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The first US law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty in 2012 was Sergeant Abimael Castro-Berrocales of the Territorial Police who was shot and killed in a traffic stop in Cabo Rojo.
The amount of line of duty deaths in Puerto Rico is astonishing: 343 since the Territorial Police was formed in 1899. I think that's higher than any other state or territorial police/highway patrol/state patrol in the nation. All of the other US territories only have maybe 4 or 5 total line of duty deaths.
From what I can find, the American Samoa Department of Public Safety (formerly the Territorial Police) has suffered two murders since 1980: an assault in 1981, and a shooting in 2010.
Guam has had 6 LEOs murdered since 1960: a shooting in 1964, a shooting in 1966, a double-shooting in 1979, a shooting in 1983, and a stabbing at a prison in 1987.
The Northern Marianas have had three since 1980: a shooting in 1982, a shooting in 1983, and an officer-on-officer shooting in 1995.
In the USVI, 7 officers have been murdered since 1970 - all by gunfire. Those incidents took place in 1975, 1977, 1980, 1991, 1994, 2004, and 2007.
Sadly I have lost hope for Puerto Rico... mainly because morals are skewed in our DNA...it depends on one's character to keep our actions on the moral side of the choices. I include myself since i'm Puertorican too.
I say I lost hope because I did decide to leave the island (mainly for my family's safety) and not stay to try to make a difference in it... Maybe once my kids are off to college I might consider going back and try to do my part to make a difference... I do have mixed emotions about my choice since I am proud to be Puertorican AND do not hide it but at the end of the day my choice has been made.
I remember in the 80s and early 90s our population was nicer, people went out of their way to be courteous (open doors, help with bags etc) not sure how things went "south" so quickly.
Sadly the people that should be setting examples (Politicians and Public figures) are only out to help themselves or just politicize everything they do and make it really obvious...its like they cherish being seen as outlaws that get away with anything they want.
Some examples:
1. What used to be (and should be, imo) the Puerto Rico Convention Center (http://www.prconventiondistrict.com/Ing/distritoMisionEng.html - broken link) was renamed to carry the name of an ex-governor of Puerto Rico... and he belongs to the same Political party that is in control of both the Government and the Senate/Legislature. When PR was going through a lot of issues (it still is, btw) the Senate took time to make this a project and then a law that was then signed by the current governor...just to rename this building, when there were sooo many other pressing issues to take care of.
IMO, this building should carry the name of any of the many great Puertorican authors or actors. Why the name of an ex-governor that was in power 1 decade ago? Why bring politics in to such a building...
2. Antonio "el chuchin" Soto Diaz This guy received a gift from an "anonymous" person... the gift? a car, a Bently (although it was a used one) and this genious decided that it was ok to recieve such a gift and did everything he could to protect the anonymity of the person that gave it to him. That was not the only crazy thing he did during his short career but reading about it pisses me off so much that I do not want to keep looking for links to support my post, Read the short Political Career paragraph in the link above. More info on the car issue
3. Roberto Arango this guy did not have an impressive resume on his political career... He just made a bad decision... google his name and click on the images link on the left hand of the google page results. More on the picture issue
There is soo much to talk about this subject (people that should be role-models sending the wrong message) that I could go on and on...
I do understand that politics are not a good subject and most if not all are crooked in some way but this guys in PR just go about it like its nothing... I do believe that they are a big part of the issue. This has been going for a long time.
Anyways, Puerto Rico is a beautiful place...and most Puertoricans are good people.
Sadly I have lost hope for Puerto Rico... mainly because morals are skewed in our DNA...it depends on one's character to keep our actions on the moral side of the choices. I include myself since i'm Puertorican too.
I say I lost hope because I did decide to leave the island (mainly for my family's safety) and not stay to try to make a difference in it... Maybe once my kids are off to college I might consider going back and try to do my part to make a difference... I do have mixed emotions about my choice since I am proud to be Puertorican AND do not hide it but at the end of the day my choice has been made.
I remember in the 80s and early 90s our population was nicer, people went out of their way to be courteous (open doors, help with bags etc) not sure how things went "south" so quickly.
Sadly the people that should be setting examples (Politicians and Public figures) are only out to help themselves or just politicize everything they do and make it really obvious...its like they cherish being seen as outlaws that get away with anything they want.
Some examples:
1. What used to be (and should be, imo) the Puerto Rico Convention Center (http://www.prconventiondistrict.com/Ing/distritoMisionEng.html - broken link) was renamed to carry the name of an ex-governor of Puerto Rico... and he belongs to the same Political party that is in control of both the Government and the Senate/Legislature. When PR was going through a lot of issues (it still is, btw) the Senate took time to make this a project and then a law that was then signed by the current governor...just to rename this building, when there were sooo many other pressing issues to take care of.
IMO, this building should carry the name of any of the many great Puertorican authors or actors. Why the name of an ex-governor that was in power 1 decade ago? Why bring politics in to such a building...
2. Antonio "el chuchin" Soto Diaz This guy received a gift from an "anonymous" person... the gift? a car, a Bently (although it was a used one) and this genious decided that it was ok to recieve such a gift and did everything he could to protect the anonymity of the person that gave it to him. That was not the only crazy thing he did during his short career but reading about it pisses me off so much that I do not want to keep looking for links to support my post, Read the short Political Career paragraph in the link above. More info on the car issue
3. Roberto Arango this guy did not have an impressive resume on his political career... He just made a bad decision... google his name and click on the images link on the left hand of the google page results. More on the picture issue
There is soo much to talk about this subject (people that should be role-models sending the wrong message) that I could go on and on...
I do understand that politics are not a good subject and most if not all are crooked in some way but this guys in PR just go about it like its nothing... I do believe that they are a big part of the issue. This has been going for a long time.
Anyways, Puerto Rico is a beautiful place...and most Puertoricans are good people.
In reading your post - and thru my mind's ear - I can hear how pained you truly are. For one reason or another, I too feel that very same pain each time I visit Puerto Rico. The reasons are plentiful and I'd rather not itemize each of them at this time.
My brother, under a totally different set of circumstances, I also left my beautiful islita many decades ago. Upon arriving on the mainland, I made it my goal to behave in such a way so as to bring honor to the land of my birth. As a US Citizen I ensured to become an active voter. I have and still work really really hard. I haven't depended on gov't assistance. I've excelled in my vocation, and have raised three exemplary college educated children.
I'm now at a point of my life in which I often find myself looking back over my shoulder and begining to take inventory of where I failed and succeeded in life. I can honestly say that I often find myself saying. . ."not bad; not bad at all."
I mainly did it this way for those I love and myself. But I also did it this way to bring honor to the land of my birth. . .my little Puerto Rico!
Yes. . .I too am proud to be Boricua de corazón and to the core!
The beautiful island of Puerto Rico, with it's beautiful people, has become unsafe. It is mostly due to drugs, but even my home country, with a murder rate of 28.4, is safer than Puerto Rico. The US should invest more effort in stopping the drug trade there. I don't understand why all the effort is on the Mexican border. Puerto Rico is being neglected by the people in Washington. Something has to be done before the murder rate gets out of control (it already is) and reaches levels of 1990's Colombia, 1980's Miami, or current day Caracas, and countries Honduras and El Salvador.
But at the same time, arresting more drug king pins will result in even more deaths. The void left by the king pin's arrest would be filled by others trying to claim the top spot.
What would you guys do to curve the murder rate in Puerto Rico? Also, what do you predict for 2012?
The beautiful island of Puerto Rico, with it's beautiful people, has become unsafe. It is mostly due to drugs, but even my home country, with a murder rate of 28.4, is safer than Puerto Rico. The US should invest more effort in stopping the drug trade there. I don't understand why all the effort is on the Mexican border. Puerto Rico is being neglected by the people in Washington. Something has to be done before the murder rate gets out of control (it already is) and reaches levels of 1990's Colombia, 1980's Miami, or current day Caracas, and countries Honduras and El Salvador.
But at the same time, arresting more drug king pins will result in even more deaths. The void left by the king pin's arrest would be filled by others trying to claim the top spot.
What would you guys do to curve the murder rate in Puerto Rico? Also, what do you predict for 2012?
Pedro Pierlusi, Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner in the US House of Representatives, proposed a "Caribbean Border Initiative" to fight drug crime and smuggling in Puerto Rico on December 13th 2011. Hon. Pedro R. Pierluisi | Puerto Rico
Quote:
Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi today discussed his proposed “Caribbean Border Initiative” on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in an effort to convey to his congressional colleagues the urgent need for the federal government to allocate additional resources to combat drug-related violence in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “American citizens in the Caribbean are facing a security crisis. While the national murder rate has declined in recent decades, the number of homicides in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands remains unacceptably high. Since 2008, the murder rate in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands has been about five times the national average and about twice as high as that of any state,” said Pierluisi in his speech.
The Resident Commissioner explained that most of the murders committed in Puerto Rico and the USVI are linked to the drug trade. Pierluisi also noted that, in response to questions he posed, Attorney General Holder recently called drug-related violence in Puerto Rico and the USVI a “national security issue” that “we must confront.”
According to briefings provided to the Resident Commissioner’s office, 70 to 80 percent of the cocaine that enters Puerto Rico is then transported to the U.S. mainland. Accordingly, Pierluisi observed, “this is a problem of national, not simply regional, scope.”
“Our nation has devoted considerable resources to confront drug gangs operating along our Southwest border—and rightfully so. Yet, Puerto Rico’s murder rate is four to five times higher than any Southwest border state. And, since 2008 the Island has received less than one fifth of the funding that the federal government has provided to combat the drug trade and associated violence in Mexico and Central American nations,” said Pierluisi.
The Resident Commissioner insisted that “the number of authorized positions at key federal law enforcement agencies in Puerto Rico is too low, the number of vacancies is too high, and interdiction assets like planes and boats are in short supply.”
“Since taking office, I have urged the federal government to devote resources to Puerto Rico at a level commensurate with the severity of the problem it faces. Specifically, I have asked the White House drug czar to establish a Caribbean Border Initiative, modeled after the successful Southwest Border Initiative. The time for half measures and piecemeal efforts has passed. What is needed, instead, is a well-planned, well-funded, well-executed, government-wide strategy that will encompass all federal agencies charged with fighting drug trafficking and related violence,” said Pierluisi.
The Resident Commissioner stated that the challenge that Puerto Rico currently faces is similar to the one the Island confronted in 1994. Pierluisi was Puerto Rico’s Attorney General at that time, and lobbied successfully for Puerto Rico and the USVI to be federally designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, which contributed to a significant reduction in the Island’s violent crime rate.
“The problem has evolved over time, and the federal response must evolve along with it. I will not rest until it does,” said Pierluisi.
Sadly I have lost hope for Puerto Rico... mainly because morals are skewed in our DNA...it depends on one's character to keep our actions on the moral side of the choices. I include myself since i'm Puertorican too.
I say I lost hope because I did decide to leave the island (mainly for my family's safety) and not stay to try to make a difference in it... Maybe once my kids are off to college I might consider going back and try to do my part to make a difference... I do have mixed emotions about my choice since I am proud to be Puertorican AND do not hide it but at the end of the day my choice has been made.
I remember in the 80s and early 90s our population was nicer, people went out of their way to be courteous (open doors, help with bags etc) not sure how things went "south" so quickly.
Sadly the people that should be setting examples (Politicians and Public figures) are only out to help themselves or just politicize everything they do and make it really obvious...its like they cherish being seen as outlaws that get away with anything they want.
Some examples:
1. What used to be (and should be, imo) the Puerto Rico Convention Center (prconventiondistrict.com - prconventiondistrict Resources and Information. This website is for sale! - broken link) was renamed to carry the name of an ex-governor of Puerto Rico... and he belongs to the same Political party that is in control of both the Government and the Senate/Legislature. When PR was going through a lot of issues (it still is, btw) the Senate took time to make this a project and then a law that was then signed by the current governor...just to rename this building, when there were sooo many other pressing issues to take care of.
IMO, this building should carry the name of any of the many great Puertorican authors or actors. Why the name of an ex-governor that was in power 1 decade ago? Why bring politics in to such a building...
2. Antonio "el chuchin" Soto Diaz This guy received a gift from an "anonymous" person... the gift? a car, a Bently (although it was a used one) and this genious decided that it was ok to recieve such a gift and did everything he could to protect the anonymity of the person that gave it to him. That was not the only crazy thing he did during his short career but reading about it pisses me off so much that I do not want to keep looking for links to support my post, Read the short Political Career paragraph in the link above. More info on the car issue
3. Roberto Arango this guy did not have an impressive resume on his political career... He just made a bad decision... google his name and click on the images link on the left hand of the google page results. More on the picture issue
There is soo much to talk about this subject (people that should be role-models sending the wrong message) that I could go on and on...
I do understand that politics are not a good subject and most if not all are crooked in some way but this guys in PR just go about it like its nothing... I do believe that they are a big part of the issue. This has been going for a long time.
Anyways, Puerto Rico is a beautiful place...and most Puertoricans are good people.
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this is PR
