 and was arrested in London, pending an extradition request from Spain, where he was being investigated for the murder of Spanish citizens in Chile. Britain allowed his return to Chile for humanitarian reasons.

When he died in 2006 at 91, Pinochet, his wife and his children were being investigated on fraud and corruption charges.

Pinochet was indicted on charges in connection with high-profile human rights crimes, but was never convicted. Today, some 270 military officers and agents are serving sentences for human rights crimes.

The presidential palace was bombed during the coup.

Dr. José B. Morales Claudio Médico Generalista

Corruption is an existential threat to Ukraine, and Ukrainians know it

By FARAH STOCKMAN

President Joe Biden talks of the world being divided into autocracies and democracies. But a more important division exists: between kleptocracies, where leaders treat their nations like personal piggy banks, and places where corruption is the exception rather than the rule.

Since 2014, Ukrainians have been fighting to drag their country into that second category. The Maidan revolution, which sent a pro-Russian president packing, wasn’t just about freeing Ukraine from Russian influence. It was also about breaking the stranglehold of oligarchs who — as in so many former Soviet republics — controlled everything from television stations to the politicians on ballots. The fight against corruption amounts to a second front in Ukraine’s war against Russia.

Ukraine is making progress, no small feat in the middle of a hot war. But it is still ranked the second most corrupt country in Europe, after Russia, according to Transparency International. Since the February 2022 Russian invasion, a host of characters — from arms dealers to suppliers of soldiers’ meals — has stood to reap big profits, creating vested interests in prolonging the conflict.

Corruption has been the elephant in the room since the invasion — an unpopular subject in Washington, since it risks undermining the American support that Ukraine desperately needs.

But guess who hasn’t shied away from calling out

corruption in Ukraine? Ukrainians. No one knows better what an existential threat corruption can be, sapping the public trust and the legitimacy of the state. Ukrainians consider corruption the country’s second-most-serious problem, behind only the Russian invasion, according to a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology this year. They know that they must root out money laundering and the influence of oligarchs as a condition of joining the European Union. Since the war started, the percentage of Ukrainians who say they are willing to stand up for their rights when they interact with bureaucrats doubled — from 26% in 2021 to 52% this year. That raises hopes that Ukrainians are starting to resist corruption with the same can-do spirit that repelled the Russian invasion.

Yuriy Nikolov, a founder of the online news platform Nashi Groshi (Our Money), broke stories about the Ukrainian Defense Ministry paying huge markups for supplies — 46 cents for eggs that should have cost 5 cents, $86 for winter coats that were worth just $29. A week ago, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed his defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, who, although not personally implicated, had been tarnished by the scandal.

Zelenskyy has been on a mission to convince Ukrainians and donor countries that he has things under control. In May the chief of Ukraine’s Supreme Court was arrested on bribery charges. In June another judge, who hid $150,000 worth of bribes in pickle jars and fled the country to Moldova, received a 10-year sentence after a bizarre incident in which he was forcibly returned to Ukraine. This month, Ihor Kolomoisky, an oligarch who once served as a governor, was arrested in Ukraine nearly two years after the U.S. Department of Justice accused him of embezzling billions of dollars from a private Ukrainian bank that he owned and laundering the money by buying real estate in Cleveland and other U.S. cities.

His arrest will boost the Ukrainian public’s confidence that the war on corruption can be won. But anti-corruption watchdogs in Ukraine aren’t thrilled with how he was taken into custody. The security services grabbed Kolomoisky before the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, which is seen as more independent, got the chance. The bureau had been preparing to prosecute him on far more serious charges.

The Ukrainian people should be applauded — and supported — for battling corruption. In one sign of support, the White House recently met with a delegation of anticorruption groups.

But there’s a danger that these arrests will weaken American enthusiasm for the war. Some Republicans are pushing for the appointment of a special inspector general for Ukraine, like the office that was created for Afghanistan. Before we spend a fortune on a new inspector general, we should make sure that we’re staffing the inspector generals that already exist. (The State Department’s inspector general post, for instance, has been vacant for three years.) We should also boost our support for Ukrainian investigators who can demand accountability from their government in

perpetuity rather than create an American agency that will disappear over time.

That’s perhaps the biggest lesson of Afghanistan. We didn’t fail in Afghanistan because we couldn’t stop corruption. We failed because we didn’t foster Afghan institutions that could withstand a U.S. withdrawal. Americans were so worried about stamping out corruption that they micromanaged everything, creating a shadow government — staffed by temporary, highly paid consultants that answered to Washington. They wrote beautiful reports but weren’t accountable to the people who mattered most: Afghans. The special inspector general of Afghanistan reconstruction acknowledged as much in a report released this year: “In order to control for corruption,” it read, Americans took control of more and more processes, “which in turn led to a lack of Afghan mission and logistics ownership.”

It would have been better to spend far less money in Afghanistan but in a way that empowered local leaders. Instead, we spent more than $1 trillion on a war that ended disastrously. Does it matter that we had a special inspector general perfectly documenting the disaster?

Ukraine is a different place, of course. U.S. boots aren’t on the ground there — yet. Pallets of cash aren’t being delivered to military leaders and politicians, as far as we can tell. Corruption scandals seem to involve Ukrainian funds, not U.S. money. But the lessons of Afghanistan are not lost on Ukrainians. Last year an article in Foreign Affairs by Tymofii Brik, the rector of the Kyiv School of Economics, and Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili of the University of Pittsburgh argued that donor countries should work with local Ukrainian government entities to rebuild the country instead of using “vast armies” of foreign contractors and nongovernmental organizations.

Such methods “undermine local governance institutions, not just by sweeping up the best talent from them but by giving foreigners a greater say in what happens in communities than the people who live there,” they wrote. When the war in Ukraine finally ends, the money to rebuild the country will most likely dwarf anything we’ve seen in our lifetime. That’s when the real feeding frenzy will begin. Ukrainian institutions and watchdogs had better be ready.

The Motherland Monument in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Inicia programa para fortalecer infraestructura de telecomunicaciones en Puerto Rico

POR CYBERNEWS

SAN JUAN – El gobernador Pedro Rafael Pierluisi

Urrutia, anunció el lunes, la asignación de 15 millones de dólares para la primera fase del proyecto Smart Island, que busca mejorar la resiliencia energética de los proveedores de servicios de internet y telecomunicaciones en la Isla.

“Estamos totalmente comprometidos a lograr que toda nuestra gente pueda contar con acceso a internet y telecomunicaciones, no como un lujo sino como un servicio esencial”, mencionó Pierluisi Urrutia en declaraciones escritas.

La iniciativa también contempla la expansión del internet de alta velocidad y la instalación de infraestructura de banda ancha en diversas áreas, incluyendo plazas públicas y centros de servicios al ciudadano, con el fin de aumentar la resiliencia en el servicio de telecomuni-

Nadie es indispensable, dice

POR CYBERNEWS

SAN JUAN – Ante la controversia en el Recinto de Ciencias Médicas de la Universidad de Puerto Rico por el nombramiento de la doctora Ilka Ríos como decana, el gobernador Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia insistió en que la estabilidad es más importante que cualquier persona, “porque nadie es indispensable”.

“Nadie es indispensable, o sea, si por el bien de la institución tiene que haber un cambio, pues un cambio se puede dar ahora. Yo para mí lo más importante que hay que tener estabilidad en las instituciones, eso es lo que ha habido en el Gobier-

caciones.

Para este proyecto, diez proveedores de internet recibirán fondos para adquirir equipos esenciales como generadores eléctricos y placas solares. Estos recursos garantizarán la continuidad del servicio en situaciones

gobernador sobre

de emergencia, minimizando las posibles interrupciones en la conectividad de la Isla.

Los proveedores seleccionados tras un análisis de propuestas son Aero Net, Claro, DM Wireless, Innovatel, IT Auditors, Liberty, Neptuno, Sky Net, VP Net y World Net. Estos tendrán la responsabilidad de implementar sistemas de monitoreo y control remoto para mantener la eficiencia de la infraestructura energética y anticipar posibles problemas.

“Es nuestra prioridad asegurar que cada dólar invertido tenga un buen rendimiento y beneficie adecuadamente a nuestra ciudadanía, promoviendo así el crecimiento y beneficio social en toda la Isla”, expresó Juan Carlos Blanco Urrutia, presidente del Comité de Banda Ancha.

Para mayor información sobre el Programa de Banda Ancha de Puerto Rico, los interesados pueden visitar el sitio web oficial: https://www.smartisland.pr.gov.

controversia con rectora RCM de la

no de Puerto Rico en general. Aquí sí hemos tenido algunos cambios a nivel de gabinete, pero son los menos, pues porque es importante sí que haya estabilidad, que haya credibilidad y eso es lo que la Junta de Gobierno (de la UPR) sabe que es mi pensar y lo sabe. El doctor (Luis) Ferrao (presidente de la UPR) también”, dijo el gobernador a preguntas de la prensa.

No obstante, insistió en que la determinación la tiene que tomar la Junta de Gobierno de la UPR. Dejó claro que no descarta intervenir en la controversia, si llega a mayores.

“Yo veo que han habido unos reclamos, unas expresiones y yo siempre estoy pendiente de eso. Pero realmente aquí, es la

UPR

Junta de Gobierno y el presidente de la Universidad, los que tienen que velar porque haya orden, dirección en la Universidad haya paz y tranquilidad, que no se afecten los estudiantes. Lo más importante que no se atrasen los estudiantes en sus respectivos estudios. Si en algún momento yo veo mayores disturbios o cualquier cosa que ponga en peligro, ya sea el semestre académico o la acreditación de cualquiera, una de esas entidades, me reservo el derecho a intervenir. Hasta ahora lo que yo reitero, lo que acabo de decir, o sea que la Junta cumpla su misión y el presidente también”, sostuvo.

Desde que se anunció el nombramiento de la doctora Ríos, aumentaron las protestas de algunos componentes de la universidad contra la designación y se ha solicitado tanto la renuncia de Ríos, como la del presidente de la UPR.

SAN JUAN – El presidente del Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP), Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia dijo el lunes que le gustaría que el día que radique su candidatura a la reelección, lo acompañen y hagan lo propio los aspirantes a la reelección.

“Bueno, cuando yo esté radicando, estaré invitando a todos los que quieran acompañarme en esta radicación o radicar junto a mí para revalidar en sus cargos. En su

momento, se va a invitar a todos, a todos los funcionarios electos del PNP. En su momento se les va a invitar a que radiquen a la misma vez que yo lo haga. Yo pienso que lo debo hacer a principio del término para dar el ejemplo, porque queremos que el comité de evaluación de candidatos y candidatas del partido tenga suficiente tiempo para llevar a cabo su labor”, dijo Pierluisi Urrutia en conferencia de prensa.

Al preguntarle si la invitación incluye a Jenniffer González Colón, Pierluisi Urrutia contestó: “bueno, yo parto

de la premisa de que la comisionada residente va a ir a buscar la reelección, así que parto de la premisa de que realmente, pues otra vez estaremos en la misma papeleta bajo la insignia del PNP. Esa es mi premisa, pues eso no fuera el caso, pues entonces en ese momento dado uno puede ver quienes tienen interés en esa en esa silla que ahora mismo no está vacante”.

El PNP aprobó en la pasada Asamblea comenzar el proceso de radicación de candidaturas el primero de octubre de este año.

Pierluisi invitará a todos los que quieran radicar junto a él a principios de octubre sus candidaturas

The Battle of Chile’: Recalling the other Sept. 11

By J. HOBERMAN

“The Battle of Chile,” Patricio Guzmán’s 264-minute account of the social whirlwind that engulfed Salvador Allende’s socialist government in the early 1970s, is an epic documentary, an openly Marxist analysis and a stunning exercise in “you are there” vérité, not to mention a remarkable instance of contraband cinema — composed of footage smuggled out of fascist Chile and edited in communist Cuba to premiere at the radical fringe of the 1975 Cannes Film Festival (along with Chantal Akerman’s “Jeanne Dielman”).

Newly restored, the complete film — Parts 1 and 2 first seen in the United States in 1978, Part 3 in 1980 — opened Friday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Rose Cinemas and shows for a week.

The revival run coincides with the 50th anniversary of the other Sept. 11, the day of the military coup led by Augusto Pinochet — a tragedy that has remained Guzmán’s career-long preoccupation, and that haunts the Latin American left to this day. The film comes at a time of renewed interest in the period that has included a new novel, “The Suicide Museum,” by Ariel Dorfman, and the revitalized search for the remains of those who were “disappeared” during the dictatorship.

“The Battle” has three parts. “The Insurrection of the Bourgeoisie” concerns the 1972 election, in which the right fails

to win enough votes to impeach Allende and, encouraged by the United States, seeks other means to reverse his nationalizations. “The Coup d’Etat” begins with a “practice” coup in June 1973 and depicts Chile’s descent into open class warfare, culminating with the real coup of Sept. 11. “The Power of the People” revisits the events of the year leading up to Allende’s overthrow with an emphasis on the revolutionary spirit of Chilean workers.

Largely filmed with hand-held cameras by a team of five, “The Battle” is both action-packed and full of nonstop talk. Mass rallies jostle man-in-the-street interviews and political speeches. In one violent demonstration, a filmmaker is shot, documenting his own death. It is impossible not to be swept up.

The film had its U.S. premiere at Film Forum in Manhattan, one of the few commercial venues equipped to show 16-mm films. According to programmer Karen Cooper, it was her small theater’s first big splash, garnering much coverage. “Great films rarely arrive as unheralded as ‘The Battle of Chile,’” critic Pauline Kael wrote in The New Yorker at the time.

New York Times critic Vincent Canby found the film “depressing” in its simplifications, although “undeniably an epic.” Other critics were overwhelmed: Writing in The Village Voice, Tom Allen (in no way a leftist) called it “a magnificent achievement” and “the major political film of our times.” Although rarely revi-

ved, “The Battle” has classic status, ranked 18th in a recent New Republic poll of the 100 most significant political films.

In addition to maintaining an unmistakable point of view, the documentary conveys a unique sense of immediacy. Guzmán returned from Spain in 1971, where he had studied filmmaking, to experience firsthand the euphoria that followed Allende’s election. The exhilarating feel of participating in a society being remade fuels the film. If anything, the inevitable ending makes the unfolding situation

seem even more urgent.

Opening with the aerial attack on the presidential palace during which Allende died, flashing back to the events that preceded the coup, “The Battle” ends with a moment that defies chronology. A doomed organizer bids farewell to the filmmaker: “We’ll see you, comrade.” The effect is like watching the river of history flow and disperse into the sea of time.

‘The Battle of Chile’: Sept. 8-14 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music; bam.org.

The San Juan Daily Star

Tuesday, September

Cats with bird flu? The threat grows.

By ZEYNEP TUFEKCI

The global H5N1 bird flu outbreak, already devastating wild birds and poultry, keeps spreading to mammals, bringing it one step closer to a potential human outbreak.

Of course, since the coronavirus pandemic taught us the importance of responding early and aggressively to outbreaks …

Sorry, I’m joking, we don’t seem to have learned much from the COVID outbreak, and it’s not funny.

Not enough has been done about an out-of-control H5N1 outbreak at fur farms in Finland, or a mystery outbreak among domestic cats in Poland.

Finland, one of Europe’s biggest fur producers, is battling outbreaks among its captive minks, foxes and raccoon dogs — species that scientists warn have been identified as more likely to evolve a variant that can infect people, leading to a human outbreak.

Even the Finnish Food Authority, in its announcement of animals being culled, noted that minks are susceptible to both human and bird flu. If one animal is infected by both, the viruses can mix genes and give rise to an avian flu that can infect humans. Fur farms in Finland, however, aren’t being closed. Instead, the Finnish Wildlife Agency allowed fur breeders to kill wild birds near their farms in large numbers. The agency told me the killings were authorized “to prevent contacts between infected birds and animals at fur farms,” but scientists point out this is the wrong approach and likely futile — and more fur farms in Finland have since announced further outbreaks.

Meanwhile, officials said a sizable outbreak of H5N1 among pet cats in Poland this summer killed at least 29 animals, though cat owners have compiled lists with as many as 89 sick animals. The outbreak has many unusual features that makes it especially concerning, and yet there still hasn’t been an explanation to how exactly it happened, or a vigorous investigation.

The affected cats lived in different areas of Poland, yet their viruses had almost identical genetic sequences. They obviously couldn’t have infected one another. Wild birds are unlikely to be the source, especially since some of the cats never went outside and the outbreak was not detected in Poland’s neighbors. It seems clear that the outbreak originated from a source in Poland.

Scientists and cat owners suspect cat food.

In a further twist, the virus from all the sick cats in Poland had two specific genetic mutations found almost exclusively among mammals, so either all the cats were infected and then their viruses independently developed these mutations, or the two mutations were already in whatever infected them.

Tom Peacock, who studies influenza at Britain’s Imperial College, told me the most likely scenarios were that

either the cats were eating mammal meat from sick animals or meat from birds where the virus had somehow developed these mutations that are normally associated with mammalian adaptation.

Either of these options is alarming, and we still lack answers about how all these geographically separated cats got infected with H5N1.

Scientists in Poland were able to test only five samples of food, and a single sample — chicken meat meant for human consumption that was also being fed to the cat — turned out to be positive for H5N1. However, as the scientific report notes, it’s only one sample, which could have been contaminated after the animal got sick in the household.

H5N1 was also detected recently in two cat shelters in Seoul, South Korea. Authorities suspected cat food as the source and recalled two varieties from one brand. While the investigation there may yield some answers, the situation differs from Poland’s since the Korean cats lived in the same place.

There needs to be extensive testing up and down the food chain, to identify the actual source.

If any such investigation is happening in Poland, however, authorities haven’t provided information about it to the public.

Poland is the European Union’s biggest exporter of poultry, so anything implicating the poultry food chain would be economically concerning.

Poland is also the EU’s biggest operator of mink farms. One obvious worry is whether the minks are getting sick with H5N1, and mink meat somehow contaminating the food chain and eventually reaching the cats.

Unfortunately, though, mink farms in Poland have become wrapped up in the country’s culture wars. A previous attempt to ban mink farms in 2020 almost brought down

the government, despite widespread support for the ban. The far right especially mobilized against it. One member of the family that controls the vast majority of the mink farms in Poland said the proposed ban was supported by the same people “who promote LGBT, same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia and so on.” The conservative government backed off.

Such shortsightedness isn’t the monopoly of the far right. In the United States, a provision banning mink farming made it out of the House last year, only to be killed in the Senate in a bipartisan effort — with many Democratic senators joining Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, where many mink farms still operate, to strip the ban from the legislation.

What’s going on in Poland’s mink farms? Maybe Poland is doing an exceptional job and avoiding mink outbreaks. But maybe it’s not even noticing them, which is possible even simply by not looking hard enough. A mink outbreak in Spain last year showed that H5N1 isn’t as deadly to minks as it is to poultry — where it can kill 80% to 90% of the infected animals — so an outbreak could go under the radar unless there was a proper effort at surveillance. There’s a danger such milder outbreaks could spark a pandemic, since the early stages may be harder to detect.

Fur animals like minks and foxes are carnivorous mammals that ordinarily hunt in solitude. Caging them together in cramped quarters not only facilitates epidemics, it’s especially cruel.

Such fur species are highly susceptible to many human respiratory illnesses, and not just H5N1. In late 2020, Denmark — then the world’s largest mink farmer — was unable to contain COVID outbreaks in its farms despite much effort, and discovered the minks were generating new variants that were infecting humans. Alarmed, Denmark suspended its mink farms, but they’re now allowing them to start operating again.

We should ban fur farms, which are cruel, dangerous and unnecessary, and increase the surveillance and reporting requirements for H5N1 mammal outbreaks.

Paying off fur farmers in Europe and the United States could be cheaper than dealing with a human outbreak, especially since the industry is already naturally shrinking. Challis Hobbs, the executive director of Fur Commission USA, an association representing mink farmers, told Roll Call that about 100 farms are in operation, down from 257, as consumers move away from fur. China also operates fur farms, but an international deal could be pursued for increased surveillance and, hopefully, even a global ban.

In addition, a situation like that of the mystery cat outbreak in Poland shouldn’t be allowed to pass without a thorough and transparent investigation.

As we’ve sadly found out, borders and jurisdictions are niceties that viruses don’t care about, but the lessons remain unheeded globally.

The San Juan Daily Star

COVID continues to rise, but experts remain optimistic

By APOORVA MANDAVILLI

Jill Biden, the first lady, tested positive for COVID-19 last Monday. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has announced that the state will send high-quality masks and rapid tests to school districts that request them. Already, schools in Kentucky and Texas have closed, citing widespread respiratory illness among students and staff.

The coronavirus is in the air again. Literally.

A steady uptick in cases since July and reports of worrisome new variants have fueled concern that the virus is poised to make a comeback this fall and winter. But in interviews, experts offered reassurances that the country will not see a return to the nightmarish scenarios of previous years.

There is no evidence that any of the variants in circulation cause more severe disease or evade immunity adroitly enough to render vaccines ineffective. And although hospitalizations and deaths are increasing week by week, the numbers remain low, noted Gigi Gronvall, a biosecurity expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

“These increases are more alarming by statistics than in reality,” Gronvall said.

Hospital admissions for COVID increased by about 16% in the week ending Aug. 26, compared with the previous week. But the 17,400 new admissions were less than half the number in the same period last year, and about one-fifth the number in 2021.

Deaths from COVID increased by nearly 18% over the previous week, but the numbers remained relatively low, averaging just over 600 deaths per week in August, compared with about 3,000 per week in late August 2022, and about 14,000 per week in

late August 2021.

“What I think we’re seeing is the virus continuing to evolve, and then leading to waves of infection, hopefully mostly mild in severity,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, head the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

At the moment, the numbers suggest that Americans should tailor their behavior to their own risks, some experts said.

Those who are the most vulnerable to COVID — older adults, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems — might well choose to take the utmost precautions, such as masking most or all of the time and avoiding crowded indoor spaces.

Those with reduced risk may want to take precautions in some circumstances, especially if they might pass the virus to more vulnerable people. Stay up-to-date on COVID shots, Gronvall said, and get Paxlovid, the antiviral treatment, if you become infected and qualify.

Though most scientists are cautiously

optimistic, it is difficult to predict what will happen in the next few months because of two factors: the vaccines and the variants.

The Biden administration has said that rather than periodic boosters, Americans now should expect to receive a single COVID shot each fall, much like the annual flu vaccine. This year’s COVID vaccines may be available as early as next week, when advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are scheduled to review data and issue recommendations for use.

(Regulators in the European Union and Britain have already approved the updated vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech for use in everyone 6 months and older.)

The shots will be available for free to most Americans through private insurers and through a new federal program for uninsured people. But it’s unclear how many Americans will opt for vaccination. As of May 2023, fewer than half of adults older than 65, and just about one in five American adults overall, had opted for the bivalent booster shot offered last fall.

The updated vaccines target XBB.1.5, a virus variant that was dominant earlier this year when federal officials had to settle on a formulation. But since then, that variant has been superseded by several close relatives.

Limited surveillance suggests that the most prevalent variant is now EG.5, nicknamed Eris, which accounts for about 22% of cases. EG.5 is also circulating widely in many European countries, including Britain, and in Asia. It may be more transmissible than XBB.1.5 and can sidestep the body’s immune defenses, but only partly.

“That’s why we’re not seeing EG.5 sweeping crazily fast across the globe,” said Yunlong Cao, a researcher at Peking University, who analyzed the variant.

EG.5 and another virus variant, FL.1.5.1, which accounts for about 15% of cases in the United States, both carry a genetic mutation that may help them not just dodge the immune system, but also bind more tightly to human cells.

But there is nothing unexpected or alarming about the coronavirus acquiring new mutations, said Andrew Read, an evolutionary microbiologist at Pennsylvania State University.

“When a mutation confers an interesting new trick that’s got an advantage, it’s going to be popping up in many different places,” Read said. “Everything we see is just consistent with how you imagine virus evolution proceeding in a situation where a new virus has jumped into a novel host population.”

Yet one variant initially caused some consternation among scientists: BA.2.86, nicknamed Pirola.

“It captured people’s attention because it emerged in 10 countries simultaneously, and it contains over 30 mutations in the spike protein,” Barouch said. “And so there was a substantial worry that it might be a drastic shift toward increased antibody evasion.”

But recent data from several teams, including one led by Barouch, have put those fears to rest. The studies showed that BA.2.86 did not dodge immunity from infection or vaccination.

And BA.2.86’s prevalence is so minor that, so far, it barely makes the CDC’s catalog of variants spreading in the country. Even so, “I think we still need to remain vigilant, because BA.2.86 likely will continue to evolve,” Barouch said.

Each mutation “needs to be evaluated vigorously and rigorously and as quickly as possible,” he said.

A COVID-19 test swab is placed into a tube in Hilversum, the Netherlands, on Nov. 10, 2020. An uptick in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths persists, but the numbers are relatively low and new vaccines are around the corner.

Undying dread: A 400-year-old corpse, locked to its grave

By FRANZ LIDZ

If reports from the time are to be believed, 17th-century Poland was awash in revenants — not vampires, exactly, but protozombies who harassed the living by drinking their blood or, less disagreeably, stirring up a ruckus in their homes. In one account, from 1674, a dead man rose from his tomb to assault his relatives; when his grave was opened, the corpse was unnaturally preserved and bore traces of fresh blood.

Such reports were common enough that a wide range of remedies was employed to keep corpses from reanimating: cutting out their hearts, nailing them into their graves, hammering stakes through their legs, jamming their jaws open with bricks (to prevent them from gnawing their way out). In 1746, a Benedictine monk named Antoine Augustin Calmet published a popular treatise that sought, among other things, to distinguish real revenants from frauds.

Four centuries later, archaeologists in Europe have discovered the first physical evidence of a suspected child revenant. While excavating an unmarked mass cemetery at the edge of the village of Pien, near the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, researchers from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland, unearthed the remains of what has been widely described in news reports as a “vampire child.” The corpse, thought to have been about 6 at the time of death, was buried face down, with a triangular iron padlock under its left foot, in a likely effort to bind the child to the grave and keep it from haunting its family and neighbors.

“The padlock would have been locked to the big toe,” Dariusz Polinski, lead archaeologist on the study, said through a translator. Sometime after burial, the grave was desecrated and all the bones removed except those of the lower legs.

“The child was interred in a prone position so that if it returned from the dead and tried to ascend, it would bite into dirt instead,” Polinski said. “To our knowledge, this is the only example of such a child burial in Europe.” The remains of three other children were found in a pit near the child’s grave. In the pit was a fragment of a jaw with a green stain, which Polinski speculated was left by a copper coin placed in the mouth, an ancient and common burial practice.

The necropolis, a makeshift graveyard for the poor and what Polinski called “abandoned

souls excluded by society,” was discovered 18 years ago. It was not part of a church or, as far as historical local records show, on consecrated ground. So far, about 100 graves have been uncovered at the site, including one only a few feet from the child’s that harbored the skeleton of a woman with a padlocked toe and an iron sickle over her neck. “The sickle was meant to sever the woman’s head should she attempt to get up,” Polinski said.

A green stain in her mouth was shown by chemical analysis not to have been from a coin, but from something more complicated. The residue bore traces of gold, potassium permanganate and copper, which Polinski thinks may have been left by a potion concocted to treat her ailments. The cause of the woman’s death is unclear.

The woman and child do not qualify as vampires, said Martyn Rady, a historian at University College London. Vampires, he noted, are a specific type of revenant; their characteristics were first defined in the 1720s by

Austrian Hapsburg officials, who came across suspected vampires in what is now northern Serbia and wrote reports that ended up in the medical journals of the time.

“They were quite clear that, in popular local legend, the vampire had three characteristics: It was a revenant, feasted on the living and was contagious,” Rady said. The Austrian definition shaped literary vampire mythology.

Polish legends feature two types of revenants. The upior, which was later superseded by “wampir,” is similar to the cinematic Dracula, embodied by Bela Lugosi. The strzyga was more like a witch — “that is, in the old fairytale sense, a malevolent female spirit or demon that preys upon humans, may eat them or drink their blood,” said Al Ridenour, a Los Angelesbased folklorist. In Pien, locals sometimes refer to the sickle woman as a strzyga, a wraith typically born with two souls. “The malevolent soul can’t find rest in the grave, so it rises and wreaks havoc,” Ridenour said.

He pointed to the turbulent nature of the Counter-Reformation in Poland for allowing pagan beliefs toward the undead to persist. “In reaction to the Protestants, the Catholic Church turned up the drama and emotion, as you can see in Baroque art, in memento mori paintings and the like,” he said. Sermons became more fiery, and whipped up fear of the devil and demons, which translated into a fear of revenants and reanimation of the dead.

Toward the end of the Middle Ages, placing padlocks in graves became something of a tradition in Central Europe, particularly in Poland, where lock-and-key assemblages have been found in the graves of about three dozen necropolises for Ashkenazi Jews. At a 16th-century Jewish cemetery in Lublin, iron locks were laid on shrouds, around the head of the deceased or, in the absence of a coffin, on a plank covering the corpse. So far, the cache from Lutomiersk is the largest: Of the 1,200 graves investigated, almost 400 contained padlocks. Although the significance of this ritual is now obscure, one Talmudic term for grave is “a lock” or “something locked,” which has led some scholars to conclude that the custom symbolized “locking the tomb forever.” The custom continued in Poland’s Jewish communities at least until World War II. Kalina Skora, a researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lodz, said that the aim, according to mid20th-century practitioners, was “to prevent the dead person from speaking, speaking bad things or rather talking about this world in the other world.”

As gruesome as the treatment of these supposed revenants sounds, the belief may at least have provided closure to their oftentimes melancholy afterlives. To quote Lugosi in “Dracula”: “To die, to be really dead, that must be glorious.”

A photo provided by Łukasz Czyzewski shows the remains of a woman buried in an unmarked mass cemetery at the edge of the village of Pien, near the Polish city of Bydgoszcz. The 17th-century woman was buried with a sickle around her neck and a padlock around one of her toes.

A photo provided by Joanna Słomska shows padlocks from the Jewish cemetery in Lutomiersk, Poland, where of 1,200 graves investigated, 400 contained padlocks.

The San Juan Daily Star

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO. SUCN. LUIS FELIPE PEREZ SANTIAGO representados por JOSE ALFREDO PEREZ SANTIAGO

Dirección Residencial: Bo. Quebrada, Camuy, PR Dirección Postal: HC

2 Box 977, Quebrada, Camuy, PR 0062

Teléfono: 787-452-5367

PETICIONARIA EX PARTE

CIVIL NUM. AR2023CV00969.

SOBRE: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO. CODIFICACION NUM: 102-018-584-02-000.

EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERlCA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.EU.U. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PR. SS.

A: LAS PERSONAS IGNORADAS Y DESCONOCIDAS A QUIENES PUDIERA PERJUDICAR LA INSCRIPCION DEL DOMINIO A FAVOR DE LA PARTE PETICIONARIA EN EL REGISTRO DE LA PROPIEDAD DE LA FINCA

QUE MAS ADELANTE SE DESCRIBlRi Y A TODA PERSONA EN GENERAL

QUE CON DERECHO

PARA ELLO DESEE OPONERSE A ESTE EXPEDIENTE

POR LA PRESENTE se les notifica para que comparezcan, si lo creyeren pertinente, ante este Honorable Tribunal dentro de los veinte (20) días contados a partir de Ia última publicación de este edicto a exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga en el expediente promovido por Ia parte peticionaria para adquirir su dominio sobre Ia siguiente finca: RUSTICA: Radicada en el Barrio Quebrada de Camuy, Puerto Rico; compuesta de tres cuerdas (3.00 cdas.); en lindes al norte con carretera Sorondo; aI sur con José Pujols antes, hoy Enrique Pujols; al este con Antonio Perez antes, hoy Jesus A. Perez y al oeste, con José Miguel Gerena antes, hoy Santa Cardona. No consta inscrita en el Registro de Ia Propiedad. ---Codificación: 102-01858402-000. Debe presentar el original de su escrito al Tribunal y notificar copia del mismo al representante legal de Ia parte

promovente, Lcdo. NoeI A. Arce Bosques, Calle Muñoz Rivera #10, Lares, PR 00669; Tel. 787897-31 12. Este edicto deberá ser publicad en tres (3) ocasiones dentro del término de veinte (20) días, en un periódico de circulación general diana, para que comparezcan Si quieren alegar su derecho. Toda primera mención de persona natural y/o jurídica que se mencione en el mismo, se identificara en letra tamaño 10 puntos y negrillas, conforme a lo dispuesto en las Reglas de Procedimiento Civil, 2009. Se le apercibe que de no comparecer los interesados y/o partes citadas, o en su defecto los organismos públicos afectados en el término improrrogable de veinte (20) días a contar de Ia fecha de Ia Ultima publicación del edicto, el Tribunal podrá conceder el remedio solicitado por Ia parte peticionaria, sin más citarle ni oirle. “Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva, bajo juramento y con los comprobantes correspondientes, a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y 8 Manojo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando Ia siguiente dirección electrónica: https;// unired.ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en Ia secretaria del tribunal” En Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a 18 de agosto de 2023. VIVIAN V. FRESSE GONZALEZ, Secretaria Regional. Anabel Perez Rios, Sec Auxiliar Tribunal I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE MANATÍ

FINANCE OF AMERICA

REVERSE LLC

Demandante Vs.

SUCESION JULIO MUNOZ

TRINIDAD T/C/C JULIO

MUÑOZ TRINIDAD

T/C/C JULIO MUÑOZ

COMPUESTA POR JOHN

DOE Y JANE DOE COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS

DESCONOCIDOS;

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Demandados

CIVIL NUM.: MT2022CV00170.

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: LA PARTE DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO

GENERAL:

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Manatí, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Manatí, el 12 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA: Parcela marcado con el numero cuatrocientos ochenta y ocho (488) en el plano de parcelación de la Comunidad

Rural Bajura Adentro del Barrio Bajura Adentro del término municipal de Manatí, con una cabida superficial de quinientos ochenta y siete punto sesenta (587.60) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, con calle y la parcela numero ciento veintitrés (123) de la comunidad; por el Sur, con pastos comunales; por el Este, con la parcela numero ciento noventa y cuatro (194) de la comunidad, y por el Oeste, con la parcela numero cuatrocientos setenta y cinco (475) de la comunidad. Finca número 12,554, inscrita al folio 100 del tomo 321 de Manatí, Registro de la Propiedad de Manatí. La Hipoteca Revertida consta inscrita al folio 169 del tomo 580 de Manatí, Finca 12554, Registro de la Propiedad de Manatí, inscripción 5ª. Propiedad localizada en: SOLAR 488 PR 667 KM 3.8, BO. BAJURA ADENTRO, MANATI, PUERTO RICO 00674. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga: N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento: N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano. Suma

de la Carga: $127,500.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 1 de septiembre de 2082. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $127,500.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Manatí, el 19 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $85,000.00, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $63,750.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Manatí, el 26 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $68,925.23 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $7,606.13 en intereses acumulados al 31 de agosto de 2022 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 3.161% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $3,106.99 en seguro hipotecario; $1,281.97 en seguro; $500.00 de tasaciones; $435.00 de inspecciones; $4,135.00 en preservaciones; $1,722.50 en adelantos de honorarios de abogado; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $12,750.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado, esta última habrá de devengar intereses al máximo del tipo legal fijado por la oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras aplicable a esta fecha, desde este mismo día hasta su total y completo saldo. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada

finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Manatí, Puerto Rico, hoy 14 de agosto de 2023. Wilfredo Rodríguez Carrión, Alguacil Confidencial Placa #135.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE ARECIBO

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. ROSELYN

SAEZ RODRIGUEZ

Demandada

CIVIL NUM.: CCD2014-0048.

SALA: 0404. SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA. 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 de Arecibo, Arecibo, 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 2 de agosto 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: Parcela identificada en el plano de inscripción como el solar número 1 del Bloque “B” de la Urbanización Jardines de Palo Blanco, localizado en el sector Palo Blanco del Barrio Miraflores del municipio de Arecibo, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de quinientos diecinueve punto mil ochocientos ochenta y seis (519.1886)

metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con Lote número B-2; por el SUR, con Calle número uno (1); por el ESTE, con Calle número cuatro (4); y por el OESTE, con camino municipal. Enclava una residencial de concreto de una planta dedicada a fines residenciales. Inscrita en la Finca 45,453, al folio 40 del tomo 1,146 de Arecibo. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de Arecibo. La propiedad está ubicada, según pagaré, en: B-1 Almendro (4) St., Jardines de Palo Blanco, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Además, el Alguacil que suscribe, hago saber a todos los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surjan de la certificación registral, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante: Aviso de Demanda de fecha 24 de enero de 2014, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo, en el caso civil número CCD20140048, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecucion de Hipoteca seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Roselyn Sáez Rodríguez, por la suma de $81,318.38 mas intereses y otras sumas, anotado el día 19 de octubre de 2022, al tomo Karibe de Arecibo, finca número 45,453, anotación B. Embargo según Mandamiento de fecha 2 de junio de 2014, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Arecibo, en el caso civil número CCD2014-0048, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Roselyn Sáez Rodríguez, por la suma de $81,318.38 más intereses y otras sumas, anotado el día 19 de octubre de 2022, al tomo Karibe de Arecibo, finca número 45,453, anotación C. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor el día el 28 de marzo de 2014, enmendada el 26 de mayo de 2023, y notificada el 31 de mayo de 2023, en el presen-

te caso civil, a saber, la suma $81,318.38, más intereses al 5% desde el 1ro de enero de 2013 hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad adicional de $8,374.20 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. 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 16 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023

A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del referido Alguacil, localizada en el Centro Judicial de Arecibo, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $83,742.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 23 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023

A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del referido Alguacil, localizada en el Centro Judicial de Arecibo, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $55,828.00, 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 30 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023

A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del referido Alguacil, localizada en el Centro Judicial de Arecibo, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $41,871.00, 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 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 pose-

sión 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 Arecibo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 21 de agosto de 2023. EFRAÍN CARDONA VEGA, ALGUACIL DE DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO. ***

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE MANATI MWPR, LLC

Demandante, V. JORGE LUIS KUILAN GONZALEZ, SU ESPOSA, SUHEILLY RIOS REYES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados CIVIL NÚM. AR2022CV02196

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA IN REM. AVISO DE VENTA EN PÚBLICA SUBASTA

A: JORGE LUIS KUILAN GONZALEZ, SU ESPOSA, SUHEILLY RIOS REYES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES

del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Vendida o adjudicada la finca o derecho hipotecado y consignado el precio correspondiente, en esa misma fecha o fecha posterior, el alguacil que celebró la subasta procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura pública de traspaso en representación del dueño o titular de los bienes hipotecados, ante el notario que elija el adjudicatario o comprador, quien deberá abonar el importe de tal escritura. El alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días a partir de la confirmación de la venta o adjudicación. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Y PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LOS LICITADORES Y DEL PUBLICO EN GENERAL y para su publicación de acuerdo con la Ley, expido el presente Edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 28 de agosto de 2023. EDWIN E LOPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SAN JUAN.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO

JESUS OBRERO

Parte Demandante V. ÁNGEL LUIS

ROSA MANGUAL

Parte Demandada

CIVIL NÚM.: SJ2023CV03404.

SALA: 901. SOBRE: INCUM-

PLIMIENTO DE CONTRATO; COBRO DE DINERO; REPO-

SESIÓN. EMPLAZAMIENTO

POR EDICTO. ESTADOS

UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL

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

A: ÁNGEL LUIS

ROSA MANGUAL

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que notifique a:

AGS LEGAL COLLECTIONS, LLC

Abogados de la parte demandante

Lcdo. Ricardo A. Acevedo Bianchi - RUA 20637

Lcdo. José R. González RiveraRUA 13105

Lcdo. Juan A. Santos BerríosRUA 9774

P.O. Box 10242

Humacao, Puerto Rico 00792

Teléfono: (939) 545-4300

Email: rab@agsleqalpr.com o jrg@agsIeqalpr.com

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva, con copia a la representación legal de la parte demandante, dentro de los 30 días de haber sido publicado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día su publicación. 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:// unired.ramajudicial. pr/sumac!, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Extendido bajo mi firma y Sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 31 de agosto de 2023. Griselda Rodriguez Collado, Secretaria. Carla J Rivera Climent, SubSecretaria.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPCRIOR DE SALINAS

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE ELISAMUEL RODRIGUEZ

T/C/C ELISAMUEL

RODRIGUEZ RAMOS

COMPUESTA POR

ZEIDA AMADOR, FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO

POSIBLE SHEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; SUCESION DE DORENE MILLER T/C/C

SANDRA DOREEN

MILLER FIEDELBAUM

COMPUESTA POR ZEIDA AMADOR, FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS; CENTRO

DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES;

Y LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SA2022CV00027.

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, ROLANDO RODRÍGUEZ, Alguacil del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Salinas, al público HAGO SABER: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que se me libró con fecha de 14 de agosto 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 título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada de epígrafe sobre la siguiente propiedad perteneciente a la parte demandada, la cual se describe a continuación: “RÚSTICA: Parcela marcada con el número Trescientos Sesenta y Tres (363), en el plano de Parcelación de la COMUNIDAD RURAL EXTENSION EL COCO (ARCADIO MALDONADO), del Barrio Lapa del término municipal de Salinas, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de CERO PUNTO CERO OCHOCIENTOS NOVENTA (0.0890) CUERDAS, equivalentes a TRESCIENTOS CINCUENTA

PUNTO CERO CERO (350 00) METROS CUADRADOS. En lindes por el NORTE, con la Parcela número Trescientos Sesenta y Dos (362) de la Comunidad; por el ESTE con la Parcela número Cuatrocientos Cuatro (404) de la Comunidad; y por el OESTE, con la Calle número Uno (1) de la Comunidad. Finca Número 8,107, inscrita al folio 11 del tomo 207 de Salinas Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de Guayama. Dirección física: 363 Calle 11, Comunidad Arcadio Maldonado, Salinas, PR 00751.

La finca 8,107 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 The Money House, lnc, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $76,000.00, con intereses al 7% anual, vencedero a la presentación, constituida mediante la escritura número 270, otorgada en Cayey, Puerto Rico, el día 29 de octubre de 2007, ante la notario Ana C. Reyes Morales, e inscrita al tomo Karibe de Salinas, finca número 8,107, inscripción 3ra. 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 $76,000.00, con intereses al 7% anual, vencedero a la presentación, constituida mediante la escritura número 271, otorgada en Cayey, Puerto Rico, el día 29 de octubre de 2007 ante la notario Ana C. Reyes Morales, e inscrita al tomo de Karibe de Salinas, finca número 8,107, inscripción 4ta. Ley número 216 del día 27 de diciembre de 2010. (Fue presentado el día 11 de diciembre de 2007 al Asiento 1,562 del Diario 633). B. Aviso de Demanda de fecha 2 de febrero de 2022, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Salinas, en el Caso Civil número SA2022CV00027, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico; versus Sucesión de Elisamuel Rodríguez también conocido como Elisamuel Rodríguez Ramos compuesta por Zeida Amador, Fulano de Tay y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos desconocidos; La Sucesión de Dorene Miller también conocida como como Sandra Doreen Miller Fiedelbaum, compuesta por Zeida Amador, Fulano de Tay y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos desconocidos; CRIM y los Estados Unidos de América, por la suma de $119,129.56, más intereses y otras sumas adicionales o en su defecto la venta en Pública Subasta, anotado el día 1 de febrero de 2023, al tomo Karibe do Salmas, finca número 8,1074, Anotación “A”. 1. La venta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, por la hipoteca de $76,000.00 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 6 de junio de 2023, notificada y archivada el 9 de junio de 2023. El importe de la Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe, asciende a las siguientes cantidades: $131,250.88 de principal, más intereses al tipo pactado de 7% anual a partir del 31 de julio de 2022, los cuales continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la deuda, más una suma de $7,600.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más la cantidad de $7,600 00 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $7.600.00 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 11 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA. PRECIO MÍNIMO: $76,000.00. SEGUNDA SUBASTA: Se celebrará el día 18 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA. PRECIO MÍNIMO: $50,666.66. TERCERA SUBASTA: Se celebrará el día 25 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA. PRECIO MÍNIMO: $38,000.00. 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 Salinas, 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 Salinas, durante horas laborables. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda persona que tenga interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, si alguna, y para la concurrencia de licitadores y para el público en general el presente edicto se publicará en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico una vez por

semana por un término de dos (2) semanas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre cada publicación. Se fijará además, en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio donde ha de celebrarse la subasta, estos lugares serán la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía de dicho Municipio. Se notificará a la parte demandada copia del edicto de subasta mediante correo certificado con acuse de recibo a su dirección que obra en autos. Una vez efectuada la correspondiente venta judicial, otorgaré la escritura del traspaso al licitador victorioso, quien podrá ser la parte demandante, cuya oferta podrá aplicarse a la extinción parcial o total de la obligación reconocida por la Sentencia. Colocaré al licitador victorioso en posesión física de la Propiedad mediante el lanzamiento de los ocupantes en el término legal de veinte (20) días desde la fecha de la venta en pública subasta. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el Tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante o ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. El Registrador de la Propiedad cancelará, libre de derechos, todo gravamen posterior a la fecha en que se otorgó la hipoteca que ha sido ejecutada mediante esta acción, y procederá a la inscripción de la venta a favor del comprador en subasta libre de todo gravamen posterior a la fecha en que se otorgó la hipoteca que ha sido ejecutada mediante esta acción. Expido el presente edicto bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Salinas. En Salinas, Puerto Rico, a 30 de agosto de 2023.

ROLANDO RODRÍGUEZ RIVERA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #037, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE SALINAS.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE AGUADILLA.

NORMA CUEVAS LOPEZ

Peticionaria

CIVIL NUMERO:

SS2023CV00617. SOBRE: Autorización Judicial. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO DELESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: MARANGELY CUEVAS TORRES

Con dirección y domicilio desconocido en los Estados Unidos de América

En calidad de miembro de la sucesión Cuevas López , y parte indispensable en este caso. Se le notifica que deberá pre-

sentar su alegación responsiva a la demanda de desahucio 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 de Puerto Rico, Sala de San Sebastián, enviando copia a la parte demandante a través de su abogado, LCDO. MIL TON D. RIVERA ADAMES, RUA 11480, URB. VILLA RITA, CALLE 2 B4, SAN SEBASTIAN, PR 00685, Tel. (787) 810-7577, Correo electrónico: estudiolegalrivera2@gmail.com. Se le apercibe y notifica que si no contesta la demanda radicada en su contra dentro del término de treinta (30) días de haber sido emplazada, se le anotará la rebeldía en su contra, y se dictará sentencia en su contra, conforme se solicita en la demanda, sin más citársele ni oírsele. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y EL SELLO DEL TRIBUNAL, en Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, hoy día 29 de AGOSTO de 2023. Sarahí Reyes Pérez - Sec Reg. Por: MARITZA LEBRON ROSADO, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

MONSERRATE SIMONET & GIERBOLINI, LLC

Demandante V. JAVON CHIPEL GRAY

Demandado

Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV07214. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (REGLA 60). EMPLAZAMIENTO Y MANDAMIENTO DE INTERPELACIÓN POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S.

A: JAVON CHIPEL GRAY. DIRECCIÓN: 14849

OLDENBURG CT, EL PASO, TEXAS 79938. Por la presente se les notifica que se ha presentado en este Tribunal la Demanda de epígrafe. Se le emplaza y requiere para que notifique a: Lcdo. Miguel J. Simonet García; MONSERRATE, SIMONET & GIERBOLINI, 101 Ave. San Patricio, Suite 1120, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 00968; Tel: (787) 620-5300, abogados de la parte demandante, con copia de la contestación a la Demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto, que se publicará una (1) vez en un periódico de

circulación diaria general. Se le apercibe que si no contesta la Demanda radicando el original de la misma a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudiciai.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal Superior dentro del término antes indicado, y notificando con copia a la parte demandante, se le anotará la rebeldía y se le dictará Sentencia en su contra concediendo el remedio solicitado a favor de la parte demandante sin más citarle ni oírle.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el Sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 1 de septiembre de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE MAYAGÜEZ SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. LA SUCESIÓN DE LENNÍN SEPÚLVEDA FIGUEROA COMPUESTA POR: LENNÍN SEPÚLVEDA RAMÍREZ; REBECCA SEPÚLVEDA RAMÍREZ; DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA; DEPARTAMENTO DE JUSTICIA.

Demandado CIVIL NÚM. LJ2023CV00007 SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. S.S.

A: REBECCA SEPÚLVEDA RAMÍREZ COMO HEREDERA DE LA SUCESIÓN DE LENNÍN SEPÚLVEDA FIGUEROA

Por la presente se le emplaza y notifica que deben contestar la demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del presente edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Se le

apercibe que de no contestar la demanda dentro del término aquí estipulado, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia sin más citarle ni oírle. Por la presente el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, conforme al caso de Banco Bilbao Vizcava Argentaría vs. Latinoamericana de Exportación, inc., 164 D.P.R. 689 (2005), le ordena que en el término de treinta (30) días, haga declaración aceptando o repudiando la herencia de LA SUCESIÓN DE LENNÍN SEPÚLVEDA FIGUEROA. Se le apercibe que de no expresar su intención de aceptar o repudiar la herencia dentro del término que se le fijó, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. Los abogados de la parte demandante son: Lcdo. Guillermo A. Somoza Colombani, P.O. Box 366603, San Juan, PR 009366603. Tel. (787) 919-0073, Fax (787) 641-5016. Expido este edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, hoy 31 de agosto de 2023. Lic. Norma G. Santana Irizarry, Secretaria Regional II. Nilda Torres Acevedo, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante, v.

GLORIA MERCADO DE JESÚS

Demandada

CIVIL NÚM. KCD2017-0085.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA

POR LA VIA ORDINARIA. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA.

A: LOS CODEMANDADOS

DE EPIGRAFE Y AL PÚBLICO EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de una Sentencia en Rebeldía Enmendada dictada en el caso de epígrafe el 15 de mayo de 2017, notificada el 17 de mayo de 2017, una Orden de Ejecución de Embargo emitida el 15 de agosto de 2023 y un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Embargo emitido el día 22 de agosto de 2023, que le ha sido dirigido por la Secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, procederá a vender en subasta, y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, y/o giro postal, dinero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal, o letra bancaria, con similar garantía de todo título, derecho o interés de los demandados de epígrafe sobre el inmueble que adelante se describe. Se anuncia por la

presente que la subasta habrá de celebrarse el día 12 de octubre de 2023, a las 11:30 de la mañana, en mi oficina localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, sobre el inmueble que se describe a continuación:

PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento #804, para fines residenciales, con un área superficial de 888.65 pies cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en 31’4” con el apartamento #803 y 9’8” con áreas comunes de corredor (“lobby”); por el SUR, en 31’ con el exterior y 10’ con el cuarto de lavandería (“laundry”); por el ESTE, en 24’3” con el exterior y por el OESTE, en 13’4” con el apartamento #801 y 11’9” con áreas comunes del corredor (“lobby”) y elevador. Consta este apartamento de sala-comedor, tres cuartos dormitorios con sus respectivos guardarropas, cuarto de baño, cocina y cuarto de lavandería (“laundry”).

PORCENTAJE: Elementos

Comunes: .0124452%. Finca número #23009, inscrita al folio 233 del tomo 562 de Sabana Llana (Sección V de San Juan).

Dirección física: 804 Condominio Guarionex San Juan PR 00926. La subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al demandante, total o parcialmente, según sea el caso, de la referida sentencia que fue dictada por las siguientes sumas: $34,798.54 por concepto de principal, más intereses al 2.5% anual a partir del 1 de agosto de 2016 hasta su completo pago, más $3,500.00 como cantidad estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato de préstamo. Esta subasta no tiene fijación de tipo mínimo por tratarse de una ejecución de sentencia por embargo. Y

PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LAS PARTES INTERESADAS y del público en general, se advierte que los autos de este caso y demás instancias están disponibles para ser inspeccionadas en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de San Juan, durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante, incluyendo el gravamen por las contribuciones sobre la propiedad inmueble adeudadas, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda responsable de los mismos sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. En testimonio de lo cual, expido el presente aviso, el cual firmo

y sello, hoy 8 de septiembre de 2023, en San Juan, Puerto Rico. PEDRO HIEYE GONZALEZ, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SAN JUAN.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PIJERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CAGUAS. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC

DEMANDANTE VS. Cruz Meléndez Andino t/c/c Cruz Meléndez Aquino por si y como miembro de la Sucesión de María Teresa Colón Colón; Sucesión de María Teresa Colón Colón compuesta por Samuel Antonio Meléndez Colón, Cruz Meléndez Colón, Sandra Ivette Meléndez Colón, Luis Enrique Meléndez Colón, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos; Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales; y los Estados Unidos de América

DEMANDADOS

CIVIL NUM.: JU2023CV00140.

SOBRE: Ejecución de Hipoteca In Rem. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: Cruz Meléndez Andino t/c/c Cruz Meléndez Aquino por si y como miembro de la Sucesión de María Teresa Colón Colón; y la Sucesión de María Teresa Colón Colón compuesta por Samuel Antonio Meléndez Colón, Cruz Meléndez Colón, Sandra Ivette Meléndez Colón, Luis Enrique Meléndez Colón, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos

POR LA PRESENTE, se les emplaza y se les notifica que se ha presentado en la Secretaria de este Tribunal la Demanda del caso del epígrafe solicitando la ejecución de hipoteca y el cobro de dinero relacionado al pagaré suscrito a favor de Trust Mortgage Corporation, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $160,500.00, con intereses computados sobre la misma desde su fecha hasta su total y completo pago a razón de

la tasa de interés de 5.060% anual, la cual será ajustada mensualmente, obligándose además al pago de costas, gastos y desembolsos del litigio, más honorarios de abogados en una suma de $16,050.00, equivalente al 10% de la suma principal original. Este pagaré fue suscrito bajo el affidávit número 7493 ante el notario Juan Manuel Casanova Rivera. Lo anterior surge de la hipoteca constituida mediante la escritura número 297 otorgada el 27 de octubre de 2014, la Hipoteca Revertida grava la propiedad que se describe a continuación:

“URBANA: Solar número siete (7) del Bloque H, sito en la Urbanización -- Haciendas de Tena, radicado en el Barrio Ceiba Norte del término municipal de - Juncos, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de doscientos setenta y cinco punto cero cero cero metros cuadrados (275.000 mc), en lindes por el NORTE, con el solar número seis (6) del Bloque H de la misma Urbanización; por el SUR, con el solar númcro ocho (8) del Bloque H de la misma Urbanización; por el ESTE, con la Carretera Estatal novecientos treinta y cinco (935); y por el OESTE, con la Calle Guamaní de la misma Urbanización. Contiene una estructura residencial tipo Yucayeque de un piso con sala, comedor, cocina, tres (3) habitaciones con closets, baño, marquesina techada y área de laundry exterior. Afecta por su colindancia Oeste a servidumbre de paso a favor de la Puerto Rico Telephone Company de uno punto cincuenta y dos metros (1.52 m) de ancho y once (11.00 m) metros de largo y otra servidumbre de paso por su colindancia Sur a favor de la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica de uno punto cincuenta (1.50 m) metros de ancho por siete punto veintitrés (7.23 m) metros de largo”. Finca número 13,943, inscrita al folio 97 del tomo 371 de Juncos. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección II de Caguas. La Hipoteca Revertida se encuentra inscrita al folio 37 del tomo 447 de Juncos, finca número 13,943, inscripción 3ra. Se acompaña Estudio de Título de la propiedad objeto del presente pleito. Se apercibe y advierte a ustedes que deberán presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo 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 no contestar la demanda radicando el original de la contestación ante la secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de

Caguas, y notificar copia de la contestación de esta a la parte demandante por conducto de su abogada, GLS LEGAL SERVICES, LLC, Atención: Lcda. Genevieve López Stipes Hernández, Dirección: P.O. Box 367308, San Juan, P.R. 009367308, Teléfono: 787-758-6550, dentro de los próximos 60 días a partir de la publicación de este emplazamiento por edicto, que será publicado una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general en la isla de Puerto Rico, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia, concediendo el remedio solicitando en la Demanda sin más citarle ni oírle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal hoy 17 de agosto de 2023. LISILDA MARTINEZ AGOSTO, Secretario (a). MARTA E DONATE RESTO, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. LA SUCESIÓN DE MANUEL ÁNGEL VEGA MONT COMPUESTA POR LESLIE VEGA; FULANO DE TAL Y MENGANO DE TAL LOS POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA; DEPARTAMENTO DE JUSTICIA.

Demandado CIVIL NÚM. DCD 2017-0901 (501) SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. S. S.

A: FULANO DE TAL, POSIBLE HEREDERO DESCONOCIDO de MANUEL ÁNGEL VEGA MONT; MeNGANO DE TAL, POSIBLE HEREDERO DESCONOCIDO de MANUEL ÁNGEL VEGA MONT Y LESLIE VEGA

Por la presente se le emplaza y notifica que debe contestar la demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del presente edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder

utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Se le apercibe que de no contestar la demanda dentro del término aquí estipulado, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia sin más citarle ni oírle. Por la presente el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, conforme al caso de Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria vs. Latinoamericana de Exportación, Inc., 164 D.P.R. 689 (2005), le ordena que en el término de treinta (30) días, haga declaración aceptando o repudiando la herencia de la SUCESIÓN DE MANUEL ÁNGEL VEGA MONT. Se le apercibe que de no expresar su intención de aceptar o repudiar la herencia dentro del término que se le fijó, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. Los abogados de la parte demandante son: Lcdo. Guillermo A. Somoza Colombani, P.O. Box 366603, San Juan, PR 00936-6603. Tel. (787) 9190073, Fax (787) 641-5016. Expido este edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, hoy 14 de julio de 2023. Lcda. Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria Regional. Nereida Quiles Santana, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS COMPU-LINK CORPORATION, D/B/A CELINK

Demandante Vs. SUCESION MAXIMINA

LEON DIAZ T/C/C MAXIMINA LEON COMPUESTA POR

NANCY GUTIERREZ

LEON, NYDIA GUTIERREZ LEON, CARLOS

GUTIERREZ LEON, NOEL

GUTIERREZ LEON; JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CG2023CV01914.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO

POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS

UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: NOEL GUTIERREZ LEON; JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO

POSIBLES MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE SUCESION MAXIMINA

LEON DIAZ T/C/C

MAXIMINA LEON.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al Tribunal su alegación responsiva a la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación de este edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberé presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente.

Greenspoon Marder, LLP

Lcda. Frances L. Asencio-Guido

R.U.A. 15,622

TRADE CENTRE SOUTH, SUITE 700 100 WEST CYPRESS CREEK ROAD FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33309

Telephone: (954) 343 6273

Frances.Asencio@gmlaw.com

Expedido bajo mi firma, y sello del Tribunal, en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 31 de agosto de 2023. LISILDA MARTÍNEZ AGOSTO, SECRETARIA. ENEIDA ARROYO VÉLEZ, SUB-SECRETARIA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON

THE MONEY HOUSE, INC.

Demandante V. LA SUCESIÓN DE CARLOS CLAVELL BOCACHICA, también conocido como CARLOS CLAVELL, compuesta por GRISELLE CLAVELL

RODRIGUEZ, CARLOS CLAVELL RIVERA, WILLIAM CLAVELL

RIVERA, EDWIN CLAVELL RIVERA, FULANO DE TAL y FULANA DE TAL como posibles herederos desconocidos con interés en la Sucesión, ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA Y CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM), Demandados

CIVIL NUM. CT2023CV00079

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA OR-

DINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO E INTERPELACION. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. S.S.

A: LA SUCESIÓN DE CARLOS CLAVELL BOCACHICA, también conocido como CARLOS CLA VELL, compuesta por GRISELLE CLAVELL RODRIGUEZ, CARLOS CLAVELL RIVERA, WILLIAM CLAVELL RIVERA, EDWIN CLAVELL RIVERA, FULANO DE TAL y FULANA DE TAL como posibles herederos desconocidos con interés en la Sucesión.

Queden emplazados y notificados que en este Tribunal se ha radicado Demanda sobre Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se alega que usted (es) le adeuda(n) a la demandante lo siguiente: la suma de $97,167.89 más intereses al tipo pactado de 4.49% anual, hasta su completo pago; y otros gastos acumulados. Dichos intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Los cargos por servicio y las primas de seguro continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además, la parte demandada adeuda los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. Conforme al caso de Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaría VS. Latinoamericana de Exportación, Inc., 164 DPR 689 (2005) y el Artículo 1578 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A.§ 11021, se le requiere a la Sucesión de Edgardo Jose Prieto Rodríguez y de la Sucesión de Carlos Clavell Bocachica, también conocido como Carlos Clavell que en el término de treinta (30) días, haga Declaración aceptando o repudiando la herencia del causante. Se les apercibe que de no expresar su intención de aceptar o repudiar la herencia dentro del término provisto, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. Por la presente se le emplaza y notifica que debe contestar la demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del presente edicto y deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), el cual podrá 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. Si usted deja de pre-

The San Juan Daily

Star

sentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar Sentencia en Rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su discreción, lo entiende procedente. Los abogados de la parte demandante son:

Lcdo. Andrés Sáez Marrero

T.S.P.R. Núm. 18074

TROMBERG, MORRIS & POULIN, LLC

1541 Calle J. Ponce de León San Juan, PR 00926

Tel. 877-338-4101

Fax: 561-338-4077 prservice@tmppllc.com asaez@tmppllc.com

Expido este edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, hoy 14 de agosto de 2023. LCDA.

LAURA l. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, Secretaria Regional. Sandra

Báez Hernández, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE CAGUAS. ESTRELLA HOMES III LLC

Parte Demandante Vs. CARMEN LUCIA CINTRON RAMOS

Parte Demandada

CIVIL NUM. ECD2018-0137.

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINERO.

ANUNCIO DE SUBASTA. El suscribiente, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Caguas, a los demandados de epígrafe y al público en general hace saber que venderá en pública subasta en la Oficina de Alguaciles, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, al mejor postor, en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América en efectivo, cheque certificado, o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, el derecho que tenga la parte demandada en el inmueble que se relaciona más adelante para pagar la SENTENCIA por $99,362.60 de balance principal, los intereses adeudados sobre dicho principal y computados al 4.99% anual hasta su total pago y completo pago desde el primero de mayo de 2017; cargos por demora devengados, más la suma de $10,500.00 estipulada para honorarios de abogado pactada en la escritura de hipoteca y cualesquiera otras sumas que por cualesquiera concepto legal se devenguen hasta el día de la subasta. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: PROPIEDAD

HORIZONTAL: Apartamento

SEISCIENTOS DIEZ del Condominio villa Beatriz, radicada en el Barrio Beatriz de la mu-

nicipalidad de Cayey, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de Ochocientos Veinte punto Cuarenta y Nueve pies cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, con área común; por el Sur, con área común; por el este, con pared que lo separa del apartamento Seiscientos Cinco; y por el Oeste, con pasillo, área común y con apartamento Setecientos Cinco. Apartamento ubicado en la quinta planta del edificio seis del Condominio Villa Beatriz con entrada principal mirando hacia el este, el cual consiste de un área de sala guion comedor, cocina, balcón, tres habitaciones cada uno con ropero, un baño y un “linen closet”. A este apartamento le corresponde una participación de punto cincuenta y cinco porciento en los elementos comunes del Condominio. También, tiene derecho a dos espacios de estacionamiento identificados con el mismo número del apartamento.

Inscrita al sistema Karibe, finca numero veinticinco mil trescientos ochenta y ocho (25388) de Cayey, Registro de Caguas I. Dirección Física: Cond. Villa Beatriz, Apt. 610, Cayey, Puerto Rico 00736. La primera subasta se llevará a cabo el día 2 de octubre de 2023, a las 10:15 de la mañana, y servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la suma de $105,000.00 sin admitirse oferta inferior. En el caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en la primera subasta, se celebrará una segunda subasta el día 10 de octubre de 2023, a las 10:15 de la mañana, y el precio mínimo para esta segunda subasta será el de dos terceras partes del precio mínimo establecido para la primera subasta, o a sea la suma de $70,000.00. Si tampoco hubiera remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 17 de octubre de 2023, a las 10:15 de la mañana, y el tipo mínimo para esta tercera subasta será la mitad del precio establecido para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $52,500.00. El mejor postor deberá pagar el importe de su oferta en efecto, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se dará por terminado el procedimiento, pudiendo adjudicarse el inmueble al acreedor hipotecario dentro de los diez días siguientes a la fecha de la última subasta, si así lo estimase conveniente, por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada conforme a la sentencia, si ésta fuera igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta y abonándose dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta fuera mayor. Se avisa a cualquier licitador que la propiedad queda sujeta al gravamen del Estado Libre Asociado y CRIM

sobre la propiedad inmueble por contribuciones adeudadas y que el pago de dichas contribuciones es la responsabilidad del licitador. Que se entenderá por todo licitador acepte como suficiente la titulación y que los cargos y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes en entendiéndose que el rematador los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse su extinción al precio rematante. Todos los nombres de los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surgen de la certificación registral, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria en Puerto Rico y en los sitios públicos de acuerdo a las disposiciones de la Regla 51.7 de las de Procedimiento Civil, así como para la publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria y en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas con antelación a la fecha de la primera subasta y por lo menos una vez por semana. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento indicado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables. (Art. 102 (1) de la Ley núm. 210-2015). Expedido el presente en Caguas, Puerto Rico, a 21 de agosto de 2023.

ANGEL GOMEZ GOMEZ, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE CAGUAS.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS HR MORTGAGE

DEPARTAMENTO DE LA VIVIENDA Y DESARROLLO URBANO; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE (POSIBLES TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS DEL PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO)

Demandados

CIVIL NÚM.: CG2023CV02512 SOBRE: CANCELACION DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. Estados Unidos de América. El Presidente de los Estados Unidos de América. El Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. SS.

A: JOHN DOE y/o RICHARD ROE

Se notifica que se presentó en esta Secretaría la Demanda de epígrafe sobre Cancelación de Pagaré Extraviado Por la Vía Judicial. Se le emplaza y requiere que usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo 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. Deberá notificar con copia de la misma al LCDO. JESÚS

A. LEDESMA AMADOR, PO BOX 10338, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00922, dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto. Si dejara de hacerlo, podrá dictarse sentencia en rebeldía, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. El pagaré hipotecario objeto de esta demanda, fue emitido a favor de The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, o a su orden, por doscientos noventa y ocho mil quinientos dólares ($298,500.00), con intereses al cinco punto treinta y cuatro por ciento (5.34 %) anual y con vencimiento veinte (20) de marzo del dos mil noventa y cuatro (2094), ante el Notario Público Ana V. Piñero Pares. Dicha obligación quedó garantizada por una hipoteca voluntaria sobre el inmueble que más adelante se describe, según surge de la escritura de la escritura número trescientos ochenta y ocho (#388), otorgada en Cayey, Puerto Rico, el día nueve (9) de octubre del 2008, inscrito al folio número veintiuno (#21) del tomo número quinientos sesenta y dos (#562) de Cayey, finca número veintidós mil ochocientos veintisiete (#22,827), inscripción octava (8va). Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección Primera. El pago de dichos pagarés se garantizó con hipotecas constituidas sobre el inmueble que se describe a

continuación: URBANA: Parcela identificada en el plano de inscnpción como el Solar #3 del Bloque “G” de la Urbanización Los Cedros, localizada en el Barrio Montellano del municipio de Cayey, con una cabida superficial de CUATROCIENTOS DIECIOCHO PUNTO OCHENTA Y OCHO (418.88) METROS CUADRADOS. En lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de dieciocho punto ochenta (18.80) metros lineales, con el Solar G-4; por el SUR, en una distancia de veinticinco punto ochenta y tres (25.83) metros lineales, con la Calle #17; por el ESTE, en una distancia de veintitrés punto cero cero (23.00) metros lineales, con el Solar G-2; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de treinta y cuatro punto veintitrés (34.23) metros lineales, con Plaza Cayey. Finca #22,827, inscrito al folio #21 del tomo #562 de Cayey, Registro de la Propiedad de Ca guas Sección Primera. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el Sello del Tribunal, hoy23 de agosto de 2023. Lisilda Martínez Agosto, Secretaria. Eneida Arroyo Vélez, Secretaria Servicios a Sala.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE MAYAGÜEZ

GRACE MARIE

LÓPEZ MATOS

Demandante Vs. DANIEL ANDRÉS

BOTELLO TIBAQUIRA

Demandado

CIVIL NÚM.: MZ2023RF00499

SOBRE: DIVORCIO (RUPTURA IRREPARABLE) EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

A: DANIEL ANDRÉS BOTELLO TIBAQUIRA.

DIRECCIÓN FÍSICA: JARDINES DEL CARIBE, CALLE LOS FLAMBOYANES, APARTAMENTO 625, BARRIO MANÍ, MAYAGÜEZ, PR 00682. Por la presente se le emplaza para que notifique al Lcdo. Juan Carlos Toro Sepúlveda, P.O. Box 6246, Mayagüez, P.R. 00681, Teléfono (787) 5286450, copia de lacontestación a la demanda radicada por la parte demandante, dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto, que se publicará una vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general, por orden del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Caguas. Se le apercibe que,

si no contesta la Demanda presentando el original de la contestación ante el tribunal, con copia a la parte demandante se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, 5 de septiembre de 2023. Lic. Norma G. Santana Irizarry. Secretaria Regional II. Lymed T. Silva Zapata, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN JUAN CARLOS IVÁN BETANCOURT BENÍTEZ, ILANOVA BETANCOURT BENÍTEZ, RANDY BETANCOURT BENÍTEZ Y YADIRA BETANCOURT DEL VALLE

Demandantes Vs. HIGHLAND REAL TY INC. Y SKY TOWER III, INC, JOE DOE Y RICHARD DOE

Demandados

CIVIL NÚM: SJ2022CV10409

SALÓN DE SESIONES 803

SOBRE: PRESCRIPCION

ADQUISITIVA EXTRAORDINARIA. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.

UU. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PR.

A: HIGHLAND REALTY LNC, con últimas direcciones conocidas en Ave. Muñoz Rivera 994, San Juan, PR 00927 y Ave. Ponce De León 1225, Pda. 18, Edif. Caso Ofic. 703, San Juan, PR 00907 y Apartado 449, El Señorial Station, San Juan, PR 00925; Sky Tower III, lnc., con últimas direcciones conocidas en 1607 Ave. Ponce De León, Edificio Cobián Plaza, San Juan, PR 00909 y Apartado 40849, Minillas Sta., San Juan, PR 00940-0849; John Doe y Richard Doe.

finca arriba mencionada que de no contestar la demanda presentada en este caso, radicando el original de su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva ante la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, y notificando copia de la misma a la parte demandante, por conducto de la licenciada Dalmaris Betancourt Betancourt, a su dirección en Urb. Baldrich

200 Calle Manuel F. Rossy, San Juan, PR 00918, teléfono número (787) 630-1296, dentro de los próximos treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación de este emplazamiento por edicto, que será publicado una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia, concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda, sin más citarle no oírle. Extendido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy 1 de septiembre de 2023, en San Juan, PR. Griselda Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria Regional. Iris Olivo Núñez, Secretaria Servicios a Sala.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CAGUAS. MIDLAND CREDIT MANAGEMENT PUERTO RICO, LLC. COMO AGENTE DE MIDLAND CREDIT MANAGEMENT, INC.

DEMANDANTE VS. NEREIDA ALCOCER SEPULVEDA DEMANDADO

CIVIL NÚM.: CG2023CV01204. SALÓN: SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. Estados Unidos de América El Presidente de los Estados Unidos El Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. SS:

A: Nereida Alcocer

Sepúlveda - Urb. Mirador de Bairoa 2S48, Calle 24, Caguas, PR 00727-1028. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramaiudicial.pr, salvo que se

represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Edwin Serrano cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección edwin.serrano@orf-lawcorn y a la dirección notificaciones@orflaw.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 2 de agosto de 2023. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, el de 2 de agosto de 2023. LISILDA MARTINEZ AGOSTO ., Secretaria. Jessenia Pedraza Andino, Sec auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE VILLALBA EN JUANA DIAZ.

Island Portfolio Services, LLC como agente de Fairway Acquisitions Fund, LLC

PARTE DEMANDANTE VS. DANNY COLON PEREZ PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM. VI2022CV00140. SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: DANNY COLON

PEREZ - BO CAONILLAS

ABAJO SECT CERRO

GORDO 5520 KM 10 INT, VILLALBA PR 00766

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema

SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Natalie Bonaparte Servera cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección natalie. bonaparte@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orflaw.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO

MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en VILLALBA EN JUANA

DIAZ, Puerto Rico, hoy día 3 de agosto de 2023. En VILLALBA EN JUANA DIAZ, Puerto Rico, el 3 de agosto de 2023.

CARMEN G TIRU QUINONES, Secretaria. Waleska E Rivera Torres, Sec Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL

GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CAGUAS

ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante V.

GILBERTO TORRES

FEBRES, BRENDA LIZ

RIVERA MARTÍNEZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES

POR ESTOS COMPUESTA

Demandados

CIVIL NÚM. CG2022CV03903

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R.

SS. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, hago saber a la parte demandada

GILBERTO TORRES FEBRES, BRENDA LIZ RIVERA MARTÍNEZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES

POR ESTOS COMPUESTA y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL; que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 21 de junio de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta por el precio mínimo de $47,750.00 y al mejor postor, pagadero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o giro postal, a nombre del alguacil del tribunal, la propiedad que se describe a continuación: 743 RD KM 2.4 BO. VEGA, SEC.

LA PONDEROSA, CAYEY, PR 00736, y que se describe de la siguiente manera: RÚSTICA: Parcela marcada con el número 64 en el plano de parcelación de la comunidad rural G.L. García del barrio Vegas del término municipal de Cayey, con una cabida superficial de 2,323.81 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con calle número doce de la comunidad; por el SUR, con Sucesión Gregorio Ríos Rosado; por el ESTE, con parcela número 63 B de la comunidad; y por el OESTE, con parcela número 64 A de la co-

munidad. Finca 18321 inscrita al folio 6 del tomo 435 de Cayey, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección I. La finca antes descrita se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: (i) HIPOTECA en garantía de pagaré a favor de RG Premier Bank of Puerto Rico o a su orden por la suma principal de $47,750.00 con intereses a razón del 5.875% anual y vencimiento el 1 de agosto de 2033. Constituida por la Escritura #211 otorgada en Cayey el 30 de Agosto de 2005 ante el notario Roberto Sosa Tapia. Inscrita el 5 de mayo del 2006 al folio 185 del Tomo 553 de Cayey, finca número 18321, inscripción 4ª. (ii) ANOTACIÓN DE DEMANDA radicada el 8 de mayo del 2017 en la del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Cayey, en el caso civil número G2CI201700109, sobre cobro de dinero y ejecución de hipoteca; Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, demandante v Gilberto Torres Febres, su esposa Brenda Luz Rivera y la Sociedad Legal de Gananciales compuesta por ambos, demandados. Por la misma se reclama el pago de $36,970.70, más otras sumas, garantizada con la Hipoteca antes relacionada. Anotada el 2 de agosto de 2019 al Tomo Digital Karibe de la finca 18321 de Cayey, anotación “A”. La hipoteca objeto de esta ejecución es la que ha quedado descrita en el inciso (i). Será celebrada la subasta para con el importe de la misma satisfacer la sentencia dicta el 24 de marzo de 2023, mediante la cual se condenó a la parte demandada pagar a la parte demandante la suma de $28,778.38 de principal, más intereses al 5.875% anual que continuarán acumulándose hasta el saldo total, $177.91 de cargos por demora, $228.00 de otros cargos los cuales continuarán acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda, $4,775.00 de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otro desembolso que haya efectuado o efectúe la parte demandante durante la tramitación de este caso para otros adelantos de conformidad con el Contrato Hipotecario, incluyendo primas de seguro de hipoteca, prima de seguro de siniestro y cargos por demora.

La PRIMERA SUBASTA será celebrada el día 2 DE OCTU-

BRE DE 2023 A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del Alguacil, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, Puerto Rico. Servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la cantidad de $47,750.00, sin admitirse oferta inferior. De no haber remate ni adjudicación, celebraré SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 10 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023 A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar, en la que servirá como tipo mínimo,

dos terceras (2/3) partes del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $31,833.33. Si no hubiese remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, celebraré TERCERA SUBASTA el día 17 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023 A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar en la que regirá como tipo mínimo, la mitad del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $23,875.00. El Alguacil que suscribe hizo constar que toda licitación deberá hacerse para pagar su importe en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, de acuerdo con la Ley y de acuerdo con lo anunciado en este Aviso de Subasta. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables. Se entiende que todo licitador que comparezca a la subasta señalada en este caso acepta como bastante la titulación que da base a la misma. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si la hubiere al crédito que da base a esta ejecución continuará subsistente, entendiéndose, además, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción cualquier parte del remanente del precio de licitación. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos 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 ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Vendida o adjudicada la finca o derecho hipotecado y consignado el precio correspondiente, en esa misma fecha o fecha posterior, el alguacil que celebró la subasta procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura pública de traspaso en representación del dueño o titular de los bienes hipotecados, ante el notario que elija el adjudicatario o comprador, quien deberá abonar el importe de tal escritura. El alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días

a partir de la confirmación de la venta o adjudicación. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Y PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LOS LICITADORES Y DEL PUBLICO EN GENERAL y para su publicación de acuerdo con la Ley, expido el presente Edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy 30 de agosto de 2023. Ángel Gómez Gómez, Alguacil Placa 593.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA [NSTANCIA SALA DE CAROLINA. ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, como agente de FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

DEMANDANTE VS. OLGA HERNANDEZ DEMANDADO

CIVIL NUM.: CA2023CV01186.

SALON: SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMEENTO POR EDICTO. Estados Unidos de America El Presidente de los Estados Unidos El Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. SS:

A: Olga HernandezUrb. Villa Carolina 184-61, Calle 518, Carolina, PR 00985-3530.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) dias siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramaiudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldIa en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oIrle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Edwin Serrano cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección edwin.serrano@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orflaw.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO

MJ FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy dia 3 de agosto de 2023. En Carolina, Puerto Rico, el 3 de agosto de 2023. Lcda. Kanelly Zayas Robes, Secretaria Regional. Ida Fernandez Rodriguez, Secretario(a) Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN SEBASTIAN. ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, como agente de FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

DEMANDANTE VS. SUJEIDY PEREZ MORALES

DEMANDADO

CIVIL NÚM.: MO2023CV00011. SALÓN: SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. Estados Unidos de América El Presidente de los Estados Unidos El Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. SS: A: Sujeidy Perez Morales - Urb. Hacienda La Monserrate 336, Calle La Concepción, Moca, PR 00676.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:/unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Edwin Serrano cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección edwin.serrano@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@ orf-law.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en San Sebastián , Puerto Rico, hoy día 3 de agosto de 2023. En San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, el 3 de agosto de 2023. MARITZA LEBRON ROSADO, Secretario(a) Auxiliar. f/ MARITZA LEBRON ROSADO, Sec. Auxiliar del Trib.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL

GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN GERMÁN BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE JOSÉ DOLORES LUGO MARTÍNEZ COMPUESTA POR FULANA DE CUAL, FULANO DE CUAL Y FULANA DE TAL, VIUDA

Demandados

CIVIL NÚM.: SG2023CV00199

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO Y DE INTERPELACIÓN JUDICIAL. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: FULANA DE CUAL, FULANA DE CUAL Y FULANA DE TAL, VIUDA, POR SI Y COMO MIEMBROS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE JOSÉ DOLORES LUGO MARTÍNEZ.

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 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.rarnajudicial.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 San Germán, P. O. Box 223, San Germán, Puerto Rico 00683-0223 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 P.O. Box 2342, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 006812342, Teléfonos: (787) 8329620 / (845) 345-3985 / (787) 538-9920, 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. ORDEN DE INTERPELACIÓN JUDICIAL Vista la Moción Solicitando Cambio de nombre, Solicitud Emplazamiento por Edicto e Interpela-

ción Judicial en el caso de epígrafe, y examinado los autos de este caso y la ley aplicable, este Tribunal declara CON LUGAR la solicitud de Interpelación Judicial, y en su consecuencia se ordena a que la parte demandada Fulana de Cual, Fulano de Cual y Fulana de Tal, viuda, por si y como miembros de La Sucesión de José Dolores Lugo Martínez y conforme lo dispone el Artículo 1578 del Código Civil de Puerto Rico 2020, a que dentro del término legal de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación de la presente Orden, acepte o repudie la participación que les corresponda en la herencia de los causantes. Se le apercibe de no expresarse dentro de ese término de treinta (30) días en torno a su apelación o repudiación de herencia, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. También se le apercibe a los demandados que luego de transcurso del término antes indicado, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante, por consiguiente responden por las cagas de dicha herencia conforme al Artículo 1587 del Código Civil de Puerto Rico

2020. Se Ordena a la parte demandante a que proceda a notificar la presente orden mediante publicación de un edicto a esos efectos una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general de la isla de Puerto Rico. DADA en San Germán, Puerto Rico, hoy 9 de agosto de 2023. LIC. NORMA G. SANTANA IRIZARRY, Secretaria Regional. Lydia Santiago Morales, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA REGIÓN JUDICIAL DE FAJARDO SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO.

NORA IVETTE BIRRIEL CÁCERES

Demandante V.

SUCESIÓN ÁNGEL MANUEL BIRRIEL

RODRIGUEZ, compuesta por IVONNE BIRRIEL RIOS; ÁNGEL BIRRIEL RÍOS y NEREIDA

BENÍTEZ, en cuanto a la cuota viudal usufructuaria

SUCESIÓN RAMÓN BIRRIEL RODRÍGUEZ, compuesta por JOSÉ

RAMÓN BIRRIEL CALO, NILSA MARÍA BIRRIEL CALO, EDGARDO

BIRRIEL CALO y CANDELARIA CALO

BIRRIEL, por si y en cuanto a la cuota viudal usufructuaria

Demandados CIVIL NÚM. RG2023CV00430.

SALA: SOBRE: Adjudicación, Partición y - Liquidacion de Comunidad Hereditaria. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. S.S.

A: ÁNGEL BIRRIEL RÍOS e IVONNE BIRRIEL RÍOS, como miembros de la SUCESIÓN RAMÓN BIRRIEL RODRÍGUEZ

B. JOSÉ RAMÓN BIRRIEL CALO, como miembro de la SUCESIÓN RAMÓN BIRRIEL RODRÍGUEZ

Quedan notificados que la demandante de epígrafe ha radicado en este Tribunal una Demanda contra ustedes como co-demandados en la que se solicita la partición, adjudicación y liquidación de la comunidad hereditaria de bienes con relación a la propiedad que se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA: Barrio Jiménez de Río Grande, Puerto Rico, Lote: Cabida: 982.59 metros cuadrados. Linderos: NORTE, con carretera insular número 3. SUR, con Altagracia Correa. ESTE, Sucesión de Cecilio Pérez. OESTE, con Altagracia Correa. Tiene casa de concreto con piso y techo de igual construcción que mide 20 pies de frente por 38 pies y medio de fondo y otra casa de madera. ---Consta inscrita al Sistema Karibe, finca número 2,042 de Río Grande, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección III de Carolina. Se les advierte que el presente Edicto se publicará en un periódico de circulación general una sola vez y se le requiere para que contesten la Demanda de epígrafe dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación del edicto, radicando el original de su contestación en el Tribunal correspondiente y notificando con copia de la misma a la parte demandante a la siguiente dirección:

LCDA. ERIKA MORALES MARENGO FO Box 9021455 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00902-1455 Tel. (787) 302-0014 ¡(787) 239-5661 / Email: emarengo@apontecortes.com

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://unired.ramajudicial.pr/surnac/, salvo que se presente por derecho propio. Se le apercibe que de no hacerlo, el tribunal podrá dictar Sentencia en rebeldía concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda, sin citarle ni oírle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy día 31 de agosto de 2023. Wanda I Segui Reyes, Secretaria. Sheila Robles Hernández, Secretaria Auxiliar I.

Spain’s top soccer official resigns over unwanted World Cup

By MICHAEL WOLGELENTER and RACHEL CHAUNDLER

Luis Rubiales, the head of the Spanish soccer federation, resigned Sunday, weeks after kissing a member of Spain’s women’s team on the lips after the team won the World Cup last month, setting off a national scandal and drawing accusations of abusing his power and perpetuating sexism in the sport.

In a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday, Rubiales said he had submitted his resignation as the federation’s president and as vice president of UEFA, European soccer’s governing body.

“After the rapid suspension carried out by FIFA, plus the rest of proceedings open against me, it is evident that I will not be able to return to my position,” he wrote. “My daughters, my family and the people who love me have suffered the effects of persecution excessively, as well as many falsehoods, but it is also true that in the street, the truth is prevailing more every day.”

Rubiales, 46, was largely unrepentant about his actions, but pressure had grown on him and the group he leads, known formally as the Royal Spanish Football Federation, and it became clear that his position was untenable as the outrage against him showed no signs of abating.

Spanish prosecutors opened a sexual assault case Friday after the player, Jennifer Hermoso, who said she was made to feel “vulnerable” and a “victim of an attack” when he kissed her, filed a formal complaint. There were also signs of opposition to his continued presence at the top of Spanish soccer at every turn.

The soccer federation had called for him to resign “immediately,” female players had

said they would not take the field for the national team as long as he was in charge, the men’s team had condemned his actions, and FIFA, soccer’s governing body, had suspended him for 90 days.

Some commentators have described the events as a watershed moment in Spain’s #MeToo movement, as they put a spotlight on a divide between traditions of machismo and more recent progressivism that placed Spain in the European vanguard on issues of feminism and equality.

The controversy centers on the conduct of Rubiales, who kissed Hermoso, one of the team’s star players, after Spain defeated England 1-0 at the World Cup final in Sydney on Aug. 20.

He offered a tepid apology the next day, but by the end of that week he had dug in his heels and reversed course, insisting that Hermoso had “moved me close to her body”

during their encounter onstage, feet from the Spanish queen. He also accused his critics of targeting him in a “social assassination” and declared that he would not step down.

Hermoso has vigorously disputed his account and has received support far and wide, with players and others — including the United Nations’ human rights office — using the hashtag “se acabó,” or “it’s over.”

The Spanish government was limited in its ability to punish Rubiales, but Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the soccer chief’s actions as “unacceptable,” and the secretary of the opposition People’s Party, Cuca Gamarra, described them as “shameful.”

The scandal has taken some of the shine off the national team’s World Cup triumph, diverting attention from the rapid ascent to soccer glory by a squad that qualified for the tournament for the first time eight years ago

after decades of mediocrity.

On Sunday evening, Rubiales gave an interview on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” in which he said he came to the decision to resign after speaking to friends and family.

“They say to me, ‘Luis, now you have to focus on your dignity and to continue your life, because if not, probably, you are going to damage people you love,’” he said.

Víctor Francos, president of Spain’s National Sports Council, said on Onda Cero radio that Rubiales’ resignation was “good news for the government” and “what the citizens were asking for.” Minutes earlier on Cadena Ser radio, he said the government was considering “legislative changes that can improve, strengthen and enrich public control over the federations.”

“We must reflect so that certain things that have happened don’t happen again,” he said.

But Rubiales was not without his supporters.

When he spoke at a federation meeting in late August, his robust defense was met with loud applause by some in attendance, and his mother locked herself in a church and began a hunger strike to protest what she considered a witch hunt of her son.

Before Rubiales was punished, the controversy led to the ouster of another highprofile figure in the world of Spanish women’s soccer: Jorge Vilda, the coach of the World Cup winning squad but a polarizing figure, who was fired Tuesday.

Vilda, who was hired in 2015 when his predecessor was ousted amid accusations of sexism, had been dogged by scandal in recent months. And last year, 15 star players refused to play on the national team, complaining about controlling behavior by Vilda and a general culture of sexism.

Novak Djokovic wins the US Open and a 24th Grand Slam title

By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN

Novak Djokovic has won so many Grand Slam singles titles in so many different ways it is getting extremely difficult to keep track of them.

Djokovic, a Serb, further solidified his reputation as the greatest player of the modern era Sunday with a clin-

ical, straight-sets win over Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Floating across the court and swinging his racket with an ease and grace that top players a decade younger, and even more junior, can mostly only dream about, Djokovic took advantage of a flat start from Medvedev, then outlasted his friend in an epic second set and finally took apart his Monte Carlo neighbor 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

He did it on an Arthur Ashe Stadium court in the New York borough of Queens where he spent most of his career playing the villain in matches against underdogs or longtime crowd favorites like Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Sunday was nothing like that. The nearly

Continues on page 28

Luis Rubiales, Spain’s top soccer official, with members of the country’s World Cup team in Madrid last month.

From page 27

24,000 spectators welcomed him with a massive roar then showered him with the biggest one when Medvedev dumped a shot into the net to give Djokovic the title that has been surprisingly hard for the greatest hard-courts player in the sport’s history to win.

“This means the world to me,” he said to the crowd just before lifting the trophy for the fourth time of his career.

His turn from foil to protagonist began two years ago, near the end of a very different final against the same opponent. On that day, Djokovic walked onto the court trying to become the first man in more than 50 years to win all four Grand Slam tournament titles in a calendar year.

Medvedev’s straight-set upset win was all but sealed on a day when Djokovic was uncharacteristically flat, a stadium filled to witness history swaddled Djokovic with a kind of love he had never felt in New York. He sobbed in his chair as it washed over him before the final game.

Djokovic missed the U.S. Open last year because of the federal government’s rule prohibiting foreign visitors who had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the country. He set foot on American soil for the first time in nearly two years in mid-August to play the Western & Southern Open near Cincinnati. He quickly realized that the love he felt during the 2021 U.S. Open final had not faded.

Djokovic needed every bit of that support Sunday, when, while seemingly on cruise control midway through the second set, Medvedev reverted to form. After a mistake-filled set and a half, the Russian with arms like an octopus and the legs of a gazelle cleaned the errors out of his game, ramped up his serve and did that very effective imitation of a backboard that has previously lifted him to the pinnacle of the sport.

Points that lasted longer than 20 shots

became routine in a match with its share of 30-shot rallies, and suddenly Djokovic’s legs began to go, like a boxer jarred from a shot to the jaw. He leaned on his racket between points, gasping for breath. He rubbed his head with a bag of ice between games.

“I was losing air on so many occasions,” he said. “I don’t recall ever being so exhausted after rallies.”

Serving to stay in the second set at 5-6, he stretched his legs before tossing balls in the air. He heaved as he ran for shots, saving set point with two soft volleys.

“He was tired,” Medvedev said. “I was all over him.”

On to a decisive tiebreaker they went, and even that, like so many points in this video game of a match, went back and forth. Medvedev got within two points of drawing even, winning a lung-searing drop shot exchange. But then, like he had so many times before, Djokovic played three consecutive mistake-free points.

When Medvedev bunted a backhand

into the net, 104 minutes after the set began, Djokovic had gained a two-set lead, an advantage he has coughed up only once in his career, 13 years ago, before he turned himself into the nearly indomitable player he would become.

He sauntered slowly to his chair, grabbed his bag and headed off the court for a toilet break. Medvedev took off his shirt and called for a trainer, who massaged his shoulders, though after what he had endured during the course of the previous hour and a half, a brain massage was what he really needed.

When he returned to the court, Djokovic was floating once more, the adrenaline of another championship and record in sight, delivering a rediscovered spring in his step. He flew toward the net, taking advantage of an opponent who plays so deep in the court he often looks like he is about to hit the back wall on his backswing. No one was going to take this sweet return to America away from Djokovic this time.

It seems every time Djokovic plays a tournament these days he sets a record in men’s tennis, and usually he is besting one of his own. He began the year in Melbourne, where he won a record 10th Australian Open title. Sunday brought his 24th Grand Slam singles title, breaking his men’s record of 23 that he set at the French Open in June.

On Friday he played in a record 47th Grand Slam semifinal, one more than Federer. Three weeks ago he won a record 39th title at a Masters 1000 tournament, the events just below the level of the Grand Slams. On Sunday he played in his 36th Grand Slam final.

His performance at the U.S. Open guaranteed even before he took the court for his final matches that he would wake up Monday morning as the No. 1 player in the

world, reclaiming the top spot from 20-yearold Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz. That will mark Djokovic’s 390th week at the top of the sport. He already had that record, too.

“What are you still doing here,” Medvedev, 27, said to Djokovic, 36, who has been keeping him from winning titles since he first broke into the top levels of tennis six years ago.

Toweling off in a corner of the court before serving for match point, catching his breath for one final time, Djokovic looked at the fans in the front rows and nodded his head, his eyes wide. Moments later he was kneeling on the court, his shoulders shaking as tears flowed once more. When he rose, he walked over to the stands and lifted his daughter, Tara, who is 6, and barely able to sit through a tennis match. She often colors in books on the floor of stadiums while her father is playing.

“Tennis is not really her thing,” he said with a grin and quizzical look earlier this year.

It is now. She watched from the side of the court Sunday, and Djokovic said whenever he needed a lift he looked over to see her smiling and pumping a fist, and he believed all would be well.

Then came the embraces with the rest of his family in the stands. When he returned to the court, he swapped out his sweaty kit for a shirt with a picture of him and Kobe Bryant, his sports hero, friend, and sometimes mentor, whose jersey number was 24 when he ended his NBA career. That number was on the back of Djokovic’s shirt.

“It is a pity about Wimbledon, couple of points either way,” said his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, lamenting Djokovic’s lone loss in 28 Grand Slam matches this year, in five sets to Alcaraz in July. Ivanisevic said he and Djokovic never talked about that loss after that day. “That’s what makes him great.”

Days before this tournament, Djokovic reflected on the heartbreaking but heartwarming day two years ago when Medvedev stopped him one match shy of perhaps the ultimate tennis achievement. He still felt the warmth from the New York crowd that had finally taken to him.

“They love sport and they also love when they are experiencing something special,” he said. “They genuinely backed me up and wanted me to win and wanted me to make history.”

In retrospect, he said, he buckled under the weight of that, as he has rarely done.

This time around, Djokovic prohibited his family from mentioning anything about history, opting to keep this match as simple and as clear as it could be.

The New York fans had to wait two years to see it, but on Sunday they finally did. Chances are they may see it again.

Novak Djokovic won his 24th major singles title and fourth at the U.S. Open. He last won the tournament in 2018.

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

Answers on page 30

Wordsearch

Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

While you’re on a crusade for peace and diplomacy, Aries, you may find that other people seem to be on a crusade for war. Do your best under the prevailing trends. You may find that other people’s words are charged with a great deal of passion that will be hard to ignore. You have your work cut out for you today if you plan on maintaining a serene and calm disposition.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

There’s action to be taken, Taurus, so make sure you get up early to make a fresh start. You may be on stage today in more ways than one. Your powerful words won’t go unnoticed by others. You’re dynamic and effective in the pursuit of your goals. Your mental acuity is in top working condition, and your words are emotionally charged.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

Be yourself and you can do no wrong, Gemini. This is one of those days when you barely need to make any effort to go a long distance. You’ll find power at your disposal and confidence in yourself. Feel free to grab the microphone and express your opinions. Your words and thoughts are highly charged.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

There may be a bit of restlessness due to strong forces urging you to take action, Cancer. A dynamic feeling is in the air and calling on you to get up and get moving. Take this opportunity to push through some of your new ideas. Make strides toward the completion of your goals. Don’t let your emotions get in the way of your mental processes.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

Charge ahead and use your emotions to fuel your fire, Leo. You have plenty of mental acumen today that can help break through any puzzle. New beginnings are underway in many areas of your life. There’s no reason to delay any longer than you already have. Take this opportunity to live up to your full potential and make things happen for yourself.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

Be a bit selfish today, Virgo. You have every right to look out for number one. Sensitivity to other people’s emotions and issues is noble, but it may leave you emotionally drained. Think rationally about your emotions and have the courage to say no to people once in a while. You’re a giver and a saint. This is the perfect day to do some giving back - to yourself.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

Your mind is going to be sharp today, and you should be certain of all your words, Libra. Take pride in who you are and what you believe. This self-confidence will radiate from you. Use your keen mental powers to move things along in your favor. This is too good of an opportunity to waste passively. Take control of the situation and lead the charge. Full steam ahead!

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

Much of your focus is internal, but today it would behoove you to turn some of that energy outward, Scorpio. Take this opportunity to make a leap of faith in the right direction. You have a great deal of bite behind your words. Don’t underestimate your power and bravery. Just be careful that you don’t start arguments over petty issues that aren’t worth losing friends over.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

There’s no need to walk around with a frown on a day like this, Sagittarius. You have a special spark in your eye and spring in your step that you should make great use of today. Jump into action with vigor and communicate your thoughts to other people. Change is important and necessary now. It might be smart to wipe the slate clean and start anew.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

You might feel a bit rough around the edges today, Capricorn. There’s a bite to the day that could leave you feeling upset and unnerved. It may seem as if no one understands you. By opening up to others, you’ll allow them to open up to you. People will be anxious to learn the inner workings of your mind. You have a great deal of personal wisdom to share.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

You might feel a bit rough around the edges today, Capricorn. There’s a bite to the day that could leave you feeling upset and unnerved. It may seem as if no one understands you. By opening up to others, you’ll allow them to open up to you. People will be anxious to learn the inner workings of your mind. You have a great deal of personal wisdom to share.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

The fast-paced frenzy of the day is just what you need to jump-start your brain and get it moving in the right direction, Pisces. Take control of the fire within and keep it strong all day. You’ll find that there’s a more personal aspect to your thoughts, and you can think more rationally about your emotions. Your heart and your head are working well together.

Speed Bump