Friday to Sunday Feb 9-11, 2024

February 9-11, 2024

San Juan The

Star

DAILY 50¢

Brazil Police: Bolsonaro and Allies Planned a Coup P12

Beyond a Threat

Loíza Prepares for the Reality of Climate Change P3

Governor Hands Over 35 Property Titles to Metro Area Residents

P4

NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL P 16

More Hospital Bankruptcies, Consolidations Expected, Report Says P5

2 February 9-11, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

GOOD MORNING 3

February 9-11, 2024

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.

Loíza prepares for the reality of climate change

Today’s

Weather

By THE STAR STAFF

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Day

Night

High

Low

92ºF

72ºF

Precip 50%

Precip 50%

Light rain

Light rain

Wind: From S 11 mph Humidity: 84% UV Index: 3 of 8 Sunrise: 6:55 AM Local Time Sunset: 5:56 PM Local Time

INDEX Local 3 Mainland 7 Business 10 International 12 Viewpoint 15 Noticias en Español 16 Entertainment 17 Wine 19

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oíza Mayor Julia Nazario Fuentes participated Thursday in a forum at the Public Health Trust of Puerto Rico, where along with specialists on the subject she presented the reality caused by climate change.

Nazario Fuentes was accompanied by Danaliz Dávila Fuentes, the school commissioner of the Municipality of Loíza, who noted that even in the municipality’s summer camps an environmental educational component is crucial.

“We experience that every day, from the force with which the waves hit the coast and cause erosion to the flooding caused by an hour of rain,” the mayor said. “For many years, our town was stripped of large amounts of sand from those natural dunes. All these types of things affect us, from community life, to the large amount of public resources that must be identified for mitigation.”

Fernando Pabón, director of the Caribbean Center for Sea Level Rise, said the island faces the urgency of the various levels of government addressing the need to review laws, regulations and visions to adapt Puerto Rico to the current reality.

“Each neighborhood has a different reality; in some places it is flooding, landslides or coastal erosion” he said. “Each place has its own reality and must be addressed in that way.”

Meanwhile, meteorologist Ada Monzón pointed out the importance of building resilience through education.

“The Exploratory Eco, founded 15 years ago, offers community tools to develop opportunities for new generations, not only in the face of climate change, but also in health and education,” Monzón said at the event held at the Puerto Rico Science and Technology Trust in Río Piedras.

Monzón also announced that a comprehensive proposal to handle the prevailing reality will be presented to the Legislature in April.

She pointed out that “the important thing is that this education generates solidarity among resilient, kind-hearted citizens with their fellow human beings, beyond the scientific issue, which is also important.”

“Knowing the risks we face is part of that equation,” Monzón said.

Nazario Fuentes added that “the key is education and action.”

Separately, the Loíza mayor announced that her municipality is part of the multi-town effort in the eastern region of the island led by the Public Safety Department’s emergency bureau to work jointly on a pilot plan for a StormReady (https://www.weather.gov/ stormready/) category recognition at the regional level.

“This program equips communities with the com-

munication and safety skills needed to save lives and property, before, during, and after atmospheric events,” Nazario Fuentes said. “Let’s remember that being in the Caribbean, half of the year we are under hurricane season, so preventive action is mandatory.”

On Friday starting at 9:30 a.m. the Bureau of Emergency Management and Disaster Administration and the National Meteorological Service, among others, will meet at the María de la Cruz Cave Historical Park facilities in Loíza with community leaders and officials from the municipalities of Carolina, Canóvanas, Ceiba, Culebra, Fajardo, Loíza, Luquillo, Río Grande, Trujillo Alto and Vieques for an informational and working meeting on the details of the StormReady plan, particularly those related to flooding, hurricane winds and landslides.

“Particularly for us in Loíza we have an additional threat, which is coastal erosion and sea level rise,” Nazario Fuentes said. “The issue of climate change has long ceased to be a threat, to become a reality that we live every day. These are situations that we are facing with courage and with the effective use of the resources we have, and the available scientific information, which is constantly evolving.”

Loíza Mayor Julia Nazario Fuentes, right, is seen at Wednesday’s Senate confirmation hearing for Nino Correa Filomeno, the interim commissioner of the Bureau of Emergency Management and Disaster Administration.

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February 9-11, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Governor hands over 35 title deeds in greater San Juan metro area

By THE STAR STAFF

G

ov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia and Housing Secretary William Rodríguez Rodríguez delivered 35 title deeds to residents of various communities in the Carolina, San Juan and Bayamón regions, financed by recovery funds from the Community Development Block Grant Program for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR).

“The delivery of property titles is much more than a legal and administrative process, it represents an important step toward stability, family security and the fulfillment of a long-awaited dream,” Pierluisi said in a written statement. “As governor, my commitment to the well-being of our people and access to decent housing is unwavering. We are witnessing the fruit of the hard work of all of you and the initiatives of our administration, which are guiding Puerto Rico into a new era of prosperity and economic growth.”

The Housing secretary added that “the delivery of a property title represents a crucial moment for many Puerto Rican citizens, who seek the tranquility and security that this

document provides.”

“We are proud to make this dream a reality and remain committed to streamlining procedures so that more people can benefit from their land title,” Rodríguez said.

By obtaining ownership of their homes, island residents will be able to enjoy advantages such as mortgage loans, initiatives to improve their residences, and other benefits that require reliable proof of ownership. Since 2020, the Housing Department has delivered more than 1,280 property titles.

The government’s drive to rebuild Puerto Rico includes more than 21,500 families through the Housing Department’s various programs. Through the R-3 Program, more than 6,170 families have a rebuilt or repaired home and 3,170 have received a relocation voucher. Meanwhile, more than 8,900 families have attained homeownership by receiving assistance from the Housing Finance Authority, while communities have been identified whose residents will be relocated to areas out of danger, with more than 600 single-family homes to be assisted in this manner.

In addition, under the Planned Housing Program with funds from the CDBG Mitigation program, 15 new construction

projects have been awarded that will result in 1,300 single-family homes in 12 municipalities.

Since 2020, the Housing Department has delivered more than 1,280 property titles to island families. (Gov. Pedro Pierluisi/Facebook)

2 judges resign in protest from Judiciary Association

By THE STAR STAFF

T

wo judges have left the Puerto Rican Judiciary Association amid a dispute over how the group has handled criticisms related to judges mishandling domestic dispute cases.

One of the judges who resigned, Ángel Candelario, used social media to reveal his strong discomfort toward Judiciary Association President Carlos Salgado Schwarz for, Candelario said, not defending Ponce Judge Ginny Marie Vélez Carreras, who presided over the case of a woman and her family who were slain by the woman’s ex-partner in Yauco, and who has been sharply criticized in court of public opinion for her handling of the tragedy. The other judge who resigned was Adria Cruz, according to a radio report.

“A tyrant will always have an excuse for his tyranny. I have

had to leave an organization I belonged to for almost 20 years.

The scoundrel who runs it throws a colleague to the lions so that the excrement from his court of jesters would not reach him,” reads a post by “Papo Candelario,” which is believed to be the account of Ángel Candelario. “It will feel like a very human sweat runs down the back of a false god. He uses useful fools as seals. I resigned from my position and disaffiliated [from the association] so as not to be part of the court of jesters.”

Last month, Vélez Carrera released Wilfredo Santiago Figueroa, who was responsible for the Yauco slayings, the island’s second massacre of 2024, despite his having a history of domestic violence and against the recommendations of the Pretrial Services Program.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office did not present any objections to his release and did not request the imposition of supervisory

measures until 15 days after the start of the case.

The judge found probable cause to charge Santiago Figueroa, but modified the crime from violation of a protection order to abuse, imposing a bail of $5,000.

Although the crime did not require electronic supervision, a law establishes that Santiago Figueroa should have worn an electronic monitoring device because he was a repeated offender.

The request for an electronic ankle bracelet was presented by the prosecutors office 15 days after the start of the case. According to the complaint, Santiago Figueroa violated the order that prohibited him from disturbing the victim. The tragic outcome of the case resulted in the loss of lives, including Linette Morales Vázquez, 30, Santiago Figueroa’s ex-girlfriend, her brother Luis Miguel Morales Vázquez, 28, and their mother, Lizzette Vázquez Vélez, 51.

Judges’ pay hike must wait until after primaries, House speaker says

By THE STAR STAFF

S

peaker of the House of Representatives Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez said Thursday that the legislation needed to finally grant a pay raise to judges must be tied to the uniform increase in government spending and the Legislature will have to wait for the June 2 primaries to be able to address legislation to that end.

“Legislation is required,” the House speaker said in a radio interview. “For the record, I want a lot of deference to the [judicial] branch …”

He said regarding the pay increase that “I think it should be done … but the increase has to be by legislation.”

“We’ve already introduced legislation; the Senate has another [bill],” Hernández Montañez said. “The Senate approved and we approved [it]; what happens is that here are some small details that are tied to standardizing all constitutional salaries.”

Asked when they will grant the increase, Hernández Montañez said that: “We are going to see how perhaps the air clears after June 2 [primary day].”

“I think that in the same way that there are people making a show from a political point of view; there are those who don’t want to make decisions,” the House speaker continued.

“It’s unfortunate.”

“After June 2 it will be easier to vote and approve,” he said.

At left, Speaker of the House of Representatives Rafael Hernández Montañez

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

5

More hospital bankruptcies, consolidations expected, think tank says

From left, Rafael Nieves Pérez, an audit partner at Galíndez LLC; Julio Galíndez, a consulting partner at Galíndez LLC; and Estudios Técnicos Inc. President Graham Castillo

By THE STAR STAFF

F

aced with a challenging panorama of contraction of its services with 80,000 fewer patients in the past six years, bankruptcies, and a reduction of employees and beds, the hospital industry in Puerto Rico faces enormous challenges.

A process of further consolidation of hospitals, protection and restructuring under bankruptcy court procedures and alliances with other sectors of the health industry that allow their economic strengthening and operational stability is anticipated, according to an analysis by Estudios Técnicos Inc. (ETI) and authorized public accounting firm Galíndez LLC. The analysis is part of the report “Hospital Industry: Its Market and Financial Situation” prepared by ETI with the collaboration of Galíndez LLC. To prepare the report, the ETI developed a big data tool, which processes and transforms data from the financial statements of all hospitals in Puerto Rico and the mainland United States for the past 12 years. The financial statements are submitted by hospitals to the federal government’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The validation of the report was conducted by Galíndez LLC. Several hospitals and hospital systems such as San Jorge Children’s Hospital and Grupo HIMA have filed for bankruptcy and more hospital bankruptcies are expected.

ETI President Graham Castillo stated that “one of the main factors affecting the financial health of hospitals is the reduction and aging of the population in Puerto Rico.”

The change in the demographic structure of the island has two important impacts: first, it reduces the number of patients and second, it reduces the profitability of the hospital because it is more expensive to serve the health needs of older adults, the fastest growing population group in Puerto Rico,” he said.

Julio Galíndez, consulting partner at Galíndez LLC, highlighted that “the recent events where hospitals have had to resort to the financial protection of the bankruptcy court lead us to conclude that they are not isolated events.”

“We understand that a consolidation process will soon take place when already established hospital systems acquire or merge other hospitals into their systems,” he said. “In the recent case of the HIMA-San Pablo Group, we see how the Metro Pavía Group acquired the HIMA hospital in Caguas, how Auxilio Mutuo acquired the HIMA hospital in Bayamón, and how Caribbean Medical acquired the HIMA hospital in Fajardo. We do not rule out that in the near future or medium term that other hospital entities seek the protection provided by the bankruptcy court and end up being part of a health system or end up with a new ownership structure, as was the case of the HIMA Humacao Hospital and recently the San Jorge Hospital.”

The reasons for the challenging financial situation of hospitals in Puerto Rico are varied.

“The hospital sector faces uncontrollable external factors that will define its role in providing essential health services in the future,” the ETI report said. “Other external factors that present challenges for the hospital sector are: clinical models of service delivery where outpatient treatment is emphasized; the evolution of pharmacological technology toward medications that replace a hospital-level health service; a financial compensation structure at the primary care level that encourages not referring patients to hospital care; and a rate system where the hospital does not participate in the process of establishing payment rates.”

Among the data on Puerto Rico’s hospital industry, collected by ETI’s new digital tool, Castillo mentioned the following: * The bed occupancy rate was reduced in Puerto Rico, between 2013 and 2022, by more than 12 percentage points, from 74.1% to 62.26%. In contrast, in the mainland United States the bed occupancy rate increased in the same period from 49.1% to 53.2%. * For 2021, 80,000 fewer patients were treated than in 2016. In 2016, 336,929 patients were treated and in 2021, 257,528 were treated. * The economic loss factor of hospitals in Puerto Rico is greater than that of institutions in the mainland U.S. Puerto Rican hospitals have lost an average of 5.6% of their patient services income in six years, compared to a loss on average 1% in the U.S. * The number of hospital employees on the island decreased by almost 6,000 between 2016 and 2021, from 31,263 to 25,416. * The reduction in hospitalization also occurs in the United States, but in Puerto Rico it occurs to a greater extent. In 2016, 9,329 hospitalizations were recorded per 100,000 inhabitants and this decreased to 7,585 in 2021, a total of 1,744 fewer people hospitalized. In this period in the United States there were only 860 fewer hospitalizations per 100,000 inhabitants. * Hospitals on the island do not have enough room to improve employee salaries. The average annual salary for a full-time hospital employee in the U.S. is $84,373 compared to $34,199 in Puerto Rico. In the past nine years in the mainland U.S., the average salary increased by $20,354, and in Puerto Rico, the increase was only $3,111.

“The team that prepared this report points out in its conclusions several recommendations to the Puerto Rico hospital sector: be more efficient in managing its income by seeking to align payment methods with its mix of patients and diagnoses; data analysis that supports them in the generation of business strategies; alliance with employers and other sectors of the economy to respond to the needs of hospital services in their service areas; alliances with primary care physicians, specialists and subspecialists to align mutual interests in effective patient management; alliances with other hospitals and service providers to develop and complement each other, with more opportunities for economic strengthening,” Castillo said.

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The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

EDB rejects comptroller’s assertion that bank is in fiscal crisis

By THE STAR STAFF

E

conomic Development Bank (EDB) President Luis Alemañy González rejected a comment made by the commonwealth Comptroller’s Office on Wednesday that the EDB is in a financial crisis, arguing that after undergoing a debt restructuring, the entity ended calendar year 2023 with $133 million in capital.

While the comptroller’s report, which was reviewed by the STAR, said its audit covered the period from July 1, 2018 to July 31, 2023, Alemañy González noted that the periods reviewed by the Comptroller’s Office with respect to the EDB’s financial statements were from years 2018 to 2022.

“During these periods, indeed, the EDB had an excess of expenses over accumulated income of $14.1 million. However, to correct this situation, the EDB entered a debt restructuring process at the end of 2022, which concluded in 2023, and

was approved by the Financial Oversight [and Management] Board, which combined a more efficient expense management and an improvement in the commercial client portfolio, resulting in positive capital of $133 million at the end of calendar year 2023,” the EDB president said in a statement.

Likewise, as part of the EDB’s sustainability and strategic planning process, “we submitted a proposal to the United States Federal Treasury (under funds from the American Rescue Plan Act) which was approved,” Alemañy González said.

“The EDB was selected in Puerto Rico to administer the $109 million allocated to the island for the financing program with the participation of local commercial banks, support for collateral deficiencies, and risk capital. This allocation from the Treasury will further allow the EDB to continue its positioning as a commercial institution aimed at providing support with alternative access to

capital, with an interest rate starting at 4%, for new entrepreneurs and other existing businesses in the process of expansion.”

The EDB is a government-owned corporation that provides loans and funds to businesses whose economic activities have the effect of replacing imports in Puerto Rico.

The comptroller noted that the EDB had accumulated deficits from 2018 to 2022 as reflected in the audited financial statements. For that period, the EDB had $145.7 million in revenues and $159 million in expenditures, a capital transfer of $866,671, and a net change of $14.1 million.

“The notes to the financial statements indicate that the EDB faces significant risks and uncertainties,” the report says. “Currently, it has insufficient financial resources to meet its obligations.”

The EDB began monetizing most of its loan portfolio in 2017. Those sales provided temporary

Development Bank, restaurateurs team up

By THE STAR STAFF

I Puerto Rico Restaurants Association President Carlos Budet Vega

n a deliberate step toward strengthening the restaurant industry in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Restaurants Association (ASORE by its Spanish acronym) and the Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico (EDB) have again joined forces by signing a collaborative memorandum.

The strategic alliance announced Thursday is designed to boost entrepreneurship and foster sustained growth within the restaurant industry on the island.

The memorandum, signed by ASORE President Carlos Budet Vega and EDB President Luis

Alemañy González, establishes mutual cooperation focused on facilitating access to financing, advice and resources for entrepreneurs in the restaurant sector. To this end, the EDB last year developed a financing product especially designed to support entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry. The program offers favorable financial terms, including a funding limit of up to $200,000. The plan’s interest rates are competitive, ranging from 4% to 8% annually, whether fixed or fluctuating.

In addition, commitment fees of 0.75% and handling fees of 0.25% are established, with a payment term that varies depending on the use of funds. The general terms of the funding

Economic Development Bank President Luis Alemañy González liquidity relief, but reduced the loan portfolio, endangering the bank’s operational viability.

The report recommended that the governor and the Legislature “ensure that the Board of Directors continues the plan established to address the fiscal and operational situation of the EDB.” “The comptroller advised the president of the EDB to develop strategies to avoid net losses in its operations and maintain control of its expenses,” the document says. program are designed to fit the specific needs of entrepreneurs within the restaurant industry, thereby giving them the momentum needed to grow and thrive.

In a written statement, BudetVega expressed his enthusiasm for revalidating the agreement.

“This agreement with the EDB reflects our continued commitment to the development and strengthening of the restaurant industry in Puerto Rico,” he said. “Through this collaboration, we are able to offer our partners valuable resources that will enable them to reach new heights in their endeavors.”

Alemañy González added: “With this alliance, we hope to continue helping strengthen this important economic sector, and to continue adding jobs to the more than 8,000 created and retained through the business relationships we have with these entrepreneurs.”

Weather system produces less rain than expected T

By THE STAR STAFF

he low-pressure weather system that passed through Puerto Rico over the past several days produced less precipitation than expected, with no extensive flooding or significant wind damage reported, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

The most significant rainfall yesterday was in Caguas, where between two and six inches of rainfall was reported, according to NWS forecaster Manuel Rodríguez.

The only incidents of wind damage were reported, in Manatí, where a single tree was felled

by wind, and in the town of Florida, where a tree broke off at the trunk and blocked a rural road.

Shower activity continued in parts of the island on Thursday as the deep-layer trough moved away from the region.

A gradual drying trend from west to east was expected to continue into the weekend, resulting in more stable weather conditions.

However, shallow moisture may result in light isolated shower activity.

Meanwhile, northerly swells arriving over the next several days will further deteriorate marine and coastal conditions for the Atlantic waters and local passages through early next week.

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

7

Ukraine and Israel aid bill inches ahead as divided GOP demands changes

By KAROUN DEMIRJIAN

A

sweeping emergency aid bill for Ukraine and Israel inched ahead in the Senate on Thursday after more than a dozen Republicans joined Democrats to move it forward, but hurdles remained as GOP senators continued to slow progress on the measure and fought internally about whether to kill it.

The Senate voted 67-32 to advance the bill, which would provide $60.1 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel and $10 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians in global conflicts. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the majority leader, pushed forward with the vote even though many Republicans were still withholding their support as they demanded changes to the measure.

Republicans are insisting that they get the opportunity to add border restrictions to the package — despite having voted Wednesday to block a version of the legislation that included a bipartisan package of border restrictions. After they huddled behind closed doors in the Capitol on Thursday morning, feuding over which changes to seek, it was still unclear whether — or when — they would be able to iron out their disputes and allow the measure to move toward a final vote.

Some predicted that process could still take days.

“We hope to reach an agreement with our Republican colleagues on amendments,” Schumer said. “We are going to keep working on this bill until the job is done.”

The sluggish action on the foreign aid bill was the latest manifestation of discord that has roiled the GOP and ground efforts to pass national security spending bills to a standstill. Republicans have clashed over how to address international crises without angering the leader of their party and its likely presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.

Senate Republicans had initially signaled early Wednesday that they were likely to support moving forward with a clean foreign aid bill without border provisions as long as they had opportunities to propose changes, terms that Schumer agreed

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. On Tuesday night, the House defeated legislation that Republicans had put forward to send $17.6 billion in military assistance to only Israel. Democrats lambasted the bill as a political ploy to undermine efforts to pass a broader foreign military aid bill that included Ukraine. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times) to in principle. Leaders on both sides were optimistic that they would have enough backing to speedily advance the measure.

But by evening, their optimism had given way to confusion, as Republicans devolved into a familiar crouch, torn between rival factions and utterly unable to make a decision about how to proceed. They spent much of Wednesday afternoon and evening squabbling over which amendments to insist on — and some argued privately they should not allow the bill to move forward at all.

By Thursday morning, GOP senators still had not settled on a way ahead — and it was unclear whether they would be able to resolve their differences anytime soon.

But during Thursday’s procedural vote, 17 Republican senators decided to join Democrats and vote to keep the bill alive anyway, clearing an immediate obstacle and allowing the legislation’s proponents to breathe a momentary sigh of relief as they worked to bridge the gap that remained.

Republican senators are split, with some staunchly supportive of sending a fresh infusion of military aid to help Ukraine fight off a Russian invasion and those

on the right deeply opposed to doing so.

And some GOP senators who back the aid are nonetheless concerned that doing so without exacting a price from Democrats would compromise them politically in an election year, given Trump’s opposition to backing Ukraine’s war effort.

“Failing to take this up is exactly what Putin hopes happens this week, and I’m going to do everything I can to prevent it,” said one of them, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But other Republicans who have championed aid to Ukraine continued to withhold their support. They included Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and James Lankford of Oklahoma. Lankford spent the past four months negotiating a bipartisan deal to pair Ukraine funding with border security measures, a trade-off Republicans had demanded, only to have it rejected by Republicans on Wednesday.

“I’m not giving up on the border,” Graham said in an interview, despite having voted earlier Wednesday to kill the Ukraine aid and border deal.

Among the border-related amend-

ments that had been floated by Republicans were a measure reflecting Lankford’s border deal and a more severe immigration enforcement bill that House Republicans passed in the spring.

There were also talks about a bid to revoke or change the Flores settlement agreement, which sets limits on how long children can be held in detention facilities, according to Senate aides who described the discussions on the condition of anonymity because no decision had been made about whether to pursue the proposal.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who voted to advance the measure Thursday, said he wanted a vote on scaling back the humanitarian aid portion of the bill, which would help Ukrainian and Palestinian civilians affected by wars there.

Other Republicans said they would oppose the measure no matter what changes were made to it.

“That’d be window dressing,” Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., said of the modifications being discussed.

Democrats also have a wish list of changes. Nearly 20 Democratic senators, most of them from the left wing of the party, have signed on to a proposal that would require recipients of security aid to use weapons in accordance with U.S. law, international humanitarian law and the laws of armed conflict — and not hamper efforts to send humanitarian aid to civilians. While the measure does not specifically mention Israel, it was inspired by senators’ concerns about that country’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip running afoul of international law.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has railed against sending Israel unconditional military aid given the enormous civilian death toll in Gaza, voted against advancing the bill.

Republican opponents pledged to make the process of passing the measure as long and painful as possible.

“I will insist on every minute and every day of it,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. “I want to be here a week, because I want to talk about what a disaster the bill is and what a mistake it is to send our money to other countries before we fix our own problems here.”

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The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

Informant in Menéndez bribery investigation made secret recordings

By TRACEY TULLY and BENJAMIN WEISER

W

hen Sen. Bob Menendez was charged with conspiring to act as an agent of Egypt, prosecutors included a photograph of a small dinner meeting he held with his soon-to-be wife and three people with ties to Egypt at a steakhouse in Washington, D.C. The indictment quoted Nadine Menendez, who married the senator in 2020, asking one of their dinner companions: “What else can the love of my life do for you?”

Left unexplained was how prosecutors learned of Nadine Menendez’s comment.

A new court document filed earlier this week by federal prosecutors in New York City

offers a possible explanation.

For the first time, the prosecutors disclosed that a confidential informant had made recordings of conversations and shared details about the case with investigators.

Neither the indictment nor the legal brief gives any indication that the Washington dinner meeting, specifically, was recorded.

But the filing does offer new details about the evidence the government relied on last year when charging Bob Menendez, his wife and three New Jersey businesspeople with participating in a vast, yearslong bribery conspiracy.

Bob Menendez and his wife are accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, including bars of gold bullion, mort-

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) leaves Federal District court in Manhattan on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. A new legal filing in the bribery case against Menendez refers to recordings from a “confidential source.” (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times) gage payments and envelopes stuffed with cash, from the businesspeople in exchange for political favors. All five have pleaded not guilty to charges contained in three successive indictments and are facing trial in May. The 196-page legal brief filed shortly before midnight Monday comes in response to a request last month by Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, and other defendants, that the charges be dismissed altogether. The senator’s lawyers have argued that overzealous prosecutors are criminalizing normal legislative activity and flouting constitutional protections afforded to members of Congress.

In listing the evidence shared with the defendants, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York noted “information from a particular confidential source,” including recordings made by the source, and reports of “debriefings” of the source by investigators.

The government also cited “draft translations of the recordings,” suggesting that conversations took place in a language other than English.

In Monday’s filing, the prosecutors asked the judge, Sidney H. Stein of U.S. District Court, to reject the defendants’ requests to dismiss the charges.

“Legislators ought not to stand above the law they create but ought generally to be bound by it as are ordinary persons,” they wrote, citing legal precedent.

Lawyers for Bob Menendez, 70, and Nadine Menendez, 56, have also requested separate trials to protect their clients from potentially offering incriminating testimony against a spouse, in the event that either takes the witness stand in his or her own defense.

The Menendezes have also asked for the case to be transferred to New Jersey, arguing that little of the alleged activity took place in New York City.

The government called the requests for separate trials meritless.

“The indictment makes plain how they worked together, and they should be tried together,” prosecutors wrote.

The photograph of the Washington dinner, in May 2019, depicts Bob Menendez and his wife seated at a corner table, in front of large glass windows.

Three other people with ties to Egypt attended the dinner, according to the indictment.

They were Wael Hana, a longtime friend of Nadine Menendez, who was in the process of setting up a halal meat business, which prosecutors said was later used to funnel bribes to the senator and his wife; and two others who were not named by prosecutors. One, identified by three U.S. officials, was Gen. Ahmed Helmy, Egypt’s top spy in Washington.

The other was described by prosecutors as an “Egyptian American associate of Hana.”

The San Juan Daily Star Bob Menendez, who at the time was the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was asked that day

by Hana to try to persuade a top official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to stop objecting to a deal tied to his business, IS EG Halal, according to the indictment.

The senator complied, the government has said.

According to the indictment, the agriculture official rejected Bob Menendez’s request to back off. Still, the business arrangement went forward as planned, making IS EG Halal the sole U.S. company permitted to certify that halal meat exported to Egypt had been prepared according to Islamic law.

In exchange for the lucrative halal contract, Hana gave Bob Menendez and his wife bricks of gold bullion and paid down mortgage debts for Nadine Menendez, who was unemployed and on the brink of losing her house, prosecutors said.

The government cited the meeting to try to justify a rare charge: that a member

February 9-11, 2024

of Congress plotted to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.

Bob Menendez’s lawyers have argued that because the United States had no authority to either approve or block the halal monopoly, a call to the agriculture official could not be an “official act” — the legal threshold set by the U.S. Supreme Court to prove a bribery conspiracy.

A lawyer for Menendez, Adam Fee, said the senator remained confident that he would “prevail at trial,” but added, “there should be no such trial.”

“We look forward to the court’s review of the merits of our motions that expose how the government has overcharged and overhyped this case,” Fee said.

A lawyer for Nadine Menendez had no comment. A lawyer for Hana, Lawrence S. Lustberg, said the government’s brief was “unfaithful to the applicable legal doctrine” and included “factual contentions that are not in” the indictment and therefore should not be considered.

Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the Southern District, declined to comment.

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Marianne Williamson suspends her long-shot challenge against Biden

By CHRIS CAMERON

M

arianne Williamson, the self-help author, is suspending her long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, she said in a video address earlier this week.

She thanked her supporters in the address, urging them to carry on her campaign’s message and run for office themselves.

“If you feel that you have a deeper appreciation of the promise of America and of your responsibility to do something about it,” Williamson said, then, she added, “this campaign will have succeeded.”

Williamson on Tuesday placed a very distant third place in Nevada’s primary election, behind President Joe Biden — who won nearly 90% of the vote — and behind “none of these candidates,” a ballot option that earned less than

6% of the vote. She had put significant effort into campaigning in the state before the primary, but ultimately drew under 3% of the vote.

She also placed a very distant second in the South Carolina primary, with just over 2% of the vote, but she topped Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota — who had so far been Biden’s most significant rival. Phillips was not on the ballot in Nevada, and has pointed to Michigan as the next primary he intends to compete in.

It was Williamson’s second attempt at running for president. She had earned some publicity early in the Democratic debates during her first run in 2020, but dropped out of the race before the first votes were cast.

Williamson made it further this time, lasting through two official presidential primaries, as well as the unsanctioned New Hampshire primary that will award no delegates in the nominating contest.

10 February 9-11, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

US debt on pace to top $54 trillion over next 10 years

By ALAN RAPPEPORT and JIM TANKERSLEY

T

he United States is on a pace to add nearly $19 trillion to its national debt over the next decade as the mounting costs of an aging population and higher interest expenses continue to weigh on the nation’s fiscal outlook, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

But the report did offer a sliver of relief: Recently enacted legislation to curb federal spending and a U.S. economy that has been growing faster than expected are making the fiscal picture slightly less bleak. Annual deficits over the next decade are 7% smaller than the $20.3 trillion the budget office forecast last year.

That decline reflects several conflicting forces. A deal that President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans struck last year to limit discretionary spending for two years reduces deficits over the decade. So does a surge of 5.2 million new workers into the labor force, most of them immigrants.

But those deficit declines are partly offset by an increase in the estimated budget costs from Biden’s clean-energy agenda, an aging U.S. population and higher interest rates on the national debt.

The budget office’s director, Phillip L. Swagel, said that even with the decline in deficits, the nation remained on track to rack up more debt as a share of its total economic output in 2034 than at any other time in its history.

“The first message of the projections is a familiar one: that the fiscal trajectory is daunting,” Swagel said at a briefing with reporters Wednesday. “On the other hand, it is a little bit less bad than it was in our projections last year.”

The projections for the nation’s finances come as Congress faces another deadline next month to agree on federal spending legislation to keep the government running. Lawmakers are also engaged in a heated debate over providing more aid to Ukraine and Israel and whether to expand the child tax credit and restore expired business tax breaks.

The budget office projected that the annual deficit will grow to $2.6 trillion in 2034 from $1.6 trillion this year, adding $18.9 trillion to the national debt during the decade. By then, the debt is projected to surpass $54 trillion.

Interest rates have surged to two-decade highs over the past year, making borrowing costs an increasingly significant contributor to

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Congressional Budget Office projections released on Wednesday said a growing economy and recent spending cuts had slowed deficits. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times) the national debt.

From 2024 to 2034, the United States will spend more than $12 trillion alone on interest costs. Starting next year, net interest costs will be larger as a share of the U.S. economy than at any time since the federal government started keeping records in 1940, according to the budget office.

Spending on safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare continues to grow even as their trust funds face the prospect of being depleted in the next 10 years.

“Also boosting deficits are two underlying trends: the aging of the population and growth in federal health care costs per beneficiary,” Swagel said. “Those trends put upward pressure on mandatory spending.”

The national debt is likely to be even larger than the budget office is predicting, as its forecast assumes that the 2017 tax cuts that Republicans enacted will fully expire even though lawmakers are already considering extending many of the measures, including lower individual income tax brackets.

For the second time in less than a year, the budget office said it now expected Biden’s efforts to wean the nation from fossil fuels to be more popular with the public — and more expensive for taxpayers — than initially estimated.

Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act included the largest incentives in American

history to speed up the development and deployment of energy technologies. Among those incentives were tax breaks for companies investing in factories to produce wind turbines, solar panels and other clean-energy technologies, along with a credit of up to $7,500 for people who buy certain electric vehicles.

The budget office initially projected those breaks, and other climate provisions, would add $391 billion to deficits from 2022 to 2031.

It now estimates the actual cost will be at least twice as large when measured over that same time window.

The change is partly because the office now estimates much stronger demand for the energy manufacturing credits than it initially anticipated. It is also partly a result of another of Biden’s policies: a proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulation that is meant to ensure two-thirds of new passenger cars sold in America will be all electric by 2032. The office expects that regulation to supercharge demand for electric vehicles and reduce the amount of gasoline that American drivers consume — which will, in turn, reduce federal revenues from gasoline taxes.

The Biden administration, which will produce its next budget proposal next month, has defended its efforts as fiscally — and environmentally — responsible.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told

lawmakers Tuesday that interest costs remained manageable as a share of the overall U.S. economy and noted that Biden had proposed $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction, much of which would come from tax increases and a more rigorous approach to tax collection.

“We need to be on a fiscally sustainable path, and it’s critical to reduce deficits in order to ensure that that’s the case,” Yellen said, lamenting that lawmakers have not acted on the administration’s deficit reduction plans.

U.S. gross national debt topped $34 trillion last month, and fiscal watchdog groups have been pressing lawmakers to form a fiscal commission that would develop policies to stabilize the debt.

“Today’s CBO projections are the latest loud and clear warning about America’s unsustainable national debt,” Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which promotes deficit reduction, said in a statement.

“There has never been a more urgent time for a bipartisan fiscal commission to recommend solutions to put us on a stronger path.”

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

11 Stocks

S&P 500 Hovers Near 5,000-Mark With Earnings, Jobs Data in Focus T

he benchmark S&P 500 index was muted on Thursday, lingering near the 5,000-point mark, as investors sized up major corporate earnings reports, a roughly in-line jobs report and remarks from policymakers on interest rate cuts.

Walt Disney gained 11.9% after the media giant hit back at activist investors with a market-beating profit, a gaming investment and plans to launch an ESPN streaming service in 2025.

The company also announced a $3 billion share repurchase plan and a 50% increase in dividend.

Spirit Airlines jumped 2.5% as it expects to operate with a positive cash flow from the second quarter after reporting a narrower-than-expected loss.

More than half of the S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly earnings, with 80.6% surpassing expectations, compared with a long-term average of 67%, according to LSEG data.

On the economic data front, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly more than expected last week, pointing to underlying labor market strength.

“It (jobless claims data) is another data point that the economy remains resilient and that the potential for a soft landing or economic re-acceleration can still happen,” said Dylan Kremer, chief investment officer at Certuity.

Meanwhile, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said recent stronger-than-expected data on the U.S. economy may be partly due to the difficulty of making accurate seasonal adjustments around the beginning of a new year.

On Wednesday, the benchmark S&P 500 notched new record highs, inching closer to 5,000 points, as investors looked past uncertainty on the timing of interest rate cuts and jitters around the stability of some regional banks.

The Nasdaq on Thursday is about 2.8% away from breaching its all-time high hit in November 2021, driven by an ongoing rally in technology and tech-adjacent stocks.

At 11:54 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 117.63 points, or 0.30%, at 38,559.73, the S&P 500 was down 4.13 points, or 0.08%, at 4,990.93, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 40.01 points, or 0.25%, at 15,796.66.

The S&P 500 energy sector led sectoral gains with a 0.7% rise, tracking a jump in crude prices.

Keeping risk appetite in check, New York Community Bancorp lost 4.2% a day after the lender appointed a new executive chairman and said it could cut exposure to the troubled commercial real estate segment.

Arm soared 56.6% after the British tech company forecast quarterly sales and profit above expectations as customers aim to design new chips for artificial intelligence work, generating higher royalties.

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12 February 9-11, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Bolsonaro and allies planned a coup, Brazil police say

By JACK NICAS

F

ormer President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil oversaw a broad conspiracy to hold on to power regardless of the results of the 2022 election, including personally editing a proposed order to arrest a Supreme Court justice, according to accusations unveiled Thursday by the Brazilian federal police.

Bolsonaro and dozens of top aides, ministers and military leaders worked together to undermine the Brazilian public’s faith in the election and set the stage for a potential coup, federal police said.

Their efforts included spreading disinformation about voter fraud, drafting legal arguments for new elections, recruiting military personnel to support a coup, surveilling judges and encouraging and guiding protesters who eventually raided government buildings, police said.

The explosive allegations were contained in a 134-page court order that authorized a sweeping federal police operation Thursday that targeted Bolsonaro and about two dozen of his political allies, including Brazil’s former defense minister, former national security adviser, former justice minister and former head of the navy.

The operation involved search warrants and arrest warrants for four people, including two army officers and two of Bolsonaro’s former top aides.

Bolsonaro was ordered to hand over his passport, to remain in the country and to have no contact with any other people under investigation.

Bolsonaro said Thursday that he was the innocent victim of a politically motivated operation.

“I left the government more than a year ago, and I continue to suffer relentless persecution,” the former president told Folha de São Paulo, a Brazilian newspaper. “Forget about me. There is already someone else running the country.”

For more than a year before Brazil’s 2022 election, Bolsonaro openly sowed doubts about the security of his nation’s election systems and warned that if he lost it would be the result of fraud.

When he, in fact, lost to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro declined to unequivocally concede, and his supporters staged monthslong protests that culminated in a January 2023 riot at Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices.

Bolsonaro has already been ruled ineligible to run for

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Then-President Jair Bolsonaro campaigns for a second term in São Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 24, 2022. Brazilian federal police raided the former president and his top allies on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, on accusations that they attempted to overturn the results of the 2022 election. (Victor Moriyama/The New York Times) office until 2030 over his attempts to undermine the voting systems. Now he could be facing arrest and criminal prosecution.

Lula said in a radio interview Thursday that he hoped the investigation into Bolsonaro would be fair and impartial.

“What I want is for Bolsonaro to have the presumption of innocence, which I didn’t have,” he said.

Lula served 580 days in prison on corruption charges that were later annulled after Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that the judge in his cases had been biased.

The accusations unveiled Thursday lay out how the former president and his allies tried to subvert Brazil’s young democracy, including alarming details for a country that was ruled by a military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985.

In one moment in November 2022, after Bolsonaro lost the election but was still president, Filipe Martins, a top aide, brought him a draft of a legal document claiming that Brazil’s Supreme Court had illegally interfered in the executive branch’s affairs, according to federal police. The document ordered the arrest of two Supreme Court justices and the Senate president and called for new elections, police said.

Bolsonaro ordered changes to the document so that it called for the arrest of only one of the Supreme Court justices, police said. Once the document was updated, Bolsonaro called top military leaders to the presidential residence to present them with the document and push for a coup, police said. The result of that meeting was unclear.

The Supreme Court justice who would have been arrested under that order was Alexandre de Moraes, the same judge who has overseen investigations into Bolsonaro and his allies for years, making him one of the former president’s archrivals.

Moraes issued the court order authorizing the arrests and police actions Thursday. The order revealed that the

federal police also discovered evidence that two of Bolsonaro’s aides had monitored the travel of Moraes in case the government attempted to arrest him.

In the court order unsealed Thursday, Moraes said that the aides’ precision in knowing his schedule suggested they may have been using technology to surveil him.

Federal police have separately accused Bolsonaro’s son and the former chief of Brazil’s intelligence agency of using Israeli spyware, among other tools, to surveil political enemies of the former president, including Moraes.

The court order unsealed Thursday also details a meeting in July 2022, three months before the election, in which Bolsonaro ordered top government officials and military leaders to spread claims of voter fraud, despite a lack of evidence. “From now on, I want every minister to say what I’m going to say here,” Bolsonaro said at the meeting, according to a recording obtained by police.

Transcripts of the recording in court documents revealed that the former president appeared to believe, or at least continued to peddle, several conspiracy theories claiming his rivals were rigging the election.

He falsely claimed that electronic voting systems had been pre-loaded with results and that electoral judges had received tens of millions of dollars in bribes.

“I have no proof, man. But something strange is happening,” Bolsonaro said, according to police. “Losing an election is no problem. What we can’t do is lose democracy in a rigged election.”

In another moment, he asked his ministers and military leaders to sign a public letter that Brazil’s election system could not be trusted. (Such a letter was never released.)

Several government ministers and military leaders at the meeting, however, agreed with Bolsonaro’s view of the election system.

Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro’s former justice minister, urged others at the meeting to act, saying they faced consequences if Lula became president. “I want everyone to think about what they can do beforehand because everyone will get screwed,” he said, according to police.

Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, Bolsonaro’s former defense minister and army commander, said that he saw Brazil’s election officials as “the enemy” and that military leaders were meeting weekly to ensure clean elections.

“May we succeed in reelecting you,” he told Bolsonaro, according to police. “That is all our wish.”

But there were also internal signs of doubt among Bolsonaro’s allies. Two days after the first round of Brazil’s election, which sent Bolsonaro and Lula to a runoff, an army officer sent a text message to Bolsonaro’s personal aide, Mauro Cid, saying that he hoped Bolsonaro’s team “knew what they were doing.”

“Me too,” replied Cid, who was instrumental in planning a coup, according to police. “If not, I’ll be arrested.”

Cid was arrested shortly after Lula’s election and accused of helping to falsify Bolsonaro’s vaccine records. He signed a plea deal to cooperate with authorities.

The army officer then asked if Bolsonaro’s team had found evidence of voter fraud.

“Nothing,” Cid replied, according to police. “No evidence of fraud.”

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

13

Can Ukraine rely on US? Doubts grow.

By DAVID E. SANGER

A

year ago, when Washington and much of Europe were still awash in optimism that Ukraine was on the verge of repelling Russia from its territory, it seemed inconceivable that the United States would turn its back on the victim of Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

Now, even as Senate Democrats try to salvage an aid package for Ukraine, that possibility remains real. And the political moment feels a long way from 14 months ago when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine stood before a joint session of Congress, wearing his signature drab green sweater, and basked in a minute-long standing ovation.

The turnaround has surprised the White House. Even if the Senate manages to advance military aid, there are still plenty of reasons to doubt that the money will come through, including deep opposition among Republicans in the House and former President Donald Trump’s push for a more isolationist stance.

President Joe Biden’s aides insist they are not yet scrambling for other options.

“We’re not focused on Plan B,” Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, said in Brussels earlier this week after a NATO meeting with his counterparts. “We’re focused on plan A,” which he said meant passing a bipartisan aid package that will enable Ukraine to “defend effectively and to take back territory that Russia currently occupies.”

But behind the scenes there is a lot of discussion, in Washington and Europe, about other options, including seizing more than $300 billion in Russian central bank assets that are stashed in Western nations — a process that is turning out to be a lot more complicated than it first seemed.

A woman walks between graves of Ukrainian soldiers killed in combat since Russia’s February 2022 full scale invasion of the country, at a military cemetery in the western city of Lviv, Jan. 30, 2024. (Finbarr O’Reilly/The New York Times) Still, U.S. officials concede there is nothing on the horizon that could match the power of a new, $60 billion congressional appropriation, which would buy bolstered air defenses, more tanks and missiles, and a huge influx of ammunition.

And, they add, the symbolism of America pulling back now could be profound.

European officials who have been dreading the possibility that Trump might be reelected and make good on his promise to withdraw from NATO are beginning to wonder, at least in private, about the reliability of the United States, no matter who is president.

If Republicans are willing to abide by Trump’s demand that they vote against continued aid to Ukraine, one senior European diplomat in Berlin asked Wednesday, why would Europe rely on Biden’s assurance that the United States would “defend every inch” of NATO territory? Even some of Trump’s former national security aides — the ones he long ago split with — are beginning to say that a failure to fund Ukraine would amount to a huge strategic win

for Putin.

“The United States has a clear choice: arm the Ukrainians with the weapons they need to defend themselves or cut off aid and abandon democratic Ukraine in its struggle for national survival against Putin’s aggression,” H.R. McMaster, who served for a year as the second of Trump’s four national security advisers, said Monday. He noted that while Congress debated, “the abandonment of Kyiv would be a gift to the Moscow-Tehran-Beijing-Pyongyang axis of aggressors. Allies and partners would lose trust in America as those aggressors are emboldened.”

Oddly enough, Congress’ threat to derail the aid comes just at the moment that Europe committed $54 billion for rebuilding the country over the next four years, and countries from Norway to Germany are committing new arms aid. “It is remarkable how quickly Europe has moved toward a new and substantive multiyear support program for Ukraine,” Christoph Trebesch, who directs the production of the Ukraine Support Tracker at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in northern Germany. “For the first time, the U.S. is now lagging behind by a large margin” compared with European aid, he said.

“This is not charity; it is in our own security interest,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the alliance’s headquarters Wednesday, appearing at a news conference with Sullivan. A Russian victory, he added, “matters for European security and it matters for American security.”

But this argument, that the West must push back on Russia in Ukraine or face the possibility of fighting it on NATO territory, seems to be losing its effectiveness in Congress. And some Republican members of Congress are still accusing Europe of not pulling its weight, even if

the newest financial commitments change the equation.

But none of these arguments, officials in the U.S. and Europe say, can overcome the reality: If the United States pulls the plug on its financial support for the war, much of the day-to-day military necessities will go away — starting with air defense against the near-daily barrages of missiles, drones and other weaponry aimed at urban centers and critical infrastructure including the electric grid. And if the country’s economy collapses, it will terminate a two-year-long effort to save a fledgling if deeply flawed democracy.

Meanwhile, Biden’s aides are trying to figure out how to pay for weapons if Congress remains paralyzed. The plan to seize Russian assets has complications. It’s not clear that the reserves could be used to pay for air defense and artillery. Even that, administration officials say, could require congressional action — although presumably there are more votes in the House and Senate for spending Russia’s money than spending the United States’.

There is also discussion of conducting complex weapons swaps, similar to what Japan and South Korea have done, where they have provided their artillery shells to the United States, freeing up Washington to give more to Ukraine. (Both countries have said they could not export directly to a war zone.) Or, perhaps, have European nations pay for American weapons and ship those to Ukraine.

Sullivan, for his part, insists that if the administration sticks to its strategy, it will prevail.

“Walking away from Ukraine at this moment, at this time, would be fundamentally wrong from the point of view of our basic national security in the United States and for our NATO allies, as well,’’ he said Wednesday. “And we think we will continue to win that argument.”

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14

February 9-11, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Terrorized by gangs, Ecuador embraces the hard-line ‘Noboa way’

By ANNIE CORREAL

S

ince Ecuador’s president declared war on gangs last month, soldiers with assault rifles have flooded the streets of Guayaquil, a sprawling Pacific coast city that has been an epicenter of the nation’s yearslong descent into violence.

They pull men from buses and cars looking for drugs, weapons and gang tattoos, and patrol roads enforcing a nighttime curfew. The city is on edge, its men and teenage boys potential targets for troops and police officers who have been ordered to take down powerful gangs that have joined forces with international cartels to make Ecuador a hub of the global drug trade.

Yet when people see soldiers pass, many clap or give them a thumbs-up. “We applaud the iron fist; we celebrate it,” Guayaquil Mayor Aquiles Álvarez said. “It has helped bring peace.”

In early January, Guayaquil was hit by a wave of violence that could prove to be a turning point in the country’s long-running security crisis: Gangs attacked the city after authorities moved to take charge of Ecuador’s prisons, which gangs largely controlled.

Police officers were kidnapped, explosives were detonated, and in an episode broadcast live, a dozen armed men briefly seized a major television station.

President Daniel Noboa declared an internal conflict, an extraordinary step taken when the state has come under attack by an armed group. He deployed troops against the gangs, which have overtaken much of Ecuador, battling to control cocaine-trafficking routes and transforming it from one of South America’s most peaceful countries into the deadliest.

Ecuador’s top military commander warned that every gang member was now “a military objective.”

Noboa’s aggressive response has reduced violence and brought a precarious sense of safety to places like Guayaquil, a city of 2.7 million and a key drug-trafficking port, pushing approval of the government to 76% in a recent

“The public applauds what’s happening,’’ said Álvarez, Guayaquil’s mayor, “and they don’t applaud it because they are bad people, but because they are tired of all the violence they have endured.” national survey.

It has also raised alarms among human rights activists.

“We’re not seeing anything new or innovative,” said Fernando Bastias of the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights of Guayaquil. “What we’re seeing is an increase in cases of grave human rights violations.”

Ecuador’s approach has drawn comparisons to El Salvador, whose young leader, Nayib Bukele, has largely dismantled its vicious gangs, earning him a landslide reelection victory and adulation across Latin America. But critics say he has also trampled human rights and the rule of law, ordering mass arrests that ensnared innocent people.

“Ecuador is an important case because it’s almost like a second laboratory for Bukele’s policies,” said Gustavo Flores-Macías, a government and public policy professor at Cornell University who specializes in Latin America.

“People are so desperate that they buy into the need for these iron-fist policies to bring down crime.”

The policies can be effective, but, he added, “the cost in civil liberties is high.”

Like Bukele, Noboa, 36, wants to build mega-prisons, and his social media posts feature pumping music and images of prisoners handcuffed and stripped to the waist. He proclaims it “The Noboa Way.” Still, there are important differences, said Christopher Sabatini, a senior research fellow for Latin America at Chatham House, a research group in London. While Bukele disdains democracy, Noboa “has portrayed his government as a democracy under siege,’’ Sabatini said.

Noboa is also facing a different adversary, said Will Freeman, a fellow in Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“El Salvador was never important to drug trafficking,” he said. “It is just too small.” Ecuador, by contrast, is now central to the global cocaine trade, he said, with links to cartels from Mexico to Europe. As a result, its gangs have millions to arm themselves to fight authorities.

But, he added, “we do see Noboa moving toward a strategy of mass arrests.”

Since the president declared war on the gangs, authorities in Ecuador have detained more than 6,000 people.

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llings in Guayaquil dropped by 33%, from 187 to 125. Outside the city’s morgue, Cheyla Jurado, a street vendor who sells juice and pastries to families waiting to retrieve bodies, said the crowds had visibly thinned.

“Now, they’re car accidents, drownings,” she said.

At the city’s largest hospital, the number of patients arriving with gunshot wounds and other violence-related injuries is down from five a day to as few as one every three days, said Dr. Rodolfo Zevallos, an emergency doctor.

The reprieve from the bloodshed — while still in the early stages — has many rooting for the young president.

“We can sit outside in the evening,’’ said Janet Cisneros, who sells home-cooked meals in Guayaquil’s Suburbio neighborhood. “Before, we couldn’t — we were just completely stuck inside.”

Noboa, an heir to a banana fortune, was elected in November to finish his predecessor’s term, which was cut short when he dissolved parliament, triggering snap elections.

In January, as violence erupted, he traded his business suits and bashful smile for a grimace, buzz cut and black leather jacket, announcing that Ecuador would no longer take orders from “narcoterrorist groups.”

Noboa’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

In Guayaquil, police paint over murals depicting gang leaders. Soldiers conducting street raids lecture young men found with small bags of marijuana on the perils of drugs or a life of crime.

But videos have circulated online showing authorities also using rougher tactics: men and boys rounded up on the streets are hit on the head or forced to kiss one another. In one widely shared video, a teenager is made to scrub a tattoo until his chest is bloody.

In the prisons where the military was sent to seize control from gangs, similar abuses are taking place, according to advocates and inmates’ families.

“They have the prisoners beaten up worse than Jesus Christ,” said Fernanda Lindao, whose son is serving time for robbery in Guayaquil’s Litoral Penitentiary. “For inmates, there are no human rights.”

Still, arrest videos are enormously popular, with many Ecuadorians praising soldiers and the president.

“The public applauds what’s happening,’’ said Álvarez, Guayaquil’s mayor, “and they don’t applaud it because they are bad people, but because they are tired of all the violence they have endured.”

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

15

The political perils of a Black-Jewish rift over the war in Gaza

By CHARLES M. BLOW

“T

here’s no alliance more historic, nor more important, than the alliance between Black Americans and Jewish Americans.”

That’s what Marc Morial, the president of the National Urban League, said in 2020 during his organization’s BlackJewish Unity Week joint event with the American Jewish Committee.

But, Morial said this week, that alliance is “being tested” by diverging views about the Israel-Hamas war. And that divergence could influence the way both constituencies — both of which traditionally support Democrats — approach this year’s elections.

The relationship between these two communities is long-standing and hit its stride during the civil rights movement. But it hasn’t been without periods of friction.

Marc Dollinger, a professor of Jewish studies at San Francisco State University and the author of “Black Power, Jewish Politics,” sees a strong parallel between now and the period around the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel took control of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and east Jerusalem (as well as the Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula), and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced.

The next year, just four months before America’s 1968 election, a New York Times article headlined “Jews Troubled Over Negro Ties” described one point

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of contention between the two communities as “Jewish resentment over the anti-Israeli stance of Black extremists who, in the parlance of the New Left, accuse the Jewish state of ‘Zionist imperialism’ and ‘oppressions’ against the Arabs.’ ” Dollinger describes whatever rift may be playing out now as “sort of a Chapter 2.”

Despite the fact that Jewish American sentiments don’t necessarily align with sentiments in Israel, the world’s lone Jewish state, or with the policies of Israel’s government, there are parallels between the perceived split years ago and the current cleavage: Many Black Americans, especially younger, politically engaged Black Americans, oppose Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, with particular concern about the death toll among Palestinian civilians.

Many Jewish Americans support Israel’s right to conduct the war and American support for Israel’s war effort in order to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas — and some feel disappointed or even betrayed that many Black people seem to have more sympathy for the Palestinian perspective than the Israeli perspective.

The issues involved feel irreconcilable, because many of those engaged in the debate believe that their positions represent the moral high ground. And nuanced views are sometimes characterized as weak. But there has to be room for nuance.

I believe Hamas is a terrorist organization committed to the eradication of Israel, that its Oct. 7 attack against Israel was ghastly, and that all the hostages taken in the attack must be returned.

At the same time, I believe the carnage in Gaza — thousands of civilian deaths, including thousands of children — is unjustified and unacceptable, even in war.

Relief agencies continue to warn of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and as the International Court of Justice ruled last month, Israel must “take all measures within its power” to avoid violations of the international Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

On those points, I adhere to a fundamental humanism.

As Guardian columnist Naomi Klein wrote in October, the progressive response to this war should be “rooted in values that side with the child over the gun every single time, no matter whose gun and no matter whose child.”

It is the absence of these values that Ruth Messinger, a past president of the American Jewish World Service, finds frustrating: an inability, she says, of people to “hold two contradictory ideas at the same time” when considering the war in Gaza, the insistence on an all-or-nothing framing of the conflict on both sides.

When we spoke, Messinger said that within the Jewish community, when she says she’s a strong supporter of Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, but that the way it is defending itself “means death for Gazans and is,” therefore, “bad for the future of Israel and will contribute to the rise of antisemitism,” she is often met with the question: “How can you say all those things that disagree with each other?”

It’s because the conflict is complicated. And people who insist on rendering it in simplistic terms do so to advance an argument rather than to advance understanding.

And in the end, this insistence on flattening out the complexities of the issue could have a devastating effect on politics here. President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in this war has alienated some Black voters. Withdrawing some of that support could alienate some Jewish voters.

Yet he needs the strong engagement and support of both groups to win reelection.

But Cliff Albright, a co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, lamented that the current tension between these two constituencies over this issue “definitely threatens our ability to work together in terms of electoral organizing.” And he believes this strain is made worse by the mounting death toll in Gaza and by the singling out of Black leaders for their positions on the war, like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s backing of campaign challengers to members of the so-called Squad, a small contingent of progressive members of Congress, all of whom are of color and several of whom are Black.

When I contacted AIPAC to ask if the organization was concerned that its targeting of the Squad could cause political friction between the Black and Jewish communities, a spokesperson for the group responded via email, not directly answering my question but writing instead: “We believe it is entirely consistent with progressive values to stand with the Jewish state,” and submitting that, “Our political action committee supports nearly half of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus.”

One worry for Democrats is that young progressives opposed to Biden’s position on the war, including many young Black people, will refuse to vote for him on principle.

But Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, who co-founded the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on BlackJewish Relations and helped to relaunch it last year, made a point I’ve thought about quite a bit recently: “A protest vote here, or a lack of voting as a protest, is going to result in a more toxic, more painful situation” than already exists for Palestinians, if it means again electing Donald Trump.

Even if some voters find that Biden has not pushed back enough against Israel’s right-wing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in his prosecution of the war, they should consider that pushback would very likely be nonexistent under Trump. In that way, declining to vote for Biden as a way of expressing support for Palestinians — or at least holding out for a ceasefire — could wind up further hurting the Palestinian cause. The moral position, abstention, could become in effect an immoral act, throwing open the gate and allowing even more danger in.

It may be hard to fathom, but the prospects for the Palestinian people could get worse.

16 February 9-11, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Gobernador nomina para la Comisión de Derechos Civiles a Kenneth McClintock POR CYBERNEWS

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A FORTALEZA – El gobernador, Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia, sometió para la consideración del Senado los nombramientos del exsecretario de Estado, Kenneth McClintock Hernández, del licenciado Doel Quiñones Núñez y de la catedrática Adi Martínez Román como miembros de la Comisión de Derechos Civiles.

También envió el nombramiento de la doctora Nieve de los Ángeles Vázquez para renominación.

Según el comunicado de prensa, las recomendaciones al gobernador las hicieron funcionarios de la Universidad Interamericana y de la Universidad de Puerto Rico (UPR), donde los nominados trabajan como profesores.

McClintock Hernández desde el 1992 hasta finales de 2008 fungió como senador En el 2005-2008 fue presidente del Senado. Durante el cuatrienio de 2009 -2012 fungió como secretario de Estado bajo la gobernación de Luis Fortuño. Es graduado de la Escuela de Derecho de Tulane University, cofundó el Programa Córdova y Fernós de Internados Congresionales y logró la reorganización de la Rama Ejecutiva. Actualmente, es profesor adjunto de la Universidad Interameramericana y trabaja como asesor en la práctica privada.

Mientras, el licenciado Quiñones Núñez, quien desde hace más de 30 años es profesor de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Interamericana, coordinó y litigó casos en beneficio de los consumidores, estudió en la UPR, la Universidad de Bos-

ton y la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Como parte de su trayectoria profesional ha participado de conferencias y cursos relacionados a procesos de mediación, ética y servicio público, entre otros.

Por otra parte, la doctora Martínez Román, ha formado parte de diversas organizaciones, es profesora en la UPR de cursos y seminarios enfocados en la Constitución de Estados Unidos, derechos civiles en Puerto Rico, entre otros. Sus estudios graduados y postgraduados los realizó en la UPR, la Universidad de Princeton y la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, España.

Finalmente, se informó la renominación de la doctora Nieve de los Ángeles Vázquez, quien es catedrática Asociada del Departamento de Humanidades de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Bayamón.

Decreta un día de duelo por fallecimiento de Jennifer Wolff Conde POR CYBERNEWS

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AN JUAN – El gobernador Pedro Pierluisi, decretó un día de duelo ante el fallecimiento de la periodista e historiadora, Jennifer Wolff Conde, por lo que las banderas ondearán a media asta en todos los edificios públicos ayer jueves, 8 de febrero de 2024.

“Jennifer Wolff Conde fue ejemplo de integridad y excelencia periodística. Por su trayectoria en la industria de las comunicaciones y su labor como historiadora logró dejar una huella en el campo académico y cultural de Puerto Rico. En este momento de duelo, a nombre del

pueblo de Puerto Rico, expreso mis más sinceras condolencias a la familia, amigos y colegas de Jennifer Wolff Conde”, sostuvo el primer ejecutivo en declaraciones escritas.

Su trayectoria incluye más de 14 años en los principales medios de comunicación de la isla. Fue pionera en el género del reportaje investigativo en la televisión puertorriqueña. Como historiadora, hizo importantes aportaciones al estudio de la esclavitud, el contrabando y las redes comerciales en el Caribe hispano de los siglos 16 y 17. Su tesis doctoral, defendida en el 2020, fue ampliamente elogiada y recomendada para publicación.

Farmacia Caridad expandirá su presencia en Puerto Rico con la adquisición pendiente de las tiendas de CVS Pharmacy POR CYBERNEWS

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AN JUAN – El presidente de Caribe Pharmacy Holdings, empresa matriz de Farmacia Caridad, Gilberto del Valle, anunció este jueves, una adquisición pendiente de las 22 localidades de CVS Pharmacy.

“Esta adquisición permitirá una expansión signifi-

cativa de nuestros servicios, creando conveniencia adicional para nuestros queridos clientes a la vez que se fortalece y promueve el desarrollo económico de nuestra isla. Estamos comprometidos con la preservación de nuestros valores y modelo de negocios como farmacia de la comunidad, y estamos seguros de que esta expansión representará mayores ahorros para nuestros clientes y oportunidades profesionales para los más de 1,500 empleados que formarán parte de nuestro equipo de trabajo”, comentó del Valle en declaraciones escritas.

Explicó que esta transacción permitirá que Farmacia Caridad absorba la totalidad de empleados de CVS Pharmacy y brinde servicios a sobre 20 municipios en la isla.

De igual forma, todos los nuevos empleados no verán afectados sus beneficios básicos y acuerdos ya logrados.

Además, los clientes de Farmacia Caridad tendrán más

opciones dónde acudir para sus necesidades con el mismo compromiso de siempre. La transacción no incluirá las sucursales de CVS Specialty Pharmacy, que seguirán siendo propiedad y estarán operadas por CVS Specialty.

“Agradecemos a nuestros fieles clientes y comunidades por su continuo apoyo y confianza, y nos preparamos con entusiasmo para los beneficios que esta alianza brindará a las comunidades a las que servimos y a la industria de salud en general“. comentó Victor Curet, vicepresidente de mercadeo y desarrollo de negocios.

Con esta adquisición, Farmacias Caridad continuará desarrollando su afán de brindar un servicio familiar y productos de calidad a precios adaptados al mercado de Puerto Rico. Para más información, puede visitar cualquiera de sus tiendas o contactarlos a través de las redes sociales, Facebook, Instagram y/o Google.

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

17

You’ve just watched the Super Bowl. What will you see next?

By EMMANUEL MORGAN

S

ome of the most precious television real estate comes immediately after the NFL’s season finale, one of the few programs to still corral a giant audience.

The network that airs the Super Bowl wants to retain as many of those viewers — 115 million people last year — as possible with the postgame slot. It has been a powerful tool to debut shows, as CBS will do on Sunday with “Tracker,” a crime drama about the hunt for missing people that stars Justin Hartley, and it has also showcased already popular ones, such as NBC did in 1996 with “Friends.”

Either strategy can prove effective.

“It’s really a year-by-year basis when you have the Super Bowl and to think, ‘What are the different weapons you have to deploy?’” said Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment.

New shows For nearly two decades, the Super Bowl has cycled among Fox, NBC and CBS. (In 2027, ABC will air its first Super Bowl since 2006.) “There isn’t really any other platform like it on TV,” Reisenbach said, adding, “It’s a huge opportunity to get eyeballs.”

Networks plan out the postgame slot about a year ahead of time, said Dan Harrison, the executive vice president of program planning and content strategy at Fox Entertainment.

CBS chose “Tracker” in May, Reisenbach said, after executives viewed the pilot episode and felt it could appeal across demographics because of Hartley’s popularity with both men and women. The decision to debut a new show follows the strategy CBS used for “Undercover Boss” (2010) and for

The $1.9 billion Allegiant Stadium, home to the Raiders football team, in Las Vegas, which will host Super Bowl LVIII in February, Sept. 24, 2023. The shape-shifting desert city is in the middle of a reinvention that involves sports stadiums, Formula One and the Sphere: a 360-foot-tall, high-tech, traffic-stopping amphitheater covered in 1.2 million LED screens. (Mikayla Whitmore/The New York Times) its two most recent Super Bowl lead-outs, “The World’s Best” (2019) and “The Equalizer” (2021).

The results varied. “The World’s Best” garnered 22.2 million viewers and was not renewed for a second season. “Undercover Boss” amassed nearly 39 million viewers and ran for 11 seasons.

Returning shows Fox has more recently used its post-Super Bowl slot to highlight shows that have a built-in audience. Last year, it debuted the second season of the Gordon Ramsay cooking show “Next Level Chef”; in 2020 it opened the third season of “The Masked Singer.”

“You want to make sure that you’re comfortable serving viewers something that they already know that they like and something that advertisers want to be in,” said

Harrison, who previously worked for CBS and NBC. “That single episode will be the highest-rated entertainment telecast of the year.”

Even though the first episode of “The Equalizer” drew 20.4 million viewers after the Super Bowl in 2021, CBS still chose to use this year’s spot for “Tracker.” The network will debut the fourth season of “The Equalizer,” along with much of its returning lineup, in the week after the game.

CBS kicked off new seasons of the reality show “Survivor” in 2001 and 2004, and NBC aired a special one-hour episode of the hit sitcom “The Office” in 2009.

But NBC’s placement of “Friends” after the Super Bowl in 1996 is perhaps the most successful use of this strategy. The network elongated that episode to an hour and pac-

ked it with major guest stars such as Julia Roberts and Brooke Shields. Almost 53 million viewers tuned in, the highest-rated postSuper Bowl show ever.

“They made an event of a show that was already big, which was amazing and it just supercharged it,” said Andrew Goldman, an adjunct instructor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and a former HBO executive.

NBC declined to comment.

Nontraditional programs While networks typically want to capture as broad of an audience as possible after the Super Bowl, sometimes they take risks.

In 1999, Fox debuted the adult animation show “Family Guy,” which was canceled after its third season for poor ratings before being rejuvenated on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming, and then bouncing back to Fox, where its run continues.

In 2022, an overlap of global sporting events allowed NBC to air the Winter Olympics in Beijing directly after the Super Bowl.

That Olympics broadcast received 21.2 million viewers, but Goldman thinks that decision was unwise.

“When there’s an opportunity to introduce people to a new creative, you should do it to create a collective zeitgeist,” Goldman said. “People the next day will talk about, ‘Hey did you see the Super Bowl,’ and then, ‘Hey, did you see that new show?’”

Even platforms without NFL television rights have tried to capitalize on the interest around the Super Bowl. In 2018, Netflix aired an ad during the game for the previously unannounced science fiction film “The Cloverfield Paradox,” which it released for streaming after the Lombardi Trophy was lifted.

Satirical roots rocker Mojo Nixon dies at 66 aboard cruise ship docked in San Juan

By YAN ZHUANG

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ojo Nixon, the rabble-rousing psychobilly musician and radio host who shot to fame with his satirical 1987 hit “Elvis is Everywhere,” died of a cardiac episode Wednesday aboard a country music cruise that he was co-hosting. He was 66.

His death was confirmed by Matt Eskey, the director of a 2020 documentary

film about Nixon. He said that Nixon had a “cardiac event” while he was asleep as the Outlaw Country Cruise was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A statement posted by the film’s official Facebook page said that Nixon had died “after a blazing show, a raging night, closing the bar, taking no prisoners.”

Nixon was best known for his celebrity spoofs, like “Don Henley Must Die” and “Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant With My

Two-Headed Love Child,” and for satirical tirades like “I Hate Banks” and “Destroy All Lawyers.” “All of it was performed in maximum overdrive on a bed of rockabilly, blues, and R&B, which earned Nixon some friends in the roots rock community but had enough punk attitude — in its own bizarre way — to make him a college radio staple during his heyday,” the All Music Guide wrote.

“I’m a rabble-rouser who does humorous social commentary within a rock-and-

roll setting,” he told The New York Times in 1990.

“Elvis is Everywhere” and its video got the attention of MTV, which made him an occasional host in 1988.

Nixon, born Neil Kirby McMillan Jr., is survived by his wife Adaire McMillan, sons Rafe Cannonball McMillan and Ruben McMillan, granddaughter Avery Frances McMillan, sister Jane Holden McMillan and brother Arthur Reese McMillan, Eskey said.

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The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

Aston Barrett, 77, bass-playing force with Bob Marley and Wailers, dies

By CLAY RISEN

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ston Barrett, who as the bass player and musical director for the Wailers — both with Bob Marley and for decades after the singer’s death in 1981 — crafted the hypnotic rhythms and complex melodies that helped elevate reggae to international acclaim, died Saturday in Miami. He was 77.

The cause of death, at a hospital, was heart failure after a series of strokes, according to his son Aston Barrett Jr., a drummer who took over the Wailers from his father in 2016.

Aston Barrett was already well known around Jamaica as a session musician when, in 1969, Marley asked him and his brother, Carlton, a drummer, to join the Wailers as the band’s rhythm section.

More than anyone else, the collaboration between Marley and his bassist turned both the Wailers and reggae itself into a global phenomenon during the 1970s.

Marley wrote and sang the songs and was the band’s soulfully charismatic frontman. Aston Barrett arranged and often produced the music. He also kept the band organized during its constant touring, earning him the nickname Family Man — or, to his close friends, Fams.

“Family Man was a genius,” Wayne Jobson, a reggae producer, said in a text message. “As the architect and arranger of Bob Marley’s songs, he took reggae to the stratosphere.”

And that’s to say nothing about his playing. He provided the uniquely melodic bass on all the Wailers’ biggest hits,

In an undated photo provided by Kate Simon, the musician Aston Barrett, center left, with Bob Marley in 1977. Barrett, who as the bass player and musical director for the Wailers — both with Bob Marley and for decades after the singer’s death in 1981 — crafted reggae’s hypnotic rhythms and complex melodies that helped elevate the genre to international acclaim, died on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024 in Miami. He was 77. (Kate Simon via The New York Times) including “Jammin’,” “Three Little Birds” and “I Shot the Sheriff,” and in doing so he helped make laid-back yet complex bass lines a staple of the reggae sound.

Some people called Barrett a “ninja” bassist for his ability to jump around unexpectedly, playing slow and brooding on one song and light and playful on the next. He got his unique sound from playing a Fender jazz bass, with stainless steel flatwound strings that were custommade for him by Fender.

Barrett kept the Wailers going after Marley died of cancer at 36. The band continued to play its greatest hits from the Marley years but with an evolving sound rooted in Barrett’s musical innovations.

He held the group to a rigorous schedule;

until he retired in 2016, he was playing up to 200 shows a year.

“When I’m playing the bass, it’s like I’m singing,” he told Bass Player magazine in 2007. “I compose a melodic line and see myself like I’m singing baritone.

And when I decide to listen deep into the music — to all the different sections and instruments playing — I realized that the bass is the backbone, and the drum is the heartbeat of the music.”

Aston Francis Barrett was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on Nov. 22, 1946, the older son of Violet (Marshall) and Wilfred Barrett. His father was a blacksmith, a trade that Aston also plied before committing to music full time.

He and his brother were unable to afford store-bought instruments, so they made their own. To craft a bass guitar, Aston took a two-by-four piece of wood and attached it to a square of plywood; down the neck he strung a curtain cord, with a wooden ashtray as the bridge.

Carlton took a similarly DIY approach to his drums, scavenging old buckets and tin plates for his kit.

The brothers practiced in a basement, where they could take advantage of the reverberations off the concrete walls.

As soon as they had paying gigs, the two traded up their instruments, with Aston Barrett playing for a time on a Höfner, the same brand favored by Paul McCartney. They played in a band called

the Hippy Boys and were soon providing rhythm for reggae innovator Lee (Scratch) Perry and his band, the Upsetters.

Barrett and Marley built their relationship on mutual admiration. Barrett first heard the Wailers when someone played their song “Simmer Down” at a party. He was transfixed.

“Well, I tell you, I listened to that music so deep, I feel like I was a part of that group and that it was me and my brother who do that song,” he said in an interview for “Wailing Blues: The Story of Bob Marley’s Wailers” (2009), by John Masouri.

Marley likewise heard the Barrett brothers playing and sought them out. They began backing the Wailers in 1969 and soon left Perry’s band to join the Wailers exclusively. When two of the original members, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, left the band in 1973, Marley and the Barretts reformed the band around themselves.

The band continued to tour and release albums after Marley’s death, although ticket and record sales declined. Legal troubles followed.

In 2001, Barrett sued the Marley family and Island Records, the Wailers’ longtime label, for approximately $115 million in royalties. A court dismissed the suit, ruling that he had signed an agreement for a one-time payment of $500,000 in 1994; the decision left him with almost $4 million in legal bills.

Barrett continued to tour, insisting that there were no hard feelings. He brought on his son as drummer in 2009 and eventually gave him control of the Wailers when he stepped down as musical director in 2016.

Aston Jr. plays his father in the movie “Bob Marley: One Love,” set to be released Feb. 14.

Along with his son, Barrett’s survivors include his wife, Angela; two other sons, Floyd and Kevin; three daughters, Novelette Lindsay, Shadona Barrett and Ramona Barrett; and his sisters, Narma, Cherry and Winsome Barrett. His brother, Carlton, was murdered in Kingston in 1987.

Barrett claimed to have more than 35 other children, as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, although he did not maintain relationships with all of them.

He moved to Miami in 2001, but he retained a home in Jamaica and returned there frequently.

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

19

This Valentine’s Day, say it with wine

By ERIC ASIMOV

W

e all know that Valentine’s Day is simply a corporate money grab, a holiday with one purpose: obliging you to buy cards, flowers, jewelry, chocolates and candies, wear red and order from overpriced menus on one of the busiest restaurant nights of the year.

In other words, it’s great fun. And since it’s one of the biggest days of the year for consuming sweets, I’d like to make a pitch this year for sweet wines.

It’s not an easy pitch to make. Good bottles are luscious, nuanced and captivating. But they are arduous and risky to produce, which means they are relatively expensive. And consumers today find it difficult to incorporate sweet wines — once prized, much sought-after styles — into hectic, healthconscious routines.

I understand this. The era of the after-dinner bottle of port or Sauternes is long over. Classic styles of sweet wine have been unfashionable for decades. And yet, at the right moment, they can be so gloriously delicious.

Valentine’s Day could be the right moment. The focus is desserts and candies, so why not add to the bounty? Rather than try to force uncomfortable pairings of chocolates, bonbons and other desserts with red wine, why not a sweet wine

with far more than desserts. Last year I drank Sauternes with oysters on the half shell and boudin noir and thoroughly enjoyed the combinations. Why? Because good sweet wines are not merely sweet. They are beautifully balanced, lively and refreshing, which makes them, if not exactly versatile, less inflexible than you might think. Few wines will go better with strong cheeses.

I went shopping at New York stores for sweet wines recently and found 10 that I highly recommend. It wasn’t easy — the selection has dwindled over the years. But these are all worth checking out.

You probably don’t buy a box of chocolates and flowers every day, and you won’t often drink sweet wine, either. But on a special occasion, why not? Added bonus: These wines look gorgeous by candlelight.

Here are the 10 bottles in ascending order of price.

Clot de L’Origine Maury 2020, 17.5%, $33, 500 milA variety of sweet wines in New York, Feb. 2, 2024. liliters For occasions like Valentine’s Day, a day that spotlights A few Valentine’s Days ago I tried to decide which wines sweets, a special bottle of sweet wine might be the went best with chocolate. Among my favorites was Maury, a perfect ending. (Tony Cenicola/The New York Times) little-known fortified wine from Roussillon in southern France.

This bottle, from Clot de L’Origine, is made entirely of biothat can truly enhance the pleasure? dynamically farmed grenache. It’s understated yet potent and While it may seem counterintuitive, sweet wines can go

Continues on page 20

WINE 20

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

From page 19

will go well with sweets and with strong cheeses. The wines from Banyuls and Rivesaltes, two neighboring areas in Roussillon that make similar wines, are also very good with chocolate. (Nomadic Distribution, Los Angeles) Clos Larrouyat Jurançon Moelleux Phoenix 2020, 12%, $35, 500 milliliters Clos Larrouyat is a tiny domaine in Jurançon in the southwest of France where the proprietors, Maxime and Lucie Salharang, farm organically and carry on the local tradition of making both dry and sweet wines. The Phoenix cuvée is made entirely of petit manseng, which is dried on the vine to concentrate the sugar. The wine is rich and sweet yet supremely balanced, which means it’s refreshing. Try solo or with a fruit tart. (Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, California) Marco De Bartoli Marsala Superiore Oro Riserva Vigna La Miccia 2017, 18%, $47, 500 milliliters Marsala has long been vilified as an industrialized supermarket product. Most wines labeled Marsala sadly fall into that category, but real Marsala is a delight. No producer is more responsible for the preservation of real Marsala than Marco De Bartoli. This cuvée is made entirely from organically grown grillo grapes. It’s got a savory, yeasty aroma, but it’s apple-fresh and, though sweet, you could easily drink this with dinner, cheese or dessert. (Louis/Dressner Selections, New York) Domaine Huet Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux 2020, 13%, $50, 750 milliliters Chenin blanc is one of most versatile grapes, capable of

making wines that range from bone dry to lusciously sweet.

This bottle from Huet is not so much sumptuous as it is sweet in a restrained way. It’s rich, complex and would go beautifully with a cheese course or even a cheese soufflé. (The Rare Wine Company, Brisbane, California) Weiser-Künstler Mosel Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling Auslese 2019, 8%, $50, 375 milliliters I love the balanced, expressive wines from Konstantin Weiser and Alexandra Künstler, who are focused on small lots of old vines on steep slopes in the Mosel. This is the first time I’ve tried one of their intensely sweet ausleses, and it’s wonderful, riding on a knife’s edge of peachy sweetness and lively acidity. It’s a treat, either by itself or with dessert. (Vom Boden, Brooklyn, New York) Willi Schaefer Mosel Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese No. 11 2019, 7.5%, $50, 375 milliliters A second German auslese? Why not? It’s so good I couldn’t help including it. The tiny Willi Schaefer estate is one of the great sweet wine producers. While this bottle also comes from the Mosel, it differs from the Weiser-Künstler in its elegance, depth and precision, and finds a way to be simultaneously sweet, spicy and saline. (Skurnik Wines, New York) Château Climens Barsac 1er Cru 2015, 14%, $52, 375 milliliters Sauternes and Barsac are the classic sweet wines of Bordeaux, and are, as with most sweet wines, greatly underappreciated today. This bottle, from Château Climens, a terrific producer, is lively and powerful yet refreshing, balanced, deep, honeyed and nuanced. (Vineyard Brands, Birmingham,

Alabama) Fèlsina Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 2015, 14%, $60, 375 milliliters Vin Santo is made by air-drying grapes to concentrate them before an extended aging period in barrels. Fèlsina, the excellent Chianti Classico producer, uses a combination of trebbiano, malvasia and sangiovese grapes for this cuvée. The result is an exquisite wine the color of dark amber, creamy sweet with a round, almost buttery texture. (Polaner Selections, Mount Kisco, New York) Royal Tokaji 5 Puttonyos Aszu Red Label 2017, 11%, $60, 500 milliliters The Tokaji aszu wines of Hungary are legendary yet harder to find than they were a few years ago, and far less well known than they were two centuries ago, when they were renowned in European capitals. This bottle, from Royal Tokaji, is complex, fruity and spicy but utterly fresh with a rich sweetness courtesy of botrytis. (Wilson Daniels, Napa, California) Rare Wine Company Historic Series Madeira New York Malmsey Special Reserve NV, 19.5%, $63, 750 milliliters Madeira is perhaps my favorite wine with chocolate.

This bottle is part of Rare Wine’s Historic Series, which is intended to showcase the various styles of Madeira that were popular in Colonial America. Malmsey is the sweetest Madeira, reminiscent of the Vin Santo but kaleidoscopic in its complexity. One more thing: Madeira lasts forever. Set aside an open bottle and you’ll be ready for future Valentine’s Days (or any occasions) for as long as it takes to finish the bottle.

(The Rare Wine Company)

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

21

An elephant with the munchies: Curing animals with cannabis

By RACHEL NUWER

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ike many captive elephants, Nidia had chronic foot problems. Fissures had formed in the 55-year-old Asian elephant’s foot pads, and her toenails had cracked and become ingrown. Painful abscesses lingered for months. Nidia had lost her appetite, and she was losing weight.

Dr. Quetzalli Hernández, the veterinarian in charge of Nidia’s care at a wildlife park in Mexico, was desperate.

She decided to try cannabidiol, or CBD, the nonintoxicating therapeutic compound found in cannabis.

For help, Hernández reached out to Dr. Mish Castillo, chief veterinary officer at ICAN Vets, a company engaging in veterinary cannabis education and research in Mexico.

To Castillo’s knowledge, no one had purposely given an elephant medical cannabis. But he and his colleagues hoped it would reduce Nidia’s pain and stimulate her appetite, as they had seen the drug do for cats, dogs and other species.

They started low and eventually settled on a dose of 0.02 milligrams of CBD per pound of Nidia’s weight, which she took daily with a chunk of fruit. Calibrated by weight, the dose is one-tenth to one-fortieth of what Castillo gives to dogs or cats. Yet, it worked.

The first sign that the treatment was effective was when Nidia developed a serious case of the munchies. Within days of starting CBD, she went from finishing just one-third of her food to virtually all of it, and sometimes even went for seconds. Within five weeks, she had gained 555 pounds.

After Nidia began eating, her demeanor changed. “She was always known as the grumpy one — she used to kick doors,” Castillo said. “Within the first week to 10 days of her treatment, she started coming out of her enclosure quicker and was in less of a bad mood.”

Nidia’s abscesses also began to heal, probably as a result of CBD’s anti-inflammatory effects. For months, the pain in her feet had prevented the elephant from walking down a small hill to a drinking fountain in her enclosure, forcing her handlers to give her water in buckets and by hose. As her condition improved, she started to visit the fountain again. “She just continued to get better,” Castillo said. “We were amazed that this happened at such a low-response dose, which led us to want to get this information out before veterinarians start overdosing other species by using the dog or cat dose.”

Correct dosing comes down to species-specific differences in metabolism and variability between individuals, he added.

Medical cannabis for humans is legal and commonly used in a number of countries and U.S. states. But its adoption in veterinary practices has lagged behind human medicine. Dozens of scientific studies point to cannabis’ potential for treating seizures, pain, anxiety and fear, mostly in dogs.

Mounting anecdotal evidence from countries such as Mexico, where veterinarians can legally administer the plant or its compounds, suggests benefits across a variety of other conditions in species as varied as parrots, turtles and hyenas.

But despite the promising findings, challenges abound

Jerry, a parakeet who had been over-preening himself, is given CBD oil as part of his treatment at a veterinary clinic in Mexico City, Jan. 31, 2024. While many people and their doctors have embraced medical marijuana for health ills, treating pets and zoo animals with CBD and THC is just beginning. (Luis Antonio Rojas/The New York Times) for introducing cannabis into veterinary medicine: confusion about the law, lingering drug-related stigma, a lack of education and a dearth of peer-reviewed studies. In most countries, including the United States, prohibitive or incomplete legislation also hampers veterinarians’ abilities to study and use cannabis in their practices.

“People are very interested in alternative therapies that work better” and have fewer side effects, said Dr. Stephanie McGrath, a veterinary neurologist at Colorado State University who studies medical cannabis and is on the scientific advisory board of Panacea Life Sciences, a CBD product manufacturer. “We really should be funneling dollars to support research so we can get a better understanding of how we should be using this medication,” she added.

Laws in places such as California have begun to make way for veterinary cannabis. And a small but growing number of international veterinarians have united to bring cannabis into mainstream veterinary medicine through education, research and activism.

“Our countries are all going at different paces for regulation and legalization,” Castillo said. “But we can work as a worldwide network of veterinarians to further advancements together.”

Cannabis contains 100-plus chemical compounds, but CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are the molecules whose therapeutic effects are best understood. While CBD does not discernibly alter consciousness, THC is responsible for the “high” associated with smoking or ingesting marijuana.

Across vertebrate species, these molecules interact with the endocannabinoid system, a network of nerve receptors, molecules and enzymes that keeps the body’s other organ systems stable. When used medically, cannabis essentially “supports the support system,” said Dr. Casara Andre,

founder of Veterinary Cannabis, a Colorado-based group that provides education and certification to animal care workers and consultation services for pet owners and the cannabis industry.

A number of countries now legally permit veterinarians to prescribe and administer cannabis. In terms of research and adoption, though, Mexico is emerging as a world leader.

Since 2019, Castillo and his colleagues have trained about 1,500 veterinarians in medical cannabis use.

Cannabis can be combined with conventional pharmaceuticals to improve those drugs’ results, veterinarians have found. And in some cases, given on its own, cannabis has outperformed existing drugs, said Emma Delaney, a pharmacist and sales manager at CBD Vets Australia, a company that provides education and medicinal cannabis to veterinarians in Australia.

Although things are moving slowly, Castillo said, each year brings more research findings, training courses and mentorship programs, as well as international collaborations.

Castillo and his colleagues, for example, are preparing to publish another case study about CBD use in a ferret named Macarena. The ferret fell from a fifth-floor balcony in 2017, causing severe spinal trauma and chronic pain. She was put on opioids, but persistent discomfort caused her to self-mutilate. “She basically chewed her own back legs raw from the pain,” Castillo said.

Veterinarians amputated her back legs, but Macarena continued to show signs of distress, including by biting her abdomen.

Four years after her fall, Macarena found relief through CBD. At a dose of 0.3 milligrams of CBD per pound of her body weight, she stopped self-mutilating. She gained weight and became more active, Castillo and his colleagues said, and she was able to discontinue the use of opioids.

Macarena died in September from old age, and right up until her death, the researchers reported, she was in good spirits.

22 entrada principal mirando hacia el Este, el cual consiste de un ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO área de sala-comedor, cocina, DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- balcón, tres habitaciones cada NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA una con ropero, un baño y un SALA DE GUAYAMA “linen closet”. A este apartaFIRSTBANK mento le corresponde una participación de punto cincuenta y PUERTO RICO cinco por ciento (.55%) en los Parte Demandante Vs. FRANCISCO RAFAEL elementos comunes del Condominio. También tiene derecho CLAUDIO ZAYAS T/C/C a dos espacios de estacionaFRANCISCO R. CLAUDIO, miento identificados con el misTAMBIÉN CONOCIDO mo número del apartamento.

Inscrita al sistema Karibe, finca COMO FRANCISCO CLAUDIO, Y TAMBIÉN veinticinco mil cuatrocientos sesenta y dos (25462) de Cayey, CONOCIDO COMO Registro de Caguas I. Dirección FRANCISCO CLAUDIO Física: 609 Villa Beatriz, Cayey, ZAYAS Y LEIDY TAIS PR. 00736. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a cabo el día TORRES GONZALEZ 7 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS Parte Demandada Caso Civil Núm.: GCD2015- 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA y servirá 0376. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE de tipo mínimo para la misma la HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA OR- suma de $108,675.00 sin admiDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINE- tirse oferta inferior. En el caso RO. ANUNCIO DE SUBASTA. de que el inmueble a ser subasEl suscribiente, Alguacil del tado no fuera adjudicado en la Tribunal de Primera Instancia primera subasta, se celebrará de Puerto Rico, Sala de Gua- una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el yama, a los demandados de día 14 DE MARZO DE 2024, A epígrafe y al público en gene- LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y ral hace saber que venderá en el precio mínimo para esta sepública subasta en la Oficina gunda subasta será el de dos de Alguaciles, sita en el Tribu- terceras partes del precio míninal de Primera Instancia, Sala mo establecido para la primera de Humacao, al mejor postor, subasta, o a sea la suma de en moneda de curso legal de $72,450.00. Si tampoco hubielos Estados Unidos de América ra remate ni adjudicación en la en efectivo, cheque certificado, segunda subasta, se celebrará o giro postal a nombre del Al- una TERCERA SUBASTA el guacil del Tribunal de Primera día 21 DE MARZO DE 2024, Instancia, el derecho que ten- A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, ga la parte demandada en el y el tipo mínimo para esta terinmueble que se relaciona más cera subasta será la mitad del adelante para pagar la SEN- precio establecido para la priTENCIA por $103,657.76 de mera subasta, o sea, la suma balance principal, los intereses de $54,337.50. El mejor postor adeudados sobre dicho prin- deberá pagar el importe de su cipal y computados al 4.50% oferta en efecto, cheque certifianual hasta su total pago y cado o giro postal a nombre del completo pago desde el prime- Alguacil del Tribunal. Si se dero de abril de 2014; cargos por clarase desierta la tercera sudemora devengados, más la basta, se dará por terminado el suma de $10,867.50 estipulada procedimiento, pudiendo adjupara honorarios de abogado dicarse el inmueble al acreedor pactada en la escritura de hi- hipotecario dentro de los diez poteca y cualesquiera otras su- días siguientes a la fecha de mas que por cualesquiera con- la última subasta, si así lo escepto legal se devenguen hasta timase conveniente, por la totael día de la subasta. La propie- lidad de la cantidad adeudada dad a venderse en pública su- conforme a la sentencia, si ésta basta se describe como sigue: fuera igual o menor que el monURBANA: PROPIEDAD HORI- to del tipo de la tercera subasta ZONTAL: Apartamento número y abonándose dicho monto a seiscientos nueve (609) del la cantidad adeudada si ésta Condominio Villa Beatriz, radi- fuera mayor. Se avisa a cualcada en el Barrio Beatriz de la quier licitador que la propiedad municipalidad de Cayey, Puerto queda sujeta al gravamen del Rico, con una cabida de ocho Estado Libre Asociado y CRIM mil doscientos punto cuarenta sobre la propiedad inmueble y nueve (8200.49) pies cua- por contribuciones adeudadas drados. En lindes por el Norte, y que el pago de dichas contricon un área común; por el Sur, buciones es la responsabilidad con un área común; por el Este, del licitador. Que se entenderá con pared que lo separa del por todo licitador acepte como apartamento setecientos cuatro suficiente la titulación y que los (704). Apartamento ubicado en cargos y gravámenes anteriola cuarta planta del edificio 6 del res y los preferentes al crédiCondominio Villa Beatriz con to del ejecutante continuarán

LEGAL NOTICE

@

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 Guayama, Puerto Rico, a 9 de enero de 2024. ENID NAZARIO CORREA, ALGUACIL PLACA #407, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE GUAYAMA.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante V.

RAFAEL ACOSTA AGOSTO Y MERCEDES GERTRUDIS ROMÁN GRAU

Demandados Civil Núm.: CI2023CV00110.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTE-

staredictos@thesanjuandailystar.com

CA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro Judicial de Ciales, Ciales, 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 10 de enero de 2024, 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 de terreno radicada en la Urbanización Palmas Del Sur, localizada en el Barrio Morovis Sur del término Municipal de Morovis, Puerto Rico y que se describe en el Plano de Inscripción de la Urbanización con el número, área y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación: número del solar: ciento trece (113). Área del solar: doscientos cincuenta y dos punto cero cero (252.00) metros cuadrados. En lindes: por el NORTE, en una alineación recta de doce punto cero cero (12.00) metros, con los solares número ciento tres (103) y ciento cuatro (104); por el SUR, en una alineación recta de doce punto cero cero (12.00) metros, con la calle número cuatro (4); por el ESTE, en una alineación recta de veintiuno punto cero cero (21.00) metros, con el solar número ciento catorce (114); y por el OESTE, en una alineación recta de veintiuno punto cero cero (21.00) metros, con el solar número ciento doce (112). Enclava una casa. Afecta a servidumbre a favor de la Puerto Rico Telephone Company, de uno punto cincuenta y dos (1.52) metros de ancho a todo lo largo de su colindancia Sur. Inscrita en la finca número 12,582, al tomo móvil 279 de Morovis. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de Manatí. La propiedad ubica en: Solar #113 Urb. Palmas del Sur, Morovis, Puerto Rico 00687. 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

(787) 743-3346

Friday, February 9, 2024 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: AL ASIENTO 2023-051132-MA01 DEL SISTEMA KARIBE, se presentó el día 28 de abril de 2023, Demanda de fecha 27 de abril de 2023, expedida en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Arecibo, Sala de Ciales, en el Caso Civil número CI2023CV00110, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, versus Rafael Acosta Agosto y Mercedes Gertrudis Roman Grau, por la suma de $22,407.21 más intereses y otros gastos. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor, el día 15 de noviembre de 2023 y notificada en este caso, el 15 de noviembre de 2023, por la cantidad de $22,407.21 por concepto de principal; generando intereses a razón de 7.00% desde el 1ro de octubre de 2022; cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $5,996.90 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. LA PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 12 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Ciales, Ciales, Puerto Rico.

El precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es por la cantidad de $59,696.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 19 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Ciales, Ciales, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $39,979.33, 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 26 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Ciales, Ciales, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $29,984.50, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Articulo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o 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 pueden concurrir a la subasta si les convienen o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados

The San Juan Daily Star asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante.

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 Ciales, Puerto Rico, hoy día 19 de enero de 2024. Gerardo E. Reyes Meléndez, Alguacil Confidencial Placa #109, División De Subastas, Tribunal De Primera Instancia, Sala Superior De Ciales. ***

coada en su contra dentro del termino de treinta (30) d.as a partir de la publicación del presente edicto. Usted deber. 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. Si usted deja de presentar y notificar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido termino, 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.

Los abogados de la parte demandante son.

LICENCIADO NOTARIO P.R., INC. Física: Ave. San Patricio 764 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00921 Postal: 130 Ave. Winston Churchill PMB 327 Suite 1 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00926-6018 Tel. (787) 487-7718 info@licenciadonotariopr.com LEGAL NOTICE /F/ ALEJANDRA M. RAMOS MUÑOZ ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO Núm. Tribunal Supremo 23,244 DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- Expedido este edicto bajo mi NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA firma y el sello de este Tribunal, SALA DE BAYAMÓN. hoy 6 de febrero de 2024. LCDA LAURA I SANTA SANCHEZ, ÁNGELO GRAJALES FELICIANO, SECRETARIO(A) GENERAL. POR: LUREIMY ALICEA GONrepresentado por ZALEZ, SECRETARIO(A) AUBRAYAN CARRASQUILLO XILIAR.

MOLINA

Demandante, v.

LEGAL NOTICE

JOHN DOE como tenedor ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO desconocido del pagaré DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANDemandada Civil Núm.: BY2024CV00574. CIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE Sobre: CANCELACION DE PONCE SALA SUPERIOR DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO POR PONCE CARLOS ENRIQUE LA VIA JUDICIAL. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ES- REBOLLO MARRERO Y TADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA OTROS SUPERIOR) PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADemandante V. DOS UNIDOS ESTADO LIBRE BANCO POPULAR DE ASOCIADO DE PR. SS. A: JOHN DOE COMO TENEDOR DESCONOCIDO DEL PAGARÉ

objeto de la presente acción a favor de H.F. Mortgage Bankers, o a su orden, por la suma principal de noventa y cinco mil ciento cincuenta d.lares ($95,150.00) de principal intereses al seis y un cuarto por ciento (6 1/4%) anual, vencedero el uno (1) de julio de dos mil trece (2013) seg.n consta de la escritura n.mero mil ciento setenta y cinco (1175) otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el treinta (30) de junio de mil novecientos noventa y ocho (1998), ante el notario publico, Luis A. Archilla Diaz, inscripción segunda (2.). Por la presente se le emplaza y notifica que debe contestar la demanda in-

PUERTO RICO Y OTROS

Demandado(a) JESÚS DELGADO VÉLEZ DELGADO.ESQ@GMAIL.COM CASO NÚM.: PO2023CV02517 (SALÓN 605 CIVIL SUPERIOR) SOBRE: CANCELACIÓN O RESTITUCIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: JOHN DOE, RICHARD ROE

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 22 DE ENERO DE 2024, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola

The San Juan Daily Star vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 30 de enero de 2024. En Ponce, Puerto Rico, el 30 de enero de 2024. Carmen G. Tiru Quiñones, Secretaria. F/ Keilene Rodríguez Meléndez, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal.

Friday, February 9, 2024

virtud de la escritura de hipo- a través del Sistema Unificado en el Barrio Turabo de Caguas, INGRESOS MUNICIPALES DE LA SUCESION teca número 1011, otorgada en de Manejo y Administración de Puerto Rico, identificado en el (CRIM); LA SUCESION DE EDWIN RAMIREZ Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, el día Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede Plano de Inscripción con el núDE ROSA ERCILIA DIAZ; LA SUCESION 15 de diciembre de 2006, ante acceder utilizando la siguiente mero 7 de la manzana “F”, que LEGAL NOTICE MARQUES CESTARIS DE EDWIN RAMIREZ el notario Rafael Bras Benítez. dirección electrónica: https:// según las medidas de dicho COMPUESTA POR ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DIAZ COMPUESTA POR Por razón de dicho incumpli- unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac/, plano de inscripción tiene una DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUmiento, y al amparo del dere- salvo que se represente por cabida superficial de 364.00 CARLOS JUAN, MYRIAM JOHANNA RAMIREZ NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA cho que le confiere el Pagaré, derecho propio, en cuyo caso metros cuadrados. En lindes DAMARIS, IVELISSE Y DIAZ; FULANO Y CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAel demandante ha declarado deberá presentar su alegación por el NORTE, con el solar LUIS ALBERTO TODOS FULANA DE TAL COMO tales sumas vencidas, líquidas responsiva en la secretaría del número 8, en una distancia de YAMÓN SALA SUPERIOR DE DE APELLIDOS ALEMAN POSIBLES HEREDEROS tribunal.

Se le(s) advierte que 26.00 metros; por el SUR, con y exigibles en su totalidad. Este BAYAMÓN. DESCONOCIDOS DE LA Tribunal ha ordenado que se si dejare(n) de contestar la De- el solar número 6, en una dis- MARQUES; MENGANO Y ISLAND PORTFOLIO SUCESION; CENTRO le(s) cite a usted(es) por edicto manda en el período de tiempo tancia de 26.00 metros; por el MENGANA DE TAL COMO SERVICES, LLC mencionado, podrá dic- ESTE, con Tana Development POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE RECAUDACION DE que se publicará una sola vez antes COMO AGENTE DE en un periódico de circulación tarse contra usted(es) Senten- Corporation, en una distancia DESCONOCIDOS DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS general. Quedan emplazados cia en Rebeldía, concediéndo- de 14.00 metros; y por el OESLA SUCESION (TODOS (CRIM) FUND, LLC y notificados de que en este se el remedio solicitado sin más TE, con la calle número 4, en Demandados COMO TITULARES Demandante v.

Tribunal se ha radicado una de- citarle(s) ni oirle(s). EXPEDIDO una distancia de 14.00 metros.

LEGAL NOTICE CIVIL NUM.: CA2024CV00051 manda enmendada en su con- bajo mi finna y con el Sello del Enclava una casa de concreto REGISTRALES) ANA M. SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO tra. Se les ordena a que dentro Tribunal. DADA hoy6 de febrero para una sola familia. Se les ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DEMANDADOS GONZALEZ RAMOS Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA de 2024. Lcda. Kanelly Zayas advierte que este edicto se pu-

José M. Carreras Pérez, 1250 Ave. Ponce de León, Ste. 1008, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907, teléfono (787) 448-6530, correo electrónico: jmcarreras2002@ yahoo.com. Se le apercibe que, de no hacerlo, se podrá dictar Sentencia en rebeldía concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda, sin citarle ni oírle mas. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y EL SELLO DEL TRIBUNA, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 6 de febrero de 2024. Griselda Rodriguez Collado, Sec del Tribunal. Brenda Rodriguez, Sec Serv a Sala.

JOHANNA GONZALEZ VILELLA, Secretario(a) Auxiliar del Tribunal.

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUDemandado(a) NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Caso Núm.: TB2023CV00029 CENTRO JUDICIAL DE ARE(SALÓN 504). Sobre: COBRO CIBO SALA SUPERIOR DE DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. CAMUY. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENISLAND PORTFOLIO CIA POR EDICTO. LEGAL NOTICE NATALIE BONAPARTE SERVERA SERVICES, LLC COMO ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO NATALIE.BONAPARTE@ORF-LAW. AGENTE DE ACE ONE COM DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUFUNDING, LLC NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA A: ANA M Demandante v.

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN

(VÍA ORDINARIA). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO Y MANDAMIENTO DE INTERPELACION. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A LA PARTE CODEMANDADA: FULANO HERNAN LOPEZ LOPEZ JUAN. (Nombre de las partes que se le Y FULANA DE TAL COMO Demandado(a) notifican la sentencia por edicto) INÉS VIRGINIA POSIBLES HEREDEROS Caso Núm.: QU2021CV00049 EL SECRETARIO(A) que susAQUINO PÉREZ (SALÓN 102 CIVIL - CRIMI- cribe le notifica a usted que el DESCONOCIDOS DE LA Demandante vs.

NAL). Sobre: COBRO DE DI- 31 DE ENERO DE 2024, este SUCESIÓN DE EDWIN UNION NERO - ORDINARIO. NOTIFI- Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, RAMIREZ DIAZ, a las PUERTORRIQUEÑA CACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR Sentencia Parcial o Resolución siguientes direcciones: DE LOS ADVENTISTAS EDICTO. en este caso, que ha sido debi(a) URB. CASTELLANA KENMUEL JOSÉ RUIZ LÓPEZ damente registrada y archivada DEL SEPTIMO DIA KENMUEL.RUIZ@ORF-LAW.COM GARDENS F-21 CALLE 6 en autos donde podrá usted H/N/C THREE ANGELS A: HERNAN LOPEZ enterarse detalladamente de CAROLINA, PR 00983; (b) HEALTH FOOD; LOPEZ Y FATIMA LOPEZ los términos de la misma. Esta PO BOX 4201 CAROLINA, UNIVERSAL INSURANCE MERCADO, AMBOS POR notificación se publicará una PR 00630.

COMPANY; GLOBAL SI COMO PARTE DE LA sola vez en un periódico de Por la presente se le(s) notifica MAINTENANCE SERVICE, SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE circulación general en la Isla que se ha radicado en la Sede Puerto Rico, dentro de los LLC.; COMPAÑÍA de este Tribunal una BIENES GANANCIALES 10 días siguientes a su notifica- cretaría Demanda en Cobro de Dinero ASEGURADORA (Nombre de las partes que se le ción. Y, siendo o representando y Ejecución de Hipoteca por la notifican la sentencia por edicto) “X”’; COMPAÑÍA usted una parte en el procedi- vía ordinaria en contra de Olga ASEGURADORA “A, B, Y EL SECRETARIO(A) que sus- miento sujeta a los términos Ivette Díaz Rosa y La Sucesión le notifica a usted que el de la Sentencia, Sentencia de Edwin Ramírez Díaz, en la C”; CORPORACIÓN “X”; cribe 05 DE OCTUBRE DE 2022, JOHN DOE; JANE ROE este Tribunal ha dictado Sen- Parcial o Resolución, de la cual cual se alega que adeuda a GONZALEZ RAMOS

Demandados.

CIVIL NUM.: BY2023CV06016.

SOBRE: DAÑOS Y PERJUICIOS. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. DEL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.1

A: GLOBAL MAINTENANCE SERVICE, LLC #623 Ave. Ponce de León, Banco Cooperativo Plaza, Suite 12048, San Juan, PR 00917 DE: Inés Viginia Aquino Pérez Calle Baena 466 San Juan, PRI00923

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza, se le notifica que una demanda ha sido presentada en su contra y se le requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto, radicando el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan y notificando con copia de la misma al Ledo.

23

tencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 05 de FEBRERO de 2024. En CAMUY, Puerto Rico, el 05 de FEBRERO de 2024. VIVIAN Y. FRESSE GONZALEZ, Secretario(a). f/

puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 01 de FEBRERO de 2024.

En BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico, el 01 de FEBRERO de 2024.

LAURA I. SANTA SANCHEZ, Secretario(a). f/VIVIAN J SANABRIA ORTIZ, Secretario(a) Auxiliar del Tribunal.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante Vs.

OLGA IVETTE DIAZ ROSA, POR SI Y COMO MIEMBRO

la parte demandante por concepto de hipoteca la suma de $51,758.79 por concepto de principal, desde el 1ro de agosto de 2023, más intereses al tipo pactado de 6.375% anual que continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además Olga Ivette Díaz Rosa y La Sucesión de Edwin Ramírez Díaz adeuda a la parte demandante los cargos por demora equivalentes a 5.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $7,650.00. Además Olga Ivette Díaz Rosa y La Sucesión de Edwin Ramírez Díaz se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $7,650.00 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $7,650.00 para cubrir cualquiera otros adelantos que se hagan en

del término de treinta (30) días, a partir de la notificación de la presente Orden, acepten o repudien la participación que les corresponda en la herencia de Edwin Ramírez Díaz. Los codemandados miembros de La Sucesión de Edwin Ramírez Díaz se incluyen en la demanda enmendada ya que como herederos responden por las cargas de la herencia según lo dispuesto en Nuestro Ordenamiento Jurídico. Se les apercibe y notifica que, de no expresarse dentro de ese término de 30 días en torno a su aceptación o repudiación de herencia, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. También se les apercibe que luego del transcurso del término de 30 días antes señalado contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación de la presente Orden, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante y, por consiguiente, responden por las cargas de dicha herencia conforme el Artículo 1578 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. 2785. Se ordena a la parte demandante a que, en vista de que La Sucesión de Edwin Ramírez Díaz, se incluye a los herederos conocidos y herederos desconocidos de Edwin Ramírez Díaz denominados Fulano y Fulana y Fulano De Tal como posibles herederos desconocidos de la Sucesión de Edwin Ramírez Díaz, 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. Se le(s) emplaza y requiere que dentro de los sesenta (60) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto excluyendo el día de la publicación de este edicto conteste(n) la demanda radicando el original de la contestación en este Tribunal y enviando copia de la Contestación de la Demanda a las oficinas de CARDONA & MALDONADO LAW OFFICES, P.S.C. ATENCION al Lcdo.

Duncan Maldonado Ejarque, P.O. Box 366221, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936 - 6221; Tel (787) 622-7000, Fax (787) 6257001, Abogado de la Parte Demandante. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva

Robles, Secretaria Regional. blicará en un (1) periódico de Lilliam Ortiz Nieves, Secretaria circulación general una (1) sola Auxiliar. vez. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través LEGAL NOTICE del Sistema Unificado de MaESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO nejo y administración de Casos DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- (SUMAC), al cual puede acceNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA der utilizando la siguiente direcSALA SUPERIOR DE CA- ción electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se GUAS represente por derecho propio, MIDFIRST BANK en cuyo caso deberá presentar Demandante Vs. CITIBANK N.A., ALICE su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal y notifiMATOS LAGOMARSINI, que copia de la Contestación JOHN DOE Y OTROS a la Demanda a las oficinas Demandados del Lcdo. Juan B. Soto Balbás, CIVIL NÚM.: CG2023CV02963 RUA Número: 7340, JUAN B. SOBRE: CANCELACION DE SOTO LAW OFFICES, P.S.C., PAGARÉ HIPOTECARIO EX- 1353 Ave. Luis Vigoreaux, PMB TRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIEN- 270, Guaynabo, PR 00966, TO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS TEL: (787) 273-0611, FAX: UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL (787) 273-1540, E-mail: jsoto@ PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTA- jbsblaw.com, abogado de la DOS UNIDOS. EL ESTADO LI- parte demandante dentro del BRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO término de sesenta (60) días RICO. SS. a partir de la publicación del A: ALICE MATOS Edicto, apercibiendo que de no LAGOMARSINI; JOHN hacerlo así dentro del término DOE, JANE DOE, Y LA indicado, el Tribunal podrá anotar su Rebeldía y dictar SenSOCIEDAD LEGAL DE tencia, concediendo el remedio BIENES GANANCIALES así solicitado sin más citarle ni COMPUESTA POR oírle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, en FajarELLOS; RICHARD do, Puerto Rico, hoy día 31 de DOE DIRECCIÓN enero de 2024. Lisilda Martínez DESCONOCIDA Agosto, Secretaria. Sandra J. Queda usted notificada que el Trinidad Cañuelas, Secretaria demandante de epígrafe ha Auxiliar. radicado en este Tribunal una demanda contra usted como LEGAL NOTICE codemandada, en la que se soESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO licita la cancelación judicial de DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUun pagaré extraviado de fecha NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA 30 de abril de 2001 donde se CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROconstituyó hipoteca en garantía LINA SALA SUPERIOR. de pagaré hipotecario por la ORIENTAL BANK suma principal de $96,200.00, COMO AGENTE DE a favor de Doral Mortgage Corporation, o a su orden, con SERVICIOS DE THE intereses al 7%, anual suscrito MONEY HOUSE, INC. el 30 de abril de 2001 con venDEMANDANTE VS. cimiento el 1 de mayo de 2031, LA SUCESION DE ante el Notario Rey Javier de ANA LUISA JIMENEZ León Colón, según consta de la Escritura Número 29, otorgada BESARES COMPUESTA en San Juan de Puerto Rico, el POR ALFONSO TOLEDO día 30 de abril de 2001 e inscriJIMENEZ; FULANO Y ta al folio #72 del tomo #1448 FULANA DE TAL COMO de Caguas, Finca #11186 insPOSIBLES HEREDEROS cripción 9ma., constituido sobre la siguiente propiedad: URBA- DESCONOCIDOS DE LA NA: Solar radicado en la Urba- SUCESION; CENTRO DE nización Villa del Rey, situada RECAUDACIONES DE

CIVIL NUM.: CA2023CV01664.

SALA: 402. SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA).

EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 4 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en: 120-5 CALLE 64, URBANIZACION VILLA CAROLINA, CAROLINA, PUERTO RICO 00985 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Villa Carolina, situada en el Barrio Hoyo Mulas de Carolina, Puerto Rico, marcado con el número cinco de la Manzana ciento veinte con área de trescientos dieciocho metros cuadrados.

En lindes: por el NORTE, con los Solares números veintiocho y veintinueve, distancia de trece metros con veinticinco centímetros; por el SUR, con la Calle número sesenta y cuatro, distancia de trece metros con veinticinco centímetros; ESTE, con Solar número seis, distancia de veinticuatro metros; y por el OESTE, con el Solar número cuatro, distancia de veinticuatro metros. Sobre dicho solar enclava una casa. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 96 del Tomo 673 de Carolina, bajo la finca número 26,999, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Segunda. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura

24 de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $117,826.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 11 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $78,550.66. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 18 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $58,913.00. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura de hipoteca número 269 otorgada en Carolina, Puerto Rico, el día 6 de abril de 2017, ante el Notario Alejandro J. Mues Ariasy consta presentada al Asiento 2023-048191CR02, bajo la finca 26,999, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Segunda. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido condenando a la parte demandada ascendente a la suma de $107,466.46 por concepto de principal, desde el 1ro de octubre de 2022, más intereses al tipo pactado de 5.00% anual que continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además, la parte co-demandada La Sucesión de Ana Luisa Jiménez Besares, adeuda a la parte demandante los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $11,782.60. Además, la parte co-demandada La Sucesión de Ana Luisa Jiménez Besares se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $11,782.60 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $11,782.60 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. Por razón de dicho incumplimiento, y al amparo del derecho que le confiere el Pagaré, el demandante ha declarado tales sumas vencidas, líquidas y exigibles en su totalidad. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CEN-

TRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 1 de febrero de 2024.

Enrique Verge Hernandez, Alguacil Auxiliar. ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA SALA SUPERIOR.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE

The San Juan Daily Star

Friday, February 9, 2024 PUERTO RICO

DEMANDANTE VS.

RAFAEL TRAVIESO TORRES

DEMANDADO CIVIL NUM.: FCD2016-0629.

SALA: 404./ SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 4 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en: CONDOMINIO CAMPO REAL, APARTAMENTO 312-B, CAROLINA, PUERTO RICO 00987 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento residencial de forma irregular localizada en la tercera planta del edificio “B” del Condominio Campo Real localizado en la carretera 8860 del barrio Martín González del término municipal de Carolina, Puerto Rico, el cual se describe en la escritura matriz de dedicación al Régimen de Propiedad Horizontal con el número, área y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación: Apartamento número 312. Área del apartamento 156.468 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en 19.260 metros lineales, con la pared medianera que lo separa del apartamento 313; por el SUR, en 13.643 metros lineales, con la pared medianera que lo separa del apartamento 311; por el ESTE, en 5.666 metros lineales, con espacio abierto; y por el OESTE, en 6.809 metros lineales, con espacio abierto. Tiene su puerta de entrada y salida por su lado Sur que da al área del pasillo que conduce a las escaleras que le brindan acceso al edificio y además una puerta interior la cual le provee acceso al área del balcón. Consta en el primer nivel de sala, comedor, balcón, cocina, un área de lavandería; por el área de la sala se accesa a un pasillo que le brinda acceso a las siguientes área: un closet, un baño completo de uso general, dos habitaciones dormitorios cada una

con un closet en su interior y una habitación dormitorio principal (master room) en la cual ubican un área de “walk- in closet” y un baño completo. En el área de la sala tiene una escalera en forma de espiral que accesa a un segundo nivel que contiene un área de usos múltiples, un segundo balcón que se accesa por un “sliding door”, un baño completo y un área de azotea descubierta, lo que tiene un área total de 46.333 metros cuadrados que está incluida dentro del área total del apartamento. Le corresponden a este apartamento dos espacios de estacionamiento identificados con los números 123 y 171. A este apartamento le corresponde una participación en los elementos del condominio de .012897%. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 273 del Tomo 1206 de Carolina, bajo la finca número 51,774, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Segunda. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $114,485.51. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 11 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $76,323.68. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 18 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $57,242.76. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura de hipoteca número 242 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 28 de febrero de 2005, por la suma principal de $112,000.00, ante el Notario Luís Enrique Mejías Rivera, inscrita bajo el folio 39 del tomo 167 de Carolina, inscripción cuarta (4ta), modificada en cuanto a su principal que será la cantidad de $106,186.34, en cuanto a su pago mensual de principal e intereses que será la cantidad de $662.52, en cuanto a su vencimiento que será el 1ro de junio de 2043, en cuanto a su tipo mínimo en caso de ejecución que será la cantidad de $106,186.34, y en cuanto a los honorarios de abogados en caso de ejecución que será $10,618.34, según consta de la escritura número 617, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 28 de mayo de 2013, ante

la Notario Magda V. Alsina Figueroa, inscrita bajo el folio 139 del tomo 1370 de Carolina, inscripción sexta (6ta), modificada en cuanto a su principal que será la cantidad de $114,485.51, en cuanto a los pagos mensuales de principal e interese que será la cantidad de $677.23, y con un último pago por la cantidad de $13,479.37, en cuanto a su vencimiento que será el 1ro de junio de 2043, en cuanto a su tipo mínimo en caso de ejecución que será la cantidad de $114,485.51, y en cuanto a los honorarios de abogado en caso de ejecución que serán de $11,448.55, según consta de la escritura número 75, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 26 de enero de 2015, ante el Notario David Toledo David, inscrita bajo el folio 71, del tomo 1527 de Carolina, inscripción séptima (7ma), bajo la finca número 51,774, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Segunda. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido condenando a la parte demandada ascendente a la suma de $113,414.15 por concepto de principal, más intereses al tipo pactado de 5.875% anual desde el primero (1ro) de diciembre de 2015 hasta el primero (1ro.) de agosto de 2015. Dichos intereses 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 equivalentes a $11,448.55. Además, la parte demandada se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $11,200.00, para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $11,200.00 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate.

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

Surge de un estudio de título

que, sobre la finca descrita anteriormente, pesan los gravámenes posteriores a la hipoteca que se ejecuta mediante este procedimiento que se relacionan a continuación. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Doral Bank, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $28,000.00, con intereses al 5.95% anual, vencedero el día 1 de marzo de 2035, constituida mediante la escritura número 243, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 28 de febrero de 2005, ante el notario Luis Enrique Mejías Rivera, e inscrita al folio 139 del tomo 1370 de Carolina, finca número 51,774, inscripción 5ta. Aviso de Demanda del día 7 de septiembre de 2016, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, en el Caso Civil número FCD2016-1005, seguido por el Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Rafael Travieso Torres, por la suma de $22,717.28 y otras sumas, anotado el día 19 de septiembre de 2016, al tomo Karibe de Carolina, finca número 51,774, Anotación B (así surge). Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 5 de febrero de 2024. HECTOR

PEÑA RODRIGUEZ, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR.

residenciales. Finca Número 21224, inscrita al folio 146 del tomo 1059 de Monacillos, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, sección III. La finca antes descrita se encuentra afecta a LEGAL NOTICE los siguientes gravámenes: (i) ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO HIPOTECA constituida en gaDE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- rantía de un pagaré, a favor de NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Banco Bilbao Vizcaya PR, o a CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN su orden, por $270,000.00, al 6.875%, vencedero el 1 de noJUAN viembre de 2035, según Esc. ORIENTAL BANK #459, en San Juan, a 24 de ocParte Demandante V. SUCESION DE JULIO tubre de 2005, ante Joseorlando Mercado Gely, inscrita al foAPARICIO MALDONADO lio 146 del tomo 1059 de COMPUESTA POR JULIO Monacillos, finca #21224, insAPARICIO ROSA, MARTA cripción 4ta. MODIFICADA la IRIS APARICIO LÓPEZ, hipoteca de la inscripción 4ta., SANDRA INÉS APARICIO cancelada parcialmente, para una suma del principal de LÓPEZ, OLIN APARICIO $266,935.00 con intereses al LÓPEZ Y LAVINIA 3.850%, por 36 meses y posteAPARICIO LÓPEZ; LILIAN riormente comenzando el 1 de LÓPEZ ROSICH POR SI Y julio de 2014, hasta su fecha de POR LA CUOTA VIUDAL vencimiento, la cantidad principal del préstamo que devengaUSUFRUCTUARIA; ra interés a razón de 6.875% Parte Demandada. anual, calculado por un periodo CIVIL NÚM.: SJ2021CV08059 de amortización de 444 meses, Sobre: Ejecución de Hipoteca. con pagos mensuales de princiAVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASpal interés de $1,559.71. La TA. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS nueva fecha de vencimiento del DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENpréstamo, el pagaré y de la hiTE DE LOS EE.UU. EL ESTApoteca que lo garantiza será el DO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R. 1 de junio de 2051, fecha en la SS. El que suscribe, Alguacil cual los deudores acuerdan y del Tribunal de Primera Instanse obligan a pagar la cantidad cia, Sala de San Juan, hago residual, sin intereses de saber a la parte demandada, $12,805.43 por concepto de inSUCESIÓN DE JULIO APARItereses, recargos y otros carCIO MALDONADO compuesta gos sin pagar la fecha de efectipor JULIO APARICIO ROSA, vidad de esta transacción.

MARTA IRIS APARICIO LÓDicha cantidad residual es parPEZ, SANDRA INÉS APARIte del principal, no devengará CIO LÓPEZ, OLÍN APARICIO intereses y corresponde al baLÓPEZ Y LAVINIA APARICIO lance que no queda amortizado LÓPEZ; LILIAN LÓPEZ ROmediante los pagos de principal SICH por si y por la cuota viudal e intereses antes indicados. El usufructuaria; que en cumplipagaré antes relacionado y la miento del Mandamiento de hipoteca que lo garantiza, queEjecución de Sentencia expedidan por virtud de la presente do el 5 de diciembre de 2023, escritura de modificación, parpor la Secretaría del Tribunal, cialmente cancelados en la procederé a vender y venderé suma de 4,000.00, según Esc. en pública subasta y al mejor #108, en San Juan, a 19 de postor pagadero en efectivo, mayo de 2011, ante Luis Yamil cheque de gerente o giro posRodriguez San Miguel, inscrita tal, a nombre del Alguacil del al folio 146 del tomo 1059 de Tribunal, la siguiente propiedad Monacillos, finca #21224, inscon dirección física: Calle Abercripción 6ta. MODIFICADA la deen 2000 (#14-A), Urb. Collehipoteca de la inscripción 4ta., ge Ville, Guaynabo PR 00969 y por $270,000.00, los compareque se describe como sigue: cientes han acordado en canURBANA: Solar marcado con el celar parcialmente la hipoteca #14 de la manzana A de la Urcuya principal es de banización College Ville, radi$266,935.85 y se cancela parcada en el Barrio Monacillos del cialmente en $1,217.09 para término municipal de San Juan, una nueva suma de principal de Puerto Rico, con una cabida $265,718.76 comenzando el 1 superficial de 450.00 metros de julio de 2014, por un periodo cuadrados. En linderos: NORde 36 meses, con intereses al TE en una distancia de 15.00 3.850% anual, calculado por un metros, con el solar #12 del bloperiodo de amortización de que A de dicha Urbanización; temporero de 720 meses efectiSUR, en una distancia de 15.00 vo durante un término de 36 metros, con la calle #1 de dicha meses con pagos mensuales Urbanización; ESTE, en una principal e interés de $893.65. distancia de 30.00 metros, con Posteriormente comenzando el el solar #15 del bloque A de di1 de julio de 2014 hasta su fecha Urbanización; OESTE, en cha de vencimiento, la cantidad una distancia de 30.00 metros principal del préstamo devencon el solar #13 del bloque A de gará interés lo hará a razón de dicha Urbanización. Enclava 6.875% anual calculado por un una casa de concreto con fines periodo de amortización de 408

The San Juan Daily Star meses con un pago mensual de $1,570.00. La nueva fecha de vencimiento será el 1 de junio de 2051 fecha en la cual el deudor se obliga a pagar la cantidad residual sin intereses de $14,930.44 por concepto de intereses, recargos y otras cargas sin pagar a la fecha de efectividad de esta transacción.

Dicha cantidad residual es parte del principal, no devengará intereses y corresponde al balance que no queda amortizado mediante los pagos de principal e intereses antes indicados, según Esc. #227, en San Juan, a 30 de mayo de 2014, ante Juan A. Martinez Romero, según Esc. #320 de Acta de Rectificación, en San Juan, el 21 de agosto de 2014, ante Juan A. Martinez Romero, inscrita al folio 146 del tomo 1059 de Monacillos, finca #21224, inscripción 7ma. MODIFICADA nuevamente la hipoteca de la inscripción 4ta., en cuanto al principal que será por $268,020.24, con intereses al 6.875%, desde el 1 de octubre de 2020 y vencedero el 1 de mayo de 2051, según Esc. #179, en San Juan, a 31 de agosto de 2017, ante Juan A. Martinez Romero, inscrita al Sistema Karibe de Monacillos, finca #21224, inscripción 8va., el 9 de abril de 2018. MODIFICADA nuevamente la hipoteca de la inscripción 4ta., en cuanto al principal que se amplía para un nuevo principal de $269,555.62, con intereses al 3.75%, desde el 1 de octubre de 2020 hasta el 1 de septiembre de 2030 y luego al 6.75% desde el 1 de octubre de 2030 hasta vencer y vencedero el 1 de mayo de 2051, según Esc. #78, en San Juan, a 27 de agosto de 2020, ante Luis Y. Rodriguez San Miguel, inscrita al Sistema Karibe de Monacillos, finca #21224, inscripción 9na. y última. 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 dictada el 4 de octubre de 2023, mediante la cual se determinó que la deuda esta vencida, de una cantidad ascendiente a $268,226.16 de principal, con intereses al 3.75% anual desde el día 1 de marzo de 2021; cargos por demora mensuales; las cantidades debidas de contribuciones e impuestos, primas de seguro contra riesgo y seguro de hipoteca hasta su completo pago; $27,000.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados en caso de reclamación judicial; así como cualquier otra suma que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca. Dichas sumas están vencidas, son líquidas y exigibles. La PRIMERA SUBASTA será celebrada el día 4 de marzo de 2024, a las 9:00 de la mañana, en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico. Servirá de

tipo mínimo para la misma, la cantidad de $269,555.62 sin admitirse oferta inferior. De no haber remate ni adjudicación, celebraré SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 11 de marzo de 2024, a las 9:00 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, $179,703.75. Si no hubiese remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, celebraré TERCERA SUBASTA el día 18 de marzo de 2024, a las 9:00 de la mañana, en el mismo lugar en la que regirá como tipo mínimo, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $134,777.81. 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 estos, sin destinarse a su extinción cualquier parte del remanente del precio de licitación. La propiedad para ejecutar será adquirida 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

Friday, February 9, 2024 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 30 de enero de 2024. Pedro Hieye González, ALGUACIL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SAN JUAN.

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

ORIENTAL BANK Demandante vs.

LUIS MANUEL CRUZ CRUZ, también conocido como LUIS CRUZ CRUZ

Demandado CIVIL NÚM: AR2023CV02070 (506). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO (Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria). EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: Público en General A: LUIS MANUEL CRUZ CRUZ, también conocido como LUIS CRUZ CRUZ

Yo, ANGEL DE JESUS TORRES PEREZ, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 4 de marzo de 2024 a las 11:00 de la mañana en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Arecibo, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Arecibo durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una segunda subasta para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 11 de marzo de 2024, a

las 11:00 de la mañana y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 18 de marzo de 2024, a las 11:00 de la mañana en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: RUSTICA: Predio número Dos (2). Solar sito en el BARRIO FACTOR del término municipal de Arecibo, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de MIL TREINTA Y TRES PUNTO DOS CUATRO SEIS CERO (1,033.2460)METROS CUADRADOS. En lindes por el NORTE, en cuarenta y siete punto dos cinco siete nueve (47.2579) metros, con calle; por el SUR, en cuarenta y siete punto cuatro dos uno cinco (47.4215) metros, con solar de Juan Cruz; por el ESTE, en veintiuno punto nueve nueve uno ocho (21.9918) metros, con terrenos de la Sucesión Casimiro Rivera; y por el OESTE, en veintiuno punto nueve siete dos cuatro (21.9724) metros, con solar número Uno (1). Edificación: Estructura construida de hormigón y bloques, de una planta, dedicada a vivienda, compuesta de tres cuartos dormitorios, dos baños, sala, cocina, comedor, balcón y marquesina. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al Sistema Karibe de Arecibo, Sección Primera, finca número 43,850, inscripción quinta. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Barrio Factor I, Carretera 683, Km. 1.1 Int., Lote número 2, Arecibo, Puerto Rico. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $78,890.70 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 3.50% anual, desde el día 1ro. de mayo de 2023, hasta su completo pago, más recargos acumulados, más la cantidad de $8,484.80, estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, así como cualquier otra suma estipulada en el contrato de préstamo, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será la suma de $84,848.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $56,565.33 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $42,424.00. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta

y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a 1 de febrero de 2024. ANGEL DE JESUS TORRES PEREZ, ALGUACIL TRIBUNAL SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO.

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

FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs.

SUCESIÓN DE RAFAEL ZAVALA APONTE compuesta por LUIS ZAVALA; HÉCTOR OMAR ZAVALA; RAFAEL ZAVALA; FULANO y SUTANO DE TAL como posibles herederos desconocidos; CRIM; CARMEN LYDIA DIAZ VELÁZQUEZ

Parte Demandada CIVIL NÚM. CG2022CV02607 SALÓN NÚM. (701) SOBRE: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA Y COBRO DE DINERO. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R. SS

A: SUCESIÓN DE RAFAEL ZAVALA APONTE compuesta por LUIS ZAVALA; HÉCTOR OMAR ZAVALA; RAFAEL ZAVALA; FULANO y SUTANO DE TAL como posibles herederos desconocidos; CRIM; CARMEN LYDIA DIAZ VELÁZQUEZ: Y AL PUBLICO EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil que suscribe, certifica y hace constar que en cumplimiento de Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América.

Todo pago recibido por el (la) Alguacil por concepto de subastas será en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del (de la) Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Todo derecho, título, participación e interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cual-

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quiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número trescientos veintiocho (328) en el Plano de Inscripción de la Urbanización Borinquen Valley, en el término municipal de Caguas, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de trescientos punto cero cero (300.00) metros cuadrados. En lindes: por el NORTE, en doce punto cero cero (12.00) metros, con el solar número trescientos dieciocho (318); por el SUR, en doce punto cero cero (12.00 metros, con la Calle Yunta; por el ESTE, en veinticinco punto cero cero (25.00) metros, con el solar número trescientos veintisiete (327); y por el OESTE, en veinticinco punto cero cero (25.00) metros con el solar número trescientos veintinueve (329). En este solar está enclavada una residencia construida de hormigón armado de una planta que consta de tres (3) dormitorios, un (1) baño, salacomedor y cocina, laundry, terraza descubierta y marquesina sencilla. Este solar está afectado por una servidumbre a favor de la Puerto Rico Telephone Comany que discurre por toda su colindancia con la calle Yunta con un ancho de uno punto quinientos veinticuatro (1.524) metros. En este solar hay construida una verja de cuatro pies (4’) de alto en su colindancia con el solar número trescientos dieciocho (318). Consta inscrita al folio 208 del tomo 1688 de Caguas, finca número #57,437.

Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Primera de Caguas. La propiedad objeto de ejecución está localizada en la siguiente dirección: Urbanización Borinquen Valley 2, 328 Calle Yunta, Caguas, P.R. 00727. Se informa que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravamen posterior, una vez sea otorgada la escritura de venta judicial y obtenida la Orden y Mandamiento de cancelación de gravamen posterior. (Art. 51, Ley 210-2015). En relación a la finca a subastarse, se establece como tipo mínimo de licitación en la Primera Subasta la suma de $139,500.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca #204, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 3 de octubre de 2012, ante el notario Luis E. Andujar Moreno, e inscrita al folio 132 del tomo 1765 de Caguas, finca número 57,437, inscripción 7ma. La PRIMERA SUBASTA, se llevará a cabo el día 5 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mis oficinas sitas en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, el tipo mínimo para la primera subasta es la suma de $139,500.00. Si la primera subasta del inmueble no produjere remate, ni adjudicación,

se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 12 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo sitio y servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes del precio pactada para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $93,000.00.

Si la segunda subasta no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 19 DE MARZO DE 2024 A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar y regirá como tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta la mitad del precio pactado para la primera, o sea, la suma de $69,750.00.

Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo, para con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: La suma de $116,942.28, con intereses a 3.50% anual, desde el 1ro de abril de 2020, hasta el presente y los que se continúen acumulando hasta su total y completo pago, más los cargos por demora que se corresponden a los plazos atrasados desde la fecha anteriormente indicada a razón de la tasa pactada de 4% de cualquier pago que éste en mora por más de quince (15) días desde la fecha de su vencimiento, más una suma equivalente a $13,950.00, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otra suma que resulte por cualesquiera otros adelantos que se hayan hecho la demandante, en virtud de las disposiciones de la escritura de hipoteca y del Pagaré hipotecario. Para más información, a las personas interesadas se les notifica que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal, durante las horas laborables. Este EDICTO DE SUBASTA, se publicará en los lugares públicos correspondientes y en un periódico de circulación general en la jurisdicción de Puerto Rico. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los referentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes.

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

Expedido en Caguas, Puerto Rico, a 31 de enero de 2024. Ángel Gómez Gómez, Alguacil Placa 593.

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

COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CRÉDITO DR. MANUEL ZENO GANDÍA Demandante Vs.

ANTONIO PÉREZ GANDÍA Y SU ESPOSA AMPARO MOLINA VALENTÍN Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado Civil Núm.: AR2023CV02109.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: ANTONIO PÉREZ GANDÍA Y SU ESPOSA AMPARO MOLINA VALENTÍN Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS O SEA, LA PARTE DEMANDADA ARRIBA MENCIONADA.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que presente al Tribunal su alegación responsiva a la demanda. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en un término de 30 días 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. 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. Además, deberá notificar su contestación a la: LCDA. ANA M. CAMPOS GAVITO RUA 7710 EDIFICIO DR. MANUEL ZENO GANDÍA 353 AVE. DOMENECH, SUITE 302 SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 00918-3753 TELÉFONO: (787) 751-5733 EMAIL: anamcampos1@yahoo.com abogada de la parte demandante cuya dirección es la que se deja indicada. Se le apercibe que, en caso de no hacerlo así, podrá dictarse sentencia en rebeldía en contra suya, conce-

26 diendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda. Extendido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy 24 de enero de 2024. VIVIAN Y. FRESSE GONZÁLEZ, SECRETARIA. JACQUELYNE GONZÁLEZ QUINTANA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

LOPEZ VARGAS

Demandado(a) CASO NÚM.: CG2023CV01934 (SALÓN 704) SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. EDWIN OMAR SERRANO PEÑA EDWIN.SERRANO@ORF-LAW.COM KEVIN SÁNCHEZ CAMPANERO KEVIN.SANCHEZ@ORF-LAW.COM

A: ANGEL N.

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO LOPEZ VARGAS (Nombre de las partes que se le DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUnotifican la sentencia por edicto) NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CA- EL SECRETARIO(A) que susGUAS SALA SUPERIOR DE cribe le notifica a usted que el 26 DE ENERO DE 2024, este CAGUAS Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, ISLAND PORTFOLIO Sentencia Parcial o Resolución SERVICES, LLC COMO en este caso, que ha sido debiAGENTE DE ACE ONE damente registrada y archivada FUNDING, LLC en autos donde podrá usted enDemandante V. terarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta noCHRISTIAN MALDONADO CORREA tificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulaDemandado(a) ción general en la Isla de PuerKEVIN SÁNCHEZ CAMPANERO KEVIN.SANCHEZ@ORF-LAW.COM to Rico, dentro de los 10 días CASO NÚM.: CG2023CV01982 siguientes a su notificación. Y, SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO siendo o representando usted - ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN una parte en el procedimiento DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o ReA: CHRISTIAN de la cual puede estaMALDONADO CORREA solución, blecerse recurso de revisión o (Nombre de las partes que se le apelación dentro del término de notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que sus- 30 días contados a partir de la cribe le notifica a usted que el publicación por edicto de esta 26 DE ENERO DE 2024, este notificación, dirijo a usted esta Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, notificación que se considerará Sentencia Parcial o Resolución hecha en la fecha de la publien este caso, que ha sido debi- cación de este edicto. Copia de damente registrada y archivada esta notificación ha sido archien autos donde podrá usted en- vada en los autos de este caso, terarse detalladamente de los con fecha de 2 de febrero de términos de la misma. Esta no- 2024. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, tificación se publicará una sola el 2 de febrero de 2024. Lisilda vez en un periódico de circula- Martínez Agosto, Secretaria. F/ ción general en la Isla de Puer- Ana H. Lugo Muñoz, Secretaria to Rico, dentro de los 10 días Auxiliar del Tribunal.

The San Juan Daily Star

Friday, February 9, 2024

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 23 DE ENERO DE 2024, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 1 de febrero de 2024. En Utuado, Puerto Rico, el 1 de febrero de 2024. Diane Álvarez Villanueva, Secretaria.

F/Mariela Quiles Borrero, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante vs.

SUCESION DE JOSE EFRAIN CONCEPCION siguientes a su notificación. Y, LEGAL NOTICE HERNANDEZ, también siendo o representando usted ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO una parte en el procedimiento conocido como JOSE sujeta a los términos de la Sen- DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUE. CONCEPCION tencia, Sentencia Parcial o Re- NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANHERNANDEZ, compuesta· CIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE solución, de la cual puede estapor sus hijos EFRAIN blecerse recurso de revisión o UTUADO SALA SUPERIOR CONCEPCION VALENTIN, apelación dentro del término de DE UTUADO MARIA ALTAGRACIA 30 días contados a partir de la JUSTO CONCEPCION publicación por edicto de esta OQUENDO MATIAS VALENTIN y FRANCISCO notificación, dirijo a usted esta Demandante V. JAVIER CONCEPCION notificación que se considerará EXPARTE VALENTIN; FULANO DE hecha en la fecha de la publiDemandado(a) TAL, como herederos cación de este edicto. Copia de CASO NÚM.: UT2022CV00108 esta notificación ha sido archidesconocidos con SOBRE: EXPEDIENTE DE vada en los autos de este caso, posible interés; SARAH DOMINIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE con fecha de 2 de febrero de SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. ENEIDA VALENTIN 2024. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, PERSONAS IGNORADAS FUENTES, por sí y en el 2 de febrero de 2024. Lisilda O DESCONOCIDAS cuanto a la cuota viudal Martínez Agosto, Secretaria. F/ A QUIENES PUDIERA Ana H. Lugo Muñoz, Secretaria usufructuaria; CENTRO Auxiliar del Tribunal.

PERJUDICAR LA DE RECAUDACION DE INSCRIPCION DEL INGRESOS MUNICIPALES LEGAL NOTICE DOMINIO A FAVOR DE LA (CRIM) ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO Demandados PARTE PETICIONARIA DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA EN EL REGISTRO DE LA CIVIL NÜM. CM2023CV00849.

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CA- PROPIEDAD DE LA FINCA SOBRE: COBRO DE DINEGUAS SALA SUPERIOR DE QUE MAS ADELANTE SE RO (Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria). EMPLACAGUAS DESCRIBIRA Y A TODA ZAMIENTO POR EDICTO E ISLAND PORTFOLIO PERSONA EN GENERAL INTERPELACION. ESTADOS SERVICES, LLC COMO UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL QUE CON DERECHO AGENTE DE ACE ONE PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTAPARA ELLO DESEE DOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIFUNDING, LLC OPONERSE A ESTE BRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO Demandante V. EXPEDIENTE. RICO. ANGEL N.

concrete roof is located on the the following liens: By its origin: PARTNERSHIP, S.E.; A: FULANO DE TAL, como en los casos al amparo de la Ley Núm. 57-2023, titulada Ley JAGUAR OF PUERTO lot measuring 47.45 meters on Free of Charges. By itself: herederos desconocidos its North side bordering the MORTGAGE: in guarantee of para la Prevención del MaltraRICO, INC., NOW EURO south edge of the official align- note in favor of Westernbank de la SUCESION DE JOSE to, Preservación de la Unidad EFRAIN CONCEPCION Familiar y para la Seguridad, BOUTIQUE, INC.; JAIME ment of the Las Palmas Ave- Puerto Rico, or to its order, in HERNANDEZ, también Bienestar y Protección de los IVÁN DEL VALLE CRUZ, nue. Boundaries: NORTH, with the principal amount of conocido como JOSE Menores, entre los remedios AIDA VIRGINIA TORRES the southern edge of the official $1,900,000.00 responding for alignment of the Las Palmas $1,400,000.00, with a yearly inque el Tribunal podrá conceder ESTASEN, AND THE E. CONCEPCION Avenue, State Road #35 (for- terest rate of 10.99%, due on se incluyen la ubicación permaLEGAL CONJUGAL HERNANDEZ merly Rossy Avenue) measure- presentation, as per deed no. nente de un (una) menor fuera POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO de su hogar, el inicio de proce- PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ments up to the intersection 233, executed in Guaynabo, se le notifica que se ha radicado with the East edge of the official Puerto Rico, on March 8, 2004, THEM sos para la privación de patria en esta Secretaría por la parte demandante, Demanda sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria en la que se alega adeuda la suma principal de $38,895.47, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 8. 00% anual, desde el día 1ro de junio de 2021, hasta su completo pago, más recargos acumulados, más la cantidad de $7,385.00 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, así como cualquier otra suma estipulada en el contrato de préstamo, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. La propiedad hipotecada a ser vendida en publica subasta es: RUSTICA: Solar número Tres (3). Radicado en el BARRIO CIÉNAGA del Municipio de Camuy, Puerto Rico. Tiene una cabida de QUINIENTOS PUNTO CERO CERO (500.00) METROS CUADRADOS. Linda: NORTE, remanente de la finca principal; SUR, terrenos dedicados a uso público; ESTE, remanente de la finca principal; OESTE, solar numero Dos (2) de Julio Emilio Fuentes Rivera. Enclava casa dedicada a vivienda. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 95 del tomo 309 de Camuy, Registro de la Propiedad de Arecibo, Sección Segunda, finca número 9,952, inscripción secta. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido publicado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día de la 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: https://www.poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunalelectronico/, salvo que el caso sea un expediente fisico o que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal y notificar copia de la misma al (a la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante o a ésta, de no tener representación legal. 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.

Además, se le apercibe que,

potestad, y cualquier otra medida en el mejor interés del (de la) menor. (Artículo 33, incisos by f de la Ley Núm. 57-2023).

Se le advierte de su derecho a comparecer acompañado(a) de abogado(a) en los casos que proceda. La información del (de la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante es la siguiente: Lcdo. Baldomero A. Collazo Torres RUA Núm. 10,189 Bufete Collazo & Surillo, LLC P.O. Box 11550 San Juan, P.R. 00922-1550 Tel. (787) 625-9999 Fax (787) 705-7387 E-mail: bcollazo@lawpr.com Se le ordena a los herederos que en el término de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación, ACEPTEN o REPUDIEN la participación que les corresponda en la herencia del causante dentro del plazo de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la notificación de la presente orden. Se le apercibe que de no expresarse en dicho término se tendrá por aceptada. Se le notifica también por la presente que la parte demandante habrá de presentar para su anotación al Registrador de la Propiedad del Distrito en que está situada la propiedad objeto de este pleito, un aviso de estar pendiente esta acción. Para publicarse una (1) vez en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico a los efectos de que se presente cualquier oposición a la Demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del Edicto. La parte demandante dirigirá por correo certificado con acuse de recibo dentro de los diez (10) días siguientes a la publicación del emplazamiento por edicto, una copia de este emplazamiento y de la demanda a la última dirección conocida de los demandados, excepto los demandados desconocidos de no existir dirección alguna. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto que firmo y sello en Camuy, Puerto Rico, hoy 23 de enero de 2024.

VIVIAN Y FRESSE GONZÁLEZ, Sec Regional. ISAMAR RODRIGUEZ GONZALEZ, Sec Tribunal II.

Defendants Civil No. 16-02772 (ADC) COLLECTION OF MONIES AND FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGES AND OTHER COLLATERAL. NOTICE OF SALES.

TO: DEFENDANTS AND GENERAL PUBLIC

On October 14, 2020, the Court entered Judgment by Consent in favor of plaintiff, Lab Products Realty and Management, LLC (“Lab Products”) and against defendants, Jaguar Limited Partnership, S.E.; Jaime Iván del Valle Cruz, Aida Virginia Torres Estasen and the conjugal partnership composed between them (hereinafter, collectively, the “Defendants”). As of July 31, 2020, Defendants owe the amount of $1,624,146.87, in connection with the Restructured Loan I (as defined in the Judgment by Consent) itemized as follows: Principal $1,044,912.87.

Interest $262,169.60.

Late Fees $20,995.93. Default Interest $82,954.47. Legal Expenses $190,000,00.

Insurance $20,501.00. Inspection Costs $624.00. Valuation Expenses $1,989.00. Total: $1,624,146.87 As of July 31, 2020, Defendants owe the amount of $1,438,184.29, in connection with the Loan II (as defined in the Judgment by Consent) itemized as follows: Principal $906,473.11.

Interest $341,653.09.

Late Fees $18,094.20. Default Interest $71,963.89. Legal Expenses $100,000.00.

Total: $1,438,184.29 Pursuant to the Judgment, the Order of Execution of Judgment, and the Writ of Execution of Judgment, the undersigned appointed Special Master was ordered to sell, at public auction for U.S. currency in cash or certified check, without appraisement or right to redemption, to the highest bidder, at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150 - Federal Building, Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, or at any other place designated by said Clerk, to cover the sums adjudged to be paid to the Plaintiff, the following properLEGAL NOTICE ties: A. PROPERTY 20,685: IN THE UNITED STATES DISURBAN: Lot with an area of one TRICT COURT FOR THE DISthousand six hundred forty-four TRICT OF PUERTO RICO (1.644.00) square meters, locaLAB PRODUCTS REALTY ted in the Santurce South Ward AND MANAGEMENT LLC of the Municipality of San Juan, Plaintiff V. Puerto Rico. A one-story concrete warehouse building with JAGUAR LIMITED

alignment of Roberto H. Todd Avenue (State Road #2). Following said line the building describes in its Northeastern corner an arch that extends in a Southern direction, following the Eastern edge of Roberto H. Todd Avenue (currently State Road #2) with which it adjoins the building described, on its West side which [is] its front at 25.45 meters, measures from the intersection to the South edge of the official alignment of the Las Palmas Avenue, on the South with Progreso Street, on the East with the new parcel “F” of Misceláneas Wholesale. Inc. Property number twenty thousand six hundred eighty-five (20,685), recorded at page two hundred eighty-three (283) of tome three hundred twentyeight (328) of Santurce South, Registry of Property of Puerto Rico, Section First of San Juan.

URBANA: Con una cabida de MIL SEISCIENTOS CUARENTA Y CUATRO METROS CUADRADOS (1,644.00 m/c). Edificio almacén de hormigón con techo del mismo material de una sola planta ubicado en el Barrio de Santurce Sur, del término municipal de San Juan, Puerto Rico, el edificio mide cuarenta y siete punto cuarenta y cinco metros cuadrados (47.45 m/c) por su lado NORTE, en lindes con la orilla Sur de la alineación oficial de la Avenida Las Palmas (Carretera Estatal número treinta y cinco (35) antes Avenida Rossy) medidas hasta la intersección con la orilla ESTE, de la alineación oficial de la Avenida Roberto H. Todd (Carretera Estatal número dos (2). Siguiendo dicha línea el edificio describe en su esquina NOROESTE, un arco que se prolonga en dirección SUR, siguiendo la orilla ESTE, de la Ave da Roberto H. Todd (Actualmente carretera número dos) con la cual colinda el edificio descrito, por su lado OESTE, que es su frente en veinticinco punto cuarenta y cinco metros (25.45m) medidos desde la intersección con la orilla Sur de la alineación oficial de la Avenida Las Palmas; por el SUR, con la Calle Progreso; por el ESTE, con la nueva parcela “F” de misceláneas Wholesales, Inc. Finca número 20,685, inscrita al folio 283 del tomo 328 de Santurce Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Primera de San Juan.

Physical Address: #961 Roberto H. Todd Ave., Santurce, San Juan, PR Property is subject to

before Notary Public Adrián J. Hilera Torres, recorded at page 93 of volume 377 of Santurce Sur, property #20,685, 3rd inscription. MORTGAGE MODIFICATION: The object of this modification is the Mortgage for $1,900,000.00, which arises from the 3rd inscription, as per deed #14, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on January 11, 2005, before Notary Public Francisco Biaggi Landrón, recorded at page 93 of volume 377 of Santurce Sur, Property #20,685, 4th inscription. COMPLAINT ANNOTATION: The subject of this entry is the Mortgage in favor of Westernbank de Puerto Rico, for the sum of $1,900,000.00, modified to $1,400,000.00, which arises from registration #3. Plaintiff: Triangle Cayman Assets Company 2, LLC; Defendant: Jaguar Limited Partnership, Amount Owed $1,400,000.00, by way of principal plus interest, as claimed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, in Civil Case #3:16-CV02772-ADC, on October 5, 2016, and recorded in volume Karibe, annotation A, dated June 15, 2018. B. PROPERTY 20,681: URBAN: Lot at the South Section of Santurce of the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with an area of seven hundred seventy-six point zero, nine, five, nine (776.0959) square meters. Bordering on the NORTH, with lot of Luis de la Cruz y Santiago, that is, the principal property from which it was segregated, today Palma Street; on the SOUTH, with Progreso Street; on the EAST, with Figueroa Street; and on the WEST, with lands of parcel “F” of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and Misceláneas Wholesales. A one-story warehouse building with mezzanine is located thereon for commercial use, built of steel beams and concrete blocks with the following boundaries: on the NORTH, fifty-eight inches (58”), or its equivalent, seventeen point six hundred seventy-eight (17.678) meters; on the SOUTH, sixtythree feet eight (63’8”), or its equivalent nineteen point four hundred six (19.406) meters; on the EAST, at fifty-eight feet (58’), or its equivalent, seventeen point six hundred seventyeight (17.678) meters; and on the WEST, at sixty feet one inch (60’1”), or its equivalent, eighteen point three hundred thirteen (18.313) meters. For an area, construction area of three

The San Juan Daily Star thousand five hundred eightyeight point nine (3,588.9) square feet, or its equivalent, three hundred thirty-three point seven hundred fifty-three (333.753) square meters. Property number twenty thousand six hundred eighty-one (20,681), recorded at page two hundred sixty-three (263) of tome three hundred twenty-eight (328) of Santurce South, Registry of Property of Puerto Rico, Section First of San Juan. Physical Address: #851 Roberto H. Todd Ave., Santurce, San Juan, PR. Property is subject to the following liens: By its origin: Free of Charges. By itself: MORTGAGE: in guarantee of note in favor of Westernbank Puerto Rico, or to its order, in the principal amount of $1,000,000.00 responding this property for $600,000.00, with a yearly interest rate of 5.99% or the result of adding 1% prime rate, according to the established by the time to time by Citibank, N.A. in the City of New York, whichever is the greatest, until presentation or paid in full, if there is a delay interest will be added at a two percent (2%), due on presentation, as per deed no. 363, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 12, 2005, before Notary Public Juan Carlos Ortega Torres, recorded at page 202 of volume 391, of Santurce Sur property #20,681, 3rd inscription. COMPLAINT ANNOTATION: The Mortgage in favor of Westernbank Puerto Rico is the object of this annotation, in the amount of $1,000,000.00, that arises from 3rd inscription.

Plaintiff: Triangle Cayman Asset Company 2 LLC; Defendant: Jaguar Limited Partnership, Amount Due $600,000.00, recorded on volume Karibe of Santurce Sur, Property #20,681, annotation A, dated June 15, 2018. URBANA: Solar en la Sección Sur de Santurce de la Ciudad de San Juan, Puerto Rico, con un área de setecientos setenta y seis punto cero, nueve, cinco, nueve (776.0959) metros cuadrados.

Colinda por el NORTE, con el solar de Luis de la Cruz y Santiago, o sea, la finca principal de la cual fue segregada, hoy Calle Palma; por el SUR, con la Calle Progreso; por el ESTE, con la Calle Figueroa; y por el OESTE, con terrenos de la Parcela “F” de la Autoridad de los Puertos de Puerto Rico y Misceláneas Wholesales. Enclava en dicho solar un edificio almacén de una sola planta con mezzannine para uso comercial, construido de vigas de acero y bloques de hormigón con las siguientes colindancias: por el NORTE cincuenta y ocho pulgadas (58”), o su equivalente, diecisiete punto seiscientos setenta y ocho (17.678) metros; por el SUR, sesenta y tres pies ocho pulgadas (63’8”), o su equivalente diecinueve punto cuatrocientos seis (19.406) me-

tros; por el ESTE, en cincuenta y ocho pies (58’), o su equivalente, diecisiete punto seiscientos setenta y ocho (17.678) metros; y por el OESTE, en sesenta pies una pulgada (60’ 1”), o su equivalente, dieciocho punto trescientos trece (18.313) metros. Para una cabida, área de construcción de tres mil quinientos ochenta y ocho punto nueve (3,588.9) pies cuadrados, o su equivalente, trescientos treinta y tres punto setecientos cincuenta y tres (333.753) metros cuadrados. Finca número 20,681, inscrita al folio 63 del tomo 328 de Santurce Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Primera de San Juan. C. PROPERTY 20,679 URBAN: Lot in the South Section of Santurce of the City of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with an area of five hundred fifty-five point zero, six, five, five (555.0655) square meters. It borders on the NORTH, bordering the South edge of the official alignment of Insular Road Number Thirty-five (35) called Rossy Avenue, today Palma Street; on the SOUTH, with Progreso Street; on the EAST, with the new property grouped in deed number Three (3) belonging to Enrique Pujals Ramírez; and on the WEST, with lands belonging to Bavaria Motors Services, Inc. and lot “E” of the Ports Authority. A onestory concrete warehouse building with a concrete roof is located thereon, measuring fifteen point seventy-five (15.75) meters of front on the North; at thirteen (13.00) meters on the South at twenty-one point ninety (21.90) meters on the West, and at twenty-two point thirty-five (22.35) meters on the East. With a surface area of three hundred thirty-seven point twenty-eight (337.28) square meters. Property number twenty thousand six hundred seventy-nine (20,679), recorded at page two hundred fifty-two (252) of tome three hundred twenty-eight (328) of Santurce South, Registry of Property of Puerto Rico, Section First of San Juan. URBANA: Solar en la Sección Sur de Santurce de la Ciudad de San Juan, Puerto Rico, con un área de quinientos cincuenta y cinco punto cero, seis, cinco, cinco (555.0655) metros cuadrados.

Colinda por el NORTE, en lindes por la orilla Sur de la alineación oficial de la Carretera Insular Número Treinta y Cinco (35) denominada Avenida Rossy, hoy Calle Palma; por el SUR con la Calle Progreso; por el ESTE con la nueva finca agrupada en la escritura número Tres (3) perteneciente a Enrique Pujals Ramírez; y por el OESTE con terrenos pertenecientes a Bavaria Motors Services, Inc. y el lote “E” de la Autoridad de los Puertos. Enclava un edificio almacén de concreto de techo del mismo material de

Friday, February 9, 2024 una sola planta que mide quince punto setenta y cinco (15.75) metros de frente por el Norte; en trece (13.00) metros por el SUR, en veintiuno punto noventa (21.90) metros por el Oeste y en veintidós punto treinta y cinco (22.35) metros por el Este.

Con una cabida superficial de trescientos treinta y siete punto veintiocho (337.28) metros cuadrados. Finca número 20,679, inscrita al folio 252 del tomo 328 de Santurce Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Primera de San Juan.

Physical Address: #851 Roberto H. Todd Ave., Santurce, San Juan, PR. Property is subject to the following liens: By its origin: Free of Charges. By itself: MORTGAGE: in guarantee of note in favor of Westernbank Puerto Rico, or to its order, in the principal amount of $1,000,000.00 this property responds for $400,000.00, with a yearly interest rate of 5.99% or the result of adding 1% prime rate, according to the established by the time to time by Citibank, N.A. in the City of New York, whichever is the greatest, until presentation or paid in full, if there is a delay interest will be added at a two percent (2%), due on presentation, as per deed No. 363, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on May 12, 2005, before Notary Public Juan Carlos Ortega Torres, recorded at page 65 of volume 391, of Santurce Sur, property #20,679, 3rd inscription. COMPLAINT ANNOTATION: The Mortgage in favor of Westernbank Puerto Rico is the object of this annotation, in the amount of $1,000,000.00 that arises from 3rd inscription. Plaintiff: Triangle Cayman Asset Company 2 LLC; Defendant: Jaguar Limited Partnership, Amount Due $400,000.00, recorded at volume Karibe, annotation A, dated June 15, 2018. Potential bidders are advised to verify the extent of preferential liens with the holders thereof. It shall be understood that each bidder accepts as sufficient the title and that prior and preferential liens to the one being foreclosed upon, including but not limited to any property tax, liens, (express, tacit, implied or legal), shall continue in effect. It being understood further that the successful bidder accepts them and is subrogated in the responsibility for the same and that the bid price shall not be applied toward their cancellation. The liens executed are over the properties, and for the purpose of the first judicial sales the minimum bid amount is as follows: Property Number 20,685 The amount of $1,400,000.00, as set forth in the mortgage deed, shall serve as the minimum bidding amount for the first public sale. Should the first public sale fail to produce an award or adjudication, two-thirds of the aforementio-

ned amount or $933,333.33 shall serve as the minimum bidding amount for the second public sale. Should there be no award or adjudication at the second public sale, the minimum bidding amount for the third public sale shall be $700,000.00.

Property Number 20,681The amount of $600,000.00, as set forth in the mortgage deed, shall serve as the minimum bidding amount for the first public sale. Should the first public sale fail to produce an award or adjudication, two-thirds of the aforementioned amount or $400,000.00 shall serve as the minimum bidding amount for the second public sale. Should there be no award or adjudication at the second public sale, the minimum bidding amount for the third public sale shall be $300,000.00. Property Number 20,679 The amount of $400,000.00, as set forth in the mortgage deed, shall serve as the minimum bidding amount for the first public sale. Should the first public sale fail to produce an award or adjudication, two-thirds of the aforementioned amount or $266,666.67 shall serve as the minimum bidding amount for the second public sale. Should there be no award or adjudication at the second public sale, the minimum bidding amount for the third public sale shall be $200,000.00.

Said sales to be conducted by the appointed Special Master are subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the deed of conveyance and possession to the properties may be executed and delivered after the judicial sales.

Upon confirmation of the sales, an order shall be issued canceling all junior liens. THEREFORE, public notice is hereby given that the appointed Special Master pursuant to the provisions of the Judgment, the Order of Execution of Judgment, and the Writ of Execution of Judgment, on the 3rd day of April, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. for Property Number 20,685; at 10:45 a.m. for Property Number 20,681; at 11:00 a.m. for Property Number 20,679, in the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150 - Federal Building, Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, will sell at public auction to the highest bidder the properties described herein, the proceeds of said sales to be applied in the manner and form provided by the Court’s Judgment. Should the first judicial sales set hereinabove be unsuccessful, the second judicial sales of the properties described in this Notice will be held on the 10th day of April, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. for Property Number 20,685; at 10:45 a.m. for Property Number 20,681; at 11:00 a.m. for Property Number

27

20,679, in the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150 - Federal Building, Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

Should the second judicial sales set hereinabove be unsuccessful, the third judicial sales of the properties described in this Notice will be held on the 17th day of April, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. for Property Number 20,685; at 10:45 a.m. for Property Number 20,681; at 11:00 a.m. for Property Number 20,679, in the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150 - Federal Building, Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

The records of the captioned case and of these proceedings may be examined by the parties at the Clerk’s Office of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150, Federal Building, 150 Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 29th day of January, 2024. Aguedo De La Torres, Appointed Special Master.

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, Kenmuel J. Ruiz Lopez cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936 8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kenmuel.ruiz@ orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 20 de diciembre de 2023. Lcda. Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria Regional. Militza Mercado Rivera, Secretaria Servicios a Sala.

LEGAL NOTICE

Parte Demandante Vs.

Parte Demandada CIVIL NÚM. NJ2023CV00132 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: LESLIE A NIEVES SANTIAGO • BO LOMAS GARCIA CARR 165 KM 1.8 INT, NARANJITO PR 00719 • HC 71 BOX 2715, NARANJITO PR 007199404.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www. poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunalelectronico, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido

edicto, se le estará enviando a usted por correo certificado con acuse de recibo, una copia del emplazamiento y de la demanda presentada al lugar de su última dirección conocida: Sector Abras San Francisco, 209 Calle San Lucas, Arecibo, PR 00612-8907. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del tribunal, en Arecibo, Puerto Rico, LEGAL NOTICE hoy día 23 de enero de 2024.

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO VIVIAN Y. FRESSE GONZÁDE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- LEZ, SECRETARIA. PILAR H. NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA MERCADO GONZÁLEZ, SUBSECRETARIA. SALA DE ARECIBO

ORIENTAL BANK Demandante V.

LEGAL NOTICE

LUIS A. MUÑIZ BONILLA ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUDemandado NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Civil Núm.: AR2023CV02247.

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO JUAN. POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EMBANCO POPULAR DE PLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉPUERTO RICO LEGAL NOTICE RICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE DEMANDANTE V. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIGLORIA ESTHER DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO SÁNCHEZ RAMOS T/C/C NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA RICO, SS. GLORIA E. SÁNCHEZ SALA DE SAN JUAN ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC

JORGE M. DIAZ LOPEZ ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO Parte Demandada DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CIVIL NÚM.: SJ2023CV05866 SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO. SALA DE BAYAMON EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICISLAND PORTFOLIO ESTADOS UNIDOS DE SERVICES, LLC COMO TO. AMÉRICA. EL PRESIDENTE AGENTE DE ACE ONE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. FUNDING, LLC EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIAParte Demandante Vs. DO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. LESLIE A NIEVES SANTIAGO

a la dirección kenmuel.ruiz@ orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, hoy día 21 de diciembre de 2023. Griselda Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria Regional. Iris Olivo Núñez, Secretaria Servicios a Sala.

A: JORGE M. DIAZ LOPEZ • URB SANTIAGO IGLESIAS 1787 CALLE J FERRER Y FERRER, SAN JUAN PR 00921-4137.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www. poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunalelectronico, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Kenmuel J. Ruiz Lopez cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936 8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731

A: LUIS A. MUÑIZ BONILLA

POR MEDIO del presente edicto se le notifica de la radicación de una demanda en cobro de dinero por la vía ordinaria en la que se alega que usted adeuda a la parte demandante, Oriental Bank, ciertas sumas de dinero, y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado de este litigio.

El demandante, Oriental Bank, ha solicitado que se dicte sentencia en contra suya y que se le ordene pagar las cantidades reclamadas en la demanda.

POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva a la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://ww/poderjudicial.pr/ index/php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra, y conceder el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente, sin más citarle ni oírle. El abogado de la parte demandante es: Jaime Ruiz Saldaña, RUA número 11673; Dirección: PO Box 366276, San Juan, PR 00936-6276; Teléfono: (787) 759-6897; Correo electrónico: legal@jrslawpr. com. Se le advierte que dentro de los diez (10) días siguientes a la publicación del presente

RAMOS

DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM. SJ2023CV08804.

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. SS.

A: GLORIA ESTHER SÁNCHEZ RAMOS T/C/C GLORIA E. SÁNCHEZ RAMOS • Cond. Interamericana Gardens, Edif. B6 Apt. 3A, Trujillo Alto, PR 00976 • 9E 107th St #4K, New York NY 10029

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. 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 23 de enero de 2023. Lcda. Kanelly Zayas Robles, Secretario General. f/ KEILA GARCIA SOLIS, Secretaria Auxiliar.

28 February 9-11, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

As Canadian hockey players face assault charges, officials are on defensive

By IAN AUSTEN and VJOSA ISAI

T

he police chief whose department has filed sexual assault charges against five hockey players, all of whom played on NHL teams, apologized earlier this week to the victim for the six years it took to bring the case.

Five former members of Canada’s national junior hockey team were charged last week over an episode that followed a celebration of their victory in the 2018 world championships, a marquee event on Canada’s sports calendar.

“I want to extend, on behalf of the London Police Service, my sincerest apology to the victim, to her family, for the amount of time that it has taken to reach this point,” Chief Thai Truong told reporters at a news conference Monday afternoon in London, Ontario.

Truong, whose department is in southwestern Ontario, said, “I truly am not happy about this whatsoever.”

He and the officer in charge of an investigation — the second — that led to the charges declined to discuss the case in detail until the players’ trials conclude.

Truong’s comments came the same day that the first court proceeding for the five accused men was held at the Ontario Court of Justice in London. The defendants did not appear, but their lawyers scheduled a hearing for the end of April.

Their lawyers said in separate statements that the men would vigorously defend their innocence but declined to comment further.

The accusations have touched a nerve with fans, leading many to question how Hockey Canada, the nation’s governing body for the sport, has responded.

The case came to light in May 2022 af-

Te ayudamos a Vender, Alquilar, Comprar y Administrar tu Propiedad

José Rodríguez

Corredor de Bienes Raices Lic. C-20077

787.349.0013•kingdomrealty1429@gmail.com

Michael McNamara, a season ticket holder with the Kingston Frontenacs for 32 years, at the Leon’s Centre arena in Kingston, Ontario, on Feb. 2, 2024. Hockey fans in Canada are struggling to make sense of a scandal that has led to charges against five former junior hockey players. (Ian Austen/The New York Times) ter TSN, a sports channel that broadcasts the world junior championship, reported that Hockey Canada had paid 3.5 million Canadian dollars, or $2.6 million, to settle a lawsuit brought by a woman who said she had been sexually assaulted by eight hockey players. All of the players were then members of Canada’s national junior team.

The Globe and Mail later reported that the settlement payment had come from a slush fund bolstered in part by children’s hockey registration fees.

Although it is the NHL that has international fame and recognition, in many smaller communities, hockey, Canada’s dominant sport, is more often defined by junior teams made up of amateur players between the ages of 15 and 20.

The men accused of sexual assault were identified as Michael McLeod, 26, now a center for the New Jersey Devils; Cal Foote, 25, a defenseman for the Devils; Carter Hart, 25, a goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers; Dillon Dubé, 25, a center for the Calgary Flames; and Alex Formenton, 24, who is on leave from a Swiss professional team and who previously played for the Ottawa Senators. McLeod faces an additional charge of sexual assault “by being party to the offense.”

The players have been given leaves from their teams.

The investigation that led to charges was opened in 2022 after the revelations about the legal settlement came to light.

Detective Sgt. Katherine Dann of the London Police told reporters that the service received a report of a sexual assault from a person related to the victim on June 19, 2018, the day it was said to have taken place. The victim cooperated with the investigation from the outset, Dann said.

But the case was closed early the next year because of insufficient evidence, she said.

Dann said she was asked to begin a new investigation after the report about the settlement of the lawsuit. She said the charges against the men were filed in part based on new evidence that she declined to disclose.

She also declined to say why five players were charged when the lawsuit named eight.

Before he was fired as Hockey Canada’s CEO that year, Scott Smith rejected suggestions that the multimillion-dollar slush fund, formally known as the National Equity Fund, was a mechanism to hide accusations against players. “I adamantly oppose the suggestion that we covered this up or swept something under the rug,” he told a parliamentary committee in 2022.

Sexual assault cases are not new to hockey, but in the past, some of the most high-

profile ones have involved abusive coaches.

Over about two decades, Graham James, a former junior hockey coach, was convicted in three separate cases of sexually assaulting players, including Sheldon Kennedy and Theo Fleury, who became NHL stars.

In addition to the police investigation that led to the charges, Hockey Canada and the NHL conducted their own inquiries, but neither released details. On Friday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league would wait until the court process was complete. He described the allegations in the case as “abhorrent, reprehensible, horrific and unacceptable.”

Bettman said there was no need to suspend without pay the four men who are still with NHL teams because their contracts expire at the end of the season. “It becomes irrelevant in terms of the timing,” he said at a news conference. “They’ve been paid the vast bulk of their salary for the year anyway.”

At the Leon’s Centre arena, home to the junior hockey team in Kingston, Ontario, a sense of outrage mixed with anticipation as fans who had gathered for a game Friday grappled with the news.

About 3,600 people had come to see the home team, the Kingston Frontenacs, take on the Oshawa Generals. After the game, which the Frontenacs lost, 5-4, some of the players met fans at an autograph table.

Monica O’Neill, a nurse who had been the volunteer president of the team’s supporters club for about 25 years, said she would not judge the players facing charges until their cases were heard in court.

“It’s sickening to me, actually, because we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors,” she said after she signed up some fans for a bus trip to a junior game in Ottawa. “We don’t yet know who’s telling the truth.”

Michael McNamara, a lifelong Kingston resident who has held season tickets for 32 years, said that regardless of how the criminal cases unfold, Canadian fans will not be inclined to forgive the governing body.

“One way or the other, the truth is going to come out,” he said. “But I think Hockey Canada is going to be ridiculed because of the way this was handled — big time.”

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

Sudoku

GAMES

29

How to Play:

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

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

Crossword

Wordsearch

Word Search Puzzle #S548CK

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Answers on page 30

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HOROSCOPE 30 Aries

(Mar 21-April 20)

It’s time to get up and get moving, Aries. If your job or home life leans toward the sedentary, your health can suffer if you don’t engage in some physical activity.

Not only is your body affected by a lack of exercise but your mind and emotional disposition can become depleted over time as well. Even a daily walk or playing a sport once a week can make a world of difference. Try something today.

Taurus

(April 21-May 21)

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

It’s a great day to explore your creativity, Taurus. This probably isn’t a new thing for you, since you’re artistic. Staying focused on one thing can be another story, though. Today’s energy can give you the extra concentration you need to get a creative project completed. Make the most of this by either finishing something you started earlier or tackling a new project. Have fun expressing yourself and creating!

Taking the easy way out won’t tempt you in the least today, Gemini. This isn’t to say that you usually favor this approach, by any means; yet it’s safe to say that everyone is tempted from time to time. Not so for you, though, as the planetary aspects are giving you the strength to take all of the necessary steps, however long they may be. Stand your ground if a partner tries to convince you otherwise.

Cancer

The San Juan Daily Star

February 9-11, 2024

(June 22-July 23)

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

A renewed sense of values and integrity may be present for you today, Libra. Connecting with this can be extremely uplifting, as it can put everything into perspective for you. With your hardworking tendencies, it can be easy to drift from the things that are most important to you as a person. Make the most of this day by getting in touch with yourself. If you keep a journal, explore your mood on paper.

Scorpio

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

A renewed sense of values and integrity may be present for you today, Libra. Connecting with this can be extremely uplifting, as it can put everything into perspective for you. With your hardworking tendencies, it can be easy to drift from the things that are most important to you as a person. Make the most of this day by getting in touch with yourself. If you keep a journal, explore your mood on paper.

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

You’re likely to be feeling pretty energetic today, Sagittarius, making it an opportune time to do some much-needed cleaning and organizing. Why not tackle those closets, attic, and storerooms? If you have to work, your desk, workspace, and filing cabinets could use a little attention. Just think how great it will feel when everything is in order! Make the most of your energy by accomplishing as much as you can.

Practicality and planning will work well for you today, Cancer. It’s a good time to take a long look at your financial situation. Are you where you want to be? Have you got plans in place for down the road?

Do you have sufficient cash flow? Think about what you’d like to improve and make some plans. You can include talking with a financial planner or trusted banker to create more options for yourself.

See about getting as active as possible today, Capricorn. This could really give your overall health a boost, especially if you’ve been sedentary lately.

Try something fun like engaging in sports or taking a pooch for a walk. Gardening and cutting the lawn are other activities that are better for you than sitting all day. The physical movement can reduce stress and give you a sense of accomplishment.

Leo

Aquarius

(July 24-Aug 23)

It’s a super day to make decisions, Leo. You can sit on the fence for a little too long when it comes to serious choices. Seize the energy that flows from today’s planetary aspects, make a list of things that need to be decided in the areas of work, relationships, and finances, and go down the list one by one. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. Better that than missing out entirely, don’t you think?

Virgo

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

It’s a great day to set some of your ideas into motion, Virgo. The courage you need to forge ahead is available to you with this day’s planetary aspects.

All you need to do is use it. If your thoughts aren’t clear, sit down and write your ideas out. Note the steps you need to take in order to get things rolling and then make your move. Don’t let fear or insecurity hold you back!

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

Good decision making will be a prominent asset today, Aquarius. It’s an excellent time to make a list of things that you’ve either put off or haven’t been able to settle on. This doesn’t need to be things that are just related to work or finances. Consider putting effort into your personal life as well. If there are issues surrounding friends, your romantic partner, or family, this is a great opportunity to think up options.

Pisces

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

Your ability to concentrate will be enhanced today, Pisces. If you have studying or detailed work to tend to, this will be an opportune time to get to it. Hobbies that require a lot of focus may also strike your fancy. Even if a herd of stampeding elephants runs through your space, you aren’t likely to lose your concentration. Pull out your most intensive tasks and have a great day.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

February 9-11, 2024

31

CARTOONS

Herman

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

BC

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

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Ziggy

32 February 9-11, 2024

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