Thursday Mar 23, 2023

The San Juan Star

An ‘Expansive View’ of Lien Rights Is Rejected

Judge Rules in Favor of Fiscal Board in Dispute with Bondholders

Over Scope of PREPA

Debt Claims

Companion Legislation

Filed in US Senate to Move Puerto Rico from PAN to SNAP

Macron Denounces Violent Protests, Warning Against ‘Excesses’

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.

Judge Swain rules in favor of fiscal board in dispute with bondholders over PREPA debt claims

By THE STAR STAFF

U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled Wednesday that payment of the $8.4 billion Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bonded debt is not secured by a 1974 trust agreement, noting that bondholders have an unsecured claim against the utility to be liquidated by “reference to the value of future net revenues.”

The ruling was part of an adversary proceeding between U.S. Bank National Association as Trustee, the Ad Hoc Group of PREPA Bondholders, Assured Guaranty Corp. and Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp., National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. and Syncora Guarantee Inc. against the Financial Oversight and Management Board seeking a judgment that the $8.4 billion in PREPA bonds was secured by the utility’s 1974 trust agreement. PREPA has been in bankruptcy since 2017 to restructure its almost $10 billion debt.

remainder of the term of the bonds (the Unsecured Net Revenue Claim),” the court ruled.

In making her judgment, Swain noted that the language in the trust agreement did not support the bondholders’ contention that the bonded debt was fully secured.

“The Court finds the Bondholders’ expansive view of their lien rights inconsistent with the clear and unambiguous terms of the Trust Agreement. … Under the terms of the Trust Agreement, as corroborated by the definition of ‘Opinion of Counsel’ in section 101, PREPA did not pledge payment out of gross revenues or an unlimited ‘all revenues,’ but instead covenanted to pay the Bonds out of the ‘Net Revenues’ of PREPA ‘in the manner and to the extent hereinabove particularly specified’ — in other words, subject to all of the payment provisions and limitations of liability contained within the previous sections of the Trust Agreement,” the judge said.

INDEX

The oversight board as part of the case wanted a determination from the court seeking a disallowance of the bonded debt to the extent that it purports to be secured by any PREPA property aside from certain moneys currently deposited in a so-called Sinking Fund, which is a fund created by the trust agreement, and a limited number of certain other funds explicitly made subject to liens by the terms of the trust agreement. The bondholders, in turn, contended that they have a claim for the face amount of the bonds that is secured by all of PREPA’s current and future revenues, to which they can look for payment in perpetuity.

A reaction from the oversight board could not be obtained as of press time.

The court heard oral arguments with respect to the crossmotions at a Feb. 1 omnibus hearing. In brief, the oversight board and the bondholders have cross-moved for summary judgment with respect to the allowance or disallowance of $8.4 billion.

The court held that the trust agreement granted the bondholders security interests only in monies actually deposited in the Sinking Fund, Self-insurance Fund, Capital Improvement Fund, Reserve Maintenance Fund, and Construction Fund, as defined in the trust agreement.

Swain also ruled that the bondholders have perfected their liens in the Sinking Fund, Self-insurance Fund and Reserve Maintenance Fund, over which the trustee had established control. However, the judge said the bondholders have no security interest in the covenants and remedies provided for by the trust agreement.

“But based on PREPA’s payment and equitable relief covenants in the Trust Agreement, the bondholders have an unsecured claim to be liquidated by reference to the value of future Net Revenues that would, under the waterfall provisions of the Trust Agreement and applicable non-bankruptcy law, have become collateral upon being deposited in the specified funds and payable to the bondholders over the

Swain directed the parties to meet and confer and file a joint report no later than seven days stating their positions on the nature, scope, and scheduling of further proceedings that they may believe are necessary in connection with the further resolution of the adversary proceeding. The joint report will identify what discovery issues, if any, remain to be resolved in light of the opinion and order

She also directed them to commence working with the mediation team immediately in good faith efforts to consensually resolve the outstanding disputes concerning the proposed Plan of Adjustment.

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia said Swain’s decision validates his remarks that the past debt agreement with PREPA bondholders was not reasonable for Puerto Rico and that it was the right thing to withdraw it.

“In addition, it also validates that what is ordered to be paid through the new adjustment plan approved by the court must be reasonable for PREPA and its customers,” the governor said. “We will continue fighting for PREPA to come out of bankruptcy and looking after our people so that they can have reliable and affordable electricity service.”

U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain

Legislation filed in US Senate to move Puerto Rico from PAN to SNAP

By THE STAR STAFF

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón on Wednesday announced the filing in the United States Senate of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act, which had already been filed by the resident commissioner in the House, to allow Puerto Rico to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The landmark move would address inequalities in nutrition assistance in Puerto Rico, which was excluded from SNAP in 1981, allowing the island to participate only in the less thorough Nutrition Assistance Program (PAN), resulting in the loss of billions of dollars in aid and reduced benefits. The transition resulted in an immediate 25% reduction in nutritional aid.

Federal lawmakers were joined at a press conference announcing the bill by Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives Rafael Hernández Montañez and Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration Executive Director Luis Dávila Pernas.

“For more than 40 years, Puerto Rico has been unfairly excluded from SNAP, resulting in billions of dollars in lost aid and

reduced nutritional benefits for more than one million Puerto Ricans,” said Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “The Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act would correct this injustice and allow Puerto Ricans to participate in SNAP, as well as receive Disaster SNAP in the wake of natural disasters or emergencies. As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I am focused on including this critical legislation in this year’s Farm Bill and am optimistic that we will succeed.”

“Nutrition assistance programs, particularly SNAP, are essential to supporting the health and well-being of millions of people in the United States. Unfortunately, U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico do not have access to this federal program,” González Colón said. “We have instead a block grant that limits the assistance that can be provided to a beneficiary. Nor can this program adapt to surge demand during natural disasters or emergencies, when vulnerable populations need it most. Getting Congress to approve supplemental funding is not a reliable mechanism when experiencing a real-time emergency. For that reason, I have introduced legislation seeking Puerto Rico’s transition from the PAN to SNAP. I thank Senator Gillibrand for introducing the

Senate version of my bill and look forward to continuing to work together, and with my colleagues in the House, to ensure access to this vital program for Puerto Rico.”

Hernández Montañez thanked Gillibrand, Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and González Colón for their continued leadership to increase nutrition assistance in Puerto Rico.

“As American citizens, Puerto Ricans deserve all the benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). For more than 40 years, Puerto Rico

has received insufficient funding from this essential program. The time has come to provide equity through the inclusion of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Equity Act of 2023 in the reauthorization of the Farm Bill,” he said. “Members of Congress should be aware that we are working through the budget process in Puerto Rico to prepare the local resources necessary to make the orderly transition from the Nutrition Assistance Program to equitable treatment under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP in Puerto Rico will foster labor force participation and reward workers and their families. It will complement well-being and have a multiplier economic benefit as Puerto Rico emerges from recovery to sustainable growth.”

Dávila Pernas added: “When Puerto Ricans advocate for the transition to SNAP, we’re not simply talking about being included in another federal program. We’re talking about the opportunity for children to have food on their table and for families not to wonder where their next meal will come from. The Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Equity Act seeks to ensure that all American citizens on the island receive the same level of support as their fellow Americans on the mainland.”

Energy Bureau fines LUMA $25,000 a day for unauthorized budget tweaks

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) on Wednesday fined LUMA Energy $25,150 per day for making changes to its budget without submitting due amendments.

According to the PREB, it denied a Jan. 25 LUMA motion and determined that LUMA has not demonstrated a good reason why it should not be fined. Consequently, the Energy Bureau imposed on LUMA the fine of $25,150 per day.

In turn, it ordered LUMA to pay the aforementioned fine to the Secretary of the Energy Bureau within 15 days of notification of the resolution and order.

The PREB reiterated that future requests for budget amendments must be received in a timely manner, when expenditures are

expected to exceed the approved budget and, in all cases, before spending is incurred. If in the future, requests for modification of the LUMA budget are not submitted in a timely manner, more significant fines will be imposed.

In November 2022 LUMA filed with the PREB, which is a bureau of the Puerto Rico Public Utilities Regulatory Board, a document entitled Motion to Submit a Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Amendment. Through the Third Amendment Request, LUMA requested that the fiscal year 2022 budget be amended to reallocate a $21 million surplus in the LUMA operating budget to its non-federally funded capital budget lines.

LUMA indicated that this modification was the result of its cost-saving measures, year-end adjustments and financial reviews.

LUMA stated that as a result of those savings in operating expenses, it was able to increase overall non-federally funded capital expenditure and advance work on various improvement programs. LUMA further indicated that the activities in its Second Request for Amendment remain unchanged. Finally, LUMA emphasized that the proposed modification did not result in an increase in base customer rates or an increase in LUMA aggregate expenses.

According to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau, the regulatory entity denied a Jan. 25 LUMA Energy motion and determined that the private operator of the island’s electric power transmission and distribution system has not demonstrated a good reason why it should not be fined.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)

Fiscal board to PRASA: Time to fast-track shift to green energy sources

By THE STAR STAFF

The Financial Oversight and Management Board has instructed the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) to start drawing energy from renewable energy sources as its operating expenses are too sensitive to variations in the electricity rates set by the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB).

The request is contained in a letter sent by the executive director of the oversight board, Robert Mujica, to Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia asking him to accept proposed revisions to PRASA’s fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget. The fiscal year started July 1.

The letter notes events that have hurt PRASA’s finances such as forgone service revenues as a result of a credit given to consumers last year and the substantial increase in chemical costs over the years.

The oversight board said it recognizes that during FY23 PRASA’s operations experienced events out of its control such as Hurricane Fiona. In the aftermath of Fiona’s passage, PRASA granted a service credit to all residential and commercial customers for an eight-day period in September 2022. While the oversight board said it is not opposed to awarding credits to customers that endured service disruptions, the untargeted nature of the credit also benefited customers that did not experience service disruptions throughout the emergency period.

The oversight board asked PRASA in October 2022 to submit a financial projection of the credit’s impact on PRASA’s operating revenues. PRASA’s initial estimate for the credit was about $10 million in forgone revenues. However, as of December 2022, PRASA’s estimate was revised to project

over $18 million in forgone service revenues.

“Even though PRASA was able to apply nearly $8 million in federal funding, the revision to the operating revenue projections, as included herein, proves PRASA was not fully equipped to grant an untargeted credit to all of its customers,” the letter notes.

On the operating expense side, PRASA’s 2022 certified fiscal plan (CFP) calls on PRASA to implement a series of operational measures that may result in cost savings for both line items and set the foundation for long-term sustainability. Furthermore, the CFP requires PRASA to execute a formal agreement with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to settle outstanding debts arising from disputed electricity expenses and water purchases. The water utility has been carrying significant outstanding debt with PREPA, which last year amounted to $70 million. In March, the oversight board approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between PRASA and PREPA to settle the total outstanding balance by a maximum payable amount of $42.5 million.

“As of the date of this letter, outstanding balances due to LUMA [Energy, the private operator of PREPA’s transmission and distribution system] amount to $40 million,” the letter notes. “As such, the oversight board advises PRASA to use the remaining electricity budget for FY23 to meet monthly electricity obligations.”

Regardless of the electricity savings identified for the FY23 budget and the progress achieved with the MoU debt settlement, PRASA’s operation remains highly sensitive to any variation in the electricity rates set forth by the PREB, Mujica pointed out in the letter.

“With electricity being the second largest operating cost in the FY23 budget, the [certified fiscal plan] calls on PRASA to implement initiatives that reduce such cost through alternate sources of renewable energy,” the letter notes. “Accordingly, PRASA must take advantage of the ongoing transformation in Puerto Rico’s energy sector to enable an accelerated schedule to eventually transition into more sources of renewable energy such as photovoltaic projects.”

The letter notes that since FY15, PRASA’s chemical expenditures have experienced a substantial increase – more than duplicating incurred costs in FY15 from $27 million up to $70 million for the remainder of FY23.

“These increases are partially attributed to significant amounts of water losses,” the letter notes. “PRASA has also mentioned the lack of warehousing capacity at its treatment facilities and differences in chemical consumption projections as key drivers requiring more chemical purchases. The water losses and operational limitations, coupled with the longterm underinvestment in PRASA’s water treatment facilities, have driven PRASA to operate a costly system in dire need of capital investments that promote operational sustainability.”

Construction underway on sewer line between Carolina and Loíza

By THE STAR STAFF

The sewer trunk main that serves the communities of Vistamar, Los Angeles and Loíza Pueblo, in Carolina and Loíza, respectively, is already in the construction stages following an allocation of some $8.2 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency reported Wednesday.

The trunk line, essential for transporting wastewater, will be rebuilt with an innovative system that will provide a useful life of at least 50 years to the pipes that carry wastewater to the treatment plants.

“The reconstruction of this sanitary system will have a positive impact on the quality of life of the thousands of residents and business owners in the area, who will be able to count on the potable water they need and deserve,” Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia. “This is one of the most comprehensive projects that PRASA [Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority], COR3 [Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency] and FEMA have together, which optimizes our sanitary sewer system while helping protect our natural resources and mitigating future damage.”

The work will benefit an estimated 12,000 PRASA

customers, who will have a renovated system capable of withstanding future storm events. The restoration will be done with a non-invasive method that will avoid excavations in the adjacent communities. Cured-in-place pipe, or CIPP, is one of the reconstruction practices already approved for such structures under FEMA’s Accelerated Award Strategy. To date, the agency has obligated close to $1.2 billion for 44 aqueduct and sewer subprojects thanks to the methodology.

“Within the framework of International Water Day, where the importance of this vital resource is recognized, we see how these works contribute to an adequate and efficient use of water, with optimal materials that guarantee long-lasting productivity,” said José G. Baquero, FEMA federal disaster recovery coordinator. “The residents of the area will benefit from a robust system, even in the face of future events such as Hurricane Maria.”

PRASA Executive President Doriel Pagán Crespo noted that the project is 20 percent complete and that work is expected to be finished by the third quarter of this year. About 2.49 miles (4 kilometers) of pipeline will be built according to the new construction codes and with future emergencies in mind, she said.

“There has been a synchronization, a teamwork, that

at the end of the day helps to accelerate projects like these that are for the benefit of our infrastructure and all our customers,” Pagán Crespo said. “To the extent that we have a much more resilient sanitary infrastructure, we greatly reduce the possibility of sanitary overflows.”

Financial Oversight and Management Board Executive Director Robert Mujica

Jury ordered to continue deliberating in ex-Guaynabo mayor’s corruption case

By THE STAR STAFF

After a jury of 12 people retired to deliberate on Wednesday afternoon in the U.S. District Court in Hato Rey, former mayor of Guaynabo Ángel Pérez Otero reiterated upon leaving the court that he never reached a contractual agreement with businessman Oscar Santamaría.

A short while later, the judge in the case, Aida Delgado, ordered the jury to continue deliberating into the evening, according to media reports. No verdict had been reached as of press time.

“Thank God this will soon reach the culmination as I had indicated,” Pérez Otero said after the jury retired to deliberate. “As I have told you, we trust first in God the Father, then in the impartiality of the jury that can really see what this was. So we’re waiting.”

“I think one of the most important things is that when my defense asked Oscar [Santamaria], and I think it was made clear, to whom he had made a quid pro quó, with whom he had entered into agreements, and I do not know if you reported it, he mentioned three municipalities, he repeated it and he mentioned Cataño, he mentioned Aguas Buenas and he mentioned Trujillo Alto,” Pérez Otero said. “He did not mention Guaynabo. And he knows it; no agreement was ever reached.”

Asked if he was prepared to receive a guilty verdict, Pérez Otero, who was also president of the Mayors Federation and a New Progressive Party lawmaker in the island House of Representatives, replied: “We are going to wait.”

“I’m not going to cross the river,” he said. “So, right now. I don’t know if the jury will reach a verdict today, but we’re going to wait.”

Pérez Otero declined to answer directly if he did indeed receive bribes.

DR prosecutors provide details of embezzlement scheme in which local auto dealer is among the accused

By THE STAR STAFF

The Dominican Republic’s Public Prosecution Office has provided details as to how top government officials, including Donald Guerrero, a Puerto Rico

auto dealer owner who was a former finance minister in that country, allegedly stole about $360 million in government funds.

The prosecution revealed Wednesday that in addition to being designated as one of the leaders of a criminal structure

dedicated to embezzlement and fraud against the Dominican Republic, the former administrative minister of the presidency, José Ramón Peralta, allegedly infiltrated the investigation of Operation Squid, in which he appears as one of the main defendants, according to published reports. Among the 19 individuals arrested is Gonzalo Castillo, a former public works minister who won 37% of the vote when he ran as a presidential candidate for the Dominican Liberation Party.

Following Guerrero’s arrest, Axis Automotive Group, founded by Guerrero in Puerto Rico, came out in defense of the legality and integrity of its operations, highlighting its more than 27 years of service and leadership and transparency in the island’s automotive market.

However, Guerrero is facing a lawsuit in Puerto Rico for $21.8 million filed by the owner and founder of Autogermana, Eduardo Pellerano Nadal in San Juan Superior Court. Pellerano Nadal alleges that he hired Guerrero to manage his concessionaire in Puerto Rico and that instead he stole his business.

Dominican authorities reportedly said the illegal actions by the officials were committed from their own work spaces in the Ministry of Finance, the General Comptroller of the Republic, the General Directorate of National Assets, the State Sugar Council (CEA), the General Directorate of National Cadastre, the General Directorate of Budget and the Reserve Bank.

How did the scheme work? The Public Prosecutor’s Office pointed out that the

accused former officials used eminent domain as a tool. They identified goods that had been declared of public utility without having been paid for at the fair price, causing the national government to disburse funds for their payments through fraudulent maneuvers.

The public prosecutor indicated that those funds returned to those involved, who appropriated them for their own economic benefit.

The public prosecutor also indicated that the alleged schemers set up a framework in which they managed to obtain the help of practicing professionals from the private sector who were in charge of processing transactions such as “the determination of irregular heirs, obtaining duplicate titles, annotated records, determination of a fair price and appraisal in record time.”

They would also have engaged in the falsification of public documents and the issuance of appraisals for fraudulent payments of expropriated property plots. All this, according to the public prosecutor, to obtain illicit profits.

The document explains that the framework used the modality of “fraudulent credit assignments” in favor of people who were responsible for the interests of former officials and authorized payments.

In addition, they created “portfolio companies” whose sole purpose was to collect the amounts of the credit transfers. These companies were dissolved once they received public funds as a result of embezzlement.

Former Guaynabo mayor Ángel Pérez Otero speaks to reporters outside the federal court in Hato Rey.

The legal intricacies that could make or break the case against Trump

By BEN PROTESS, JONAH E. BROMWICH, WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and KATE CHRISTOBEK

It is the kind of case that emboldens prosecutors and mesmerizes juries: a celebrity defendant authorizing a secret payoff to cover up a tryst with a porn star.

As the Manhattan district attorney’s office appears poised to seek an indictment of Donald Trump in just such a case, the former president is facing a daunting set of facts. His onetime fixer, Michael Cohen, will testify that Trump directed him to pay off the porn star, Stormy Daniels, and that the former president reimbursed Cohen and helped cover the whole thing up.

But salacious details alone do not make a case. Prosecutors must also work within the law. And the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, may have to pull off a difficult maneuver, connecting the hush-money cover-up — a potential violation of state law — to a federal election.

The details of any indictment that may be handed up as soon as this week are not yet known, and Bragg could charge any number of crimes. But there is a possibility that the case will rely on a legal theory that has never been evaluated by a judge.

A New York Times review and interviews with election law experts strongly suggest that New York state prosecutors have never before filed an election law case involving a federal campaign. Bringing an untested case against anyone, let alone a former president of the United States, carries the risk that a court could throw out or narrow the case.

The case could hinge on the way Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, handled reimbursing Cohen for the payment of $130,000 to Daniels. Internal Trump Organization records falsely classified the reimbursements as legal expenses, which helped conceal the purpose of the payments, according to Cohen, who said Trump knew about the misleading records. (Trump’s lawyers deny that.)

In New York, falsifying business records can be a crime, and Bragg’s office is likely to build the case around that charge, according to people with knowledge of the matter and outside legal experts. The false business records charge is the bread and butter of the district attorney’s office white-collar practice — since Bragg took office in 2022, prosecutors have filed 117 felony counts of the charge, against 29 individuals and companies, according to data kept by the office.

But for falsifying business records to be a felony, not a misdemeanor, Bragg’s prosecutors must show that Trump’s “intent to defraud” included an intent to commit or conceal a second crime. That crime could be a violation of election law, under the theory that the payout served as a donation to Trump’s campaign, because it silenced Daniels and shut down a potential sex scandal in the final stretch of the campaign. Although the district attorney’s office need not obtain a conviction on the election law violation, or even include it in the indictment, that second crime might be the aspect of the legal theory that is most vulnerable to attack.

Trump’s lawyers have said that the theory that the money amounted to a campaign donation is fatally flawed. One of the lawyers recently argued in television interviews that Trump

approved the payment to protect his family from false accusations, noting that Trump has long denied a sexual encounter with Daniels.

The lawyer, Joe Tacopina, portrayed the former president as a victim of her extortion.

“We are distorting laws to try and bag President Trump,” he said on “Good Morning America,” adding: “He had to pay money because there was going to be an allegation that was going to be publicly embarrassing to him, regardless of the campaign. There is no crime here.”

Whether hush money can amount to a campaign donation is not settled law. At the federal level, this issue arose with the prosecution of John Edwards, a former senator and presidential candidate, in a 2012 case that ended with jurors deadlocked over the majority of the charges, which prosecutors ultimately dropped.

Another case came in 2018, when Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges involving the hush money. Because he pleaded guilty, the issue was never tested in the courts, but some campaign finance experts and conservative legal scholars have argued that the case was bogus.

“Michael Cohen Pled Guilty to Something That Is Not a Crime,” was the headline in a National Review article at the time.

Yet the text of New York election law suggests otherwise. It defines a campaign contribution, in part, as “any thing of value, made in connection” with an election.

If Bragg does pursue an election violation as the second crime, there are several unanswered questions.

For starters, it is unclear whether he would cite a federal or state election law violation, or even both. And with either choice, there could be pitfalls.

If his office uses a federal election violation as the second crime, Trump’s lawyers could argue that federal law has no place in state court. And if he uses a New York election law violation, the defense could claim that a violation of state law does not apply to a federal election — in this case, the 2016 presidential campaign.

“Generally, someone can’t be prosecuted for violating a contribution limit in a federal election in a state court,” said Richard L. Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who specializes in election law.

Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance Jr., grappled with the same issue. Vance’s prosecutors considered the hush-money case several times — it floated around the office so long that it became known as the “zombie case,” an idea that just wouldn’t die — and examined several secondary crimes Trump might have been seeking to conceal.

They never ruled out a hush money case, but had concerns that it might be too risky to use a federal election law violation as the second crime.

Against that backdrop, Bragg’s prosecutors appear to have taken a more favorable view of using a state election law violation, according to people with knowledge of their thinking. The laws governing elections in New York are unusual in that they explicitly apply to federal elections, not just state elections. And New York state prosecutors have secured at least one conviction in a case in which they combined falsifying business records charges with state election law crimes, though that case involved a state election, not a federal one.

Several state election law provisions appear to fit Cohen and Trump’s conduct, according to legal experts. One, state election law 14-126, makes it unlawful for someone (Trump, under this theory) to knowingly and willingly solicit another person (Cohen) to spend money in order to evade campaign contribution limits ($130,000 in hush money, well above the limits).

Another, state election law 17-152, proposed as an option by analysts at Just Security and legal commentator Lisa Rubin, is even simpler: It makes it illegal to conspire to promote the election of any candidate “by unlawful means.”

Any state election law that the district attorney might pair with the falsifying business records charge may have to make it through a gantlet: Federal campaign finance law explicitly states that it overrides — preempts, in legal terminology — state election law when it comes to campaign donation limits.

That could rule out the possibility that Bragg might use 14-126, the New York law that makes it illegal to solicit campaign spending that violates contribution limits.

But there are exceptions to federal preemption contained in regulations from the Federal Election Commission, known as the FEC And it is possible that the other law, 17-152, which makes it illegal to conspire to promote the election of any candidate “by unlawful means,” may be able to avoid triggering federal preemption. That law does not deal explicitly with contribution limits.

In short, it may be the strongest option for Bragg.

“It appears that this provision, which prohibits unlawfully promoting an election, could fit into one of the FEC exceptions,” said Jerry H. Goldfeder, a special counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP and a recognized expert in New York state election law.

“You know, it’s not a slam-dunk,” he said. “But I think that survives a motion to dismiss, and then let the jury decide.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, center right, at a press conference in New York on Dec. 14, 2022. Bragg is likely to rely on the former Trump fixer, Michael Cohen, to help build his case.

DeSantis, doubling down, presses questions about Trump’s character

By MAGGIE HABERMAN

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, the closest prospective rival to Donald Trump in early polls of the 2024 Republican presidential primary, pressed forward with questions about the former president’s character and pointed to himself as a low-drama “winner” in an interview this week with British media personality Piers Morgan.

The interview, which Morgan wrote about Tuesday for The New York Post, was striking in terms of how expansive DeSantis was and of his choice of interviewer: Morgan, like DeSantis, has been a target of Trump’s ire. The interview took place at some

point after an event DeSantis held Monday in Panama City, Florida, where he criticized the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is expected to indict Trump on charges related to hush-money payments to a porn star who said she had an affair with him. After that event, DeSantis also highlighted Trump’s personal conduct.

In the interview with Morgan, DeSantis took clear aim at Trump’s often-criticized penchant for chaos and for hiring people who were at odds with his professed policy interests and who often leaked information to the news media.

“I also think just in terms of my approach to leadership, I get personnel in the government who have the agenda of the

people and share our agenda,” DeSantis said. “You bring your own agenda in, you’re gone. We’re just not going to have that. So, the way we run the government, I think, is no daily drama, focus on the big picture and put points on the board, and I think that’s something that’s very important.”

When Morgan asked DeSantis “if he meant to be as censorious as he sounded” in his comments on Monday mentioning Trump’s personal conduct, the governor replied: “Well, there’s a lot of speculation about what the underlying conduct is. That is purported to be it, and the reality is that’s just outside my wheelhouse.”

Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, slammed DeSantis for the interview.

“Ron DeSantis has finally shown his true colors,” he wrote on Twitter. “An establishment Never Trumper who despises the MAGA base and was faking it the entire time.”

Taylor Budowich, a top official at the super PAC supporting Trump and a former spokesperson for the president, wrote, “While the entire conservative movement is united against the unjust indictment of President Donald Trump, DeSantis is choosing to go off half-cocked and take shots on

some low-rent vlog.”

DeSantis, who has shied away from the mainstream news media, sounded a bullish note about running for president. He is expected to formally announce his candidacy in the coming months.

“If I were to run, I’m running against Biden,” DeSantis said. He added that he would keep his focus on “Biden because I think he’s failed the country. I think the country wants a change. I think they want a fresh start and a new direction, and so we’ll be very vocal about that.”

Asked if he could beat Biden, he said, “I think so.”

Morgan wrote in the Post that when he asked a question about the conduct of leaders, DeSantis responded, “You really want to look to people like our founding fathers, like what type of character? It’s not saying that you don’t ever make a mistake in your personal life, but I think what type of character are you bringing?”

He pointed to George Washington — who “always put the Republic over his own personal interest” — as an example.

At another point, he described “truth” as “essential,” a notable comment in a discussion about Trump, who is known for telling falsehoods and whose lies about the 2020 election have dominated political life in the country for two years.

DeSantis, who has faced attacks from Trump over COVID restrictions in Florida at the beginning of the pandemic, sought to turn the tables.

“The approach to COVID was different,” DeSantis said. “I would have fired somebody like Fauci. I think he got way too big for his breeches, and I think he did a lot of damage.”

In reality, Trump did not have direct control over Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious-disease expert whom Republicans turned into a villain as the pandemic continued.

DeSantis, who graduated from Yale University, claimed not to “know how to spell” one of Trump’s nicknames for him, Ron DeSanctimonious.

“I don’t really know what it means, but I kind of like it,” DeSantis said. “It’s long, it’s got a lot of vowels. We’ll go with that, that’s fine. I mean, you can call me whatever you want, just as long as you also call me a winner, because that’s what we’ve been able to do in Florida, is put a lot of points on the board and really take this state to the next level.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses his supporters after he was announced as the winner at the election night party in Tampa, Fla. on Nov. 8, 2022. In an interview with Piers Morgan, the Florida governor sought to strike a clear contrast with Donald Trump, calling himself a low-drama “winner.”

Inside a Brooklyn school teaching the course that Florida banned

By TROY CLOSSON

Halfway through a yearlong high school course in African American studies, Shannah HendersonAmare asked her students to think about college — but with a question that many had never heard posed in a classroom before: Could they name the “Divine Nine,” the popular nickname for a group of the nation’s Black fraternities and sororities?

One senior immediately responded: “The Kappas!” “Alphas.”

“Deltas.”

“The Ques!” others shouted out in succession.

For these New York City high school students, the exercise served as the gateway into a day’s discussion about historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs — their history, influence and modern relevance. The lesson was part of a new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies.

The College Board, which administers Advanced Placement exams, introduced the class in the fall. It is being tested in about 60 schools this year, before becoming widely available in the fall of 2024. But the course was thrust into a national firestorm after Florida banned it, one of a series of moves the state has taken to restrict teaching about race.

Officials had argued that the approach to issues including Black queer studies, reparations and intersectionality was both unbalanced and illegal. Several other states, including Arkansas and Mississippi, have launched reviews of the course’s material.

Still, other cities and states, including New Jersey, have pressed forward and plan to expand the class.

In New York City, Brooklyn Preparatory High School in Williamsburg is the only school offering the class this year. It’s unclear how many New York schools will provide the course next year, education officials said.

Students and families at Brooklyn Prep and elsewhere in the city have clamored for Black studies: Three years ago, they were among the nearly 30,000 people who signed a petition asking the College Board to create two classes on the subject. So far, the students in the course say it has been one the most valuable experiences of their school years, because it has allowed them to focus on Black life and history beyond the fundamentals of slavery and civil rights.

“What struck me was the conversations we started having: People that didn’t talk in class found their voice,” said Khia Williams, 18, a senior in the class, who added that previously she had only had similar conversations with her grandmother and other family members.

As unrest flared across the nation after the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020, teenagers at Brooklyn Prep, where about 40% of the students are Black and half are Latino, helped spearhead the petition for the course after expressing disappointment that there was no AP course devoted to the tough issues they were discussing at home and in their classrooms.

When the pilot course was initially announced, Brooklyn Prep was not among the high schools invited to join, but Henderson-Amare pushed for the school to be included. Nearly 170 teenagers were interested in enrolling in the class, almost one-third of the school. (About 30 students ultimately enrolled.)

On a recent Thursday, during the lesson on HBCUs, which were once the primary path for Black Americans to obtain a higher education, the teacher guided the students through a discussion that touched on various issues.

One student connected the schools with the 20th-century “New Negro” movement and the tensions between differing views on Black advancement in America. Classmates weighed W.E.B. Du Bois’ emphasis on liberal arts education and a more confrontational approach to equal rights against Booker T. Washington’s belief that building vocational skills and enduring segregation would lead to gains.

The teenagers then discussed how old ideas still play a role in modern debates on Black social progress. Some discussed how their parents took pride in their culture but also told them to be careful about how they express their racial and ethnic identities, or to “code-switch,” in professional environments or predominantly white social spaces.

“I feel like it’s a generational trauma type of thing,” a student responded. “My mom will always tell me ‘When you go outside, watch how you talk because people are going to look at you and judge you.’ She’s like, ‘I want you to do better for yourself than me.’”

Earlier in the year students had been particularly interested in lingering on a unit that focused on Black

resistance, Henderson-Amare said. The room had erupted into animated conversations during lessons on groups like the Maroons, enslaved Africans who lived in places including Jamaica, Colombia and Suriname and who had escaped to freedom centuries ago.

The students also analyzed the meaning of the hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” widely known as the Black national anthem; many were not fully aware of the themes of resilience, perseverance and struggle in the lyrics.

Leon Woolford, 17, a senior at the school, said he had realized that his understanding of even better-known parts of Black history was incomplete.

He had been surprised during a recent lesson on the Freedom Riders, whose bus rides across the South in 1961 challenged the segregation of public transportation and set the stage for major civil rights legislation: “I thought I at least knew something, and I had the totally wrong idea,” he said.

In elementary and middle school, Woolford said, he had participated in discussions much less often. But when the AP class delved into the poem “We Wear the Mask,” by Paul Laurence Dunbar, about the ways Black people can hide pieces of their identities and struggles from society, he said it attached “so much more importance to what we do every day.”

The students have pushed for the chance to explore issues beyond those in the course. Kwanzaa, for example, is not mentioned in the curriculum. But the class commemorated the holiday in December, and students created projects on the seven principles central to the weeklong celebration.

Students said the AP course had led many of them to consider their future in new ways.

Toward the end of the lesson on HBCUs, HendersonAmare asked the class to weigh the merits of those kinds of schools against predominantly white institutions, and of academic higher education versus career and technical learning as potential pathways to a better life.

One student asked, “What does it even mean to have a good life?”

The teenagers quickly began chiming in, considering the importance of a high-income career compared with other routes to a rich and satisfied life, until it was time to head to their next class.

Khia Williams, a senior at Brooklyn Preparatory High School, after her Advanced Placement course in African American Studies, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on March 2, 2023. Williams says the African American Studies course has helped some of her classmates find their voices.

Regional banks and regulators try to soothe depositors’ fears

By STACY COWLEY

In the panic after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in early March, some small and medium-size businesses yanked their money from regional banks and deposited it with the biggest ones, seeking the security of their gigantic balance sheets and the government’s implicit backstop of lenders deemed too big to fail.

Regulators, bank executives and industry representatives have been trying desperately to persuade those depositors to stop.

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed confidence in the nation’s banks and suggested that the government would step in to protect smaller banks if needed. Shares of many regional banks rallied after her remarks.

Last week, Tim Mayopoulos, the new chief executive of Silicon Valley Bank, implored clients to leave their deposits with the bank or transfer them back. And some lawmakers in Washington are seeking to raise the limit for federal deposit insurance above $250,000 so that businesses don’t fret about losing their uninsured funds if their bank fails.

But fear persists.

More than 90 clients of Kruze Consulting, an accounting firm that specializes in startups, have changed banks in the last few weeks — and half went to JPMorgan Chase, said Scott Orn, the firm’s chief operating officer.

“As things started getting scarier and the regional banks’ stock prices started getting hit, it became clear that the only place you’re totally safe is the too-big-to-fail banks,” Orn said. “It’s the prisoner’s dilemma everyone has been talking about.”

That worry is at odds with the optimistic messages from regulators and bankers that the crisis may be abating, and underscores the uncertainty that continues to stress the banking system.

Eric Peters, the founder of One River Asset Management in Greenwich, Connecticut, wrote on Monday of his decision to shift some of his investment advisory firm’s cash from a bank in Santa Barbara, California, to a too-big-to-fail giant.

“We’re exposed to the credit risk of our commercial bank, but we’re not being compensated in any way for it,” Peters said in an interview. “As a rule, I don’t like to take a lot of risk and not get paid for it.”

None of the Big Four banks — Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo — have commented publicly on how much new cash has flowed into their coffers, but bank officials familiar with their operations acknowledged that they had gained some of the deposits leaving Silicon Valley Bank and other regional banks.

Those shifts are hard to track in real time; banks disclose their deposits and assets in quarterly regulatory filings. Some, though, have clearly suffered a hemorrhage: In a Monday note, Morgan Stanley analysts estimated that First Republic, a San Francisco lender, lost $86 billion in deposits, or about 72% of its total uninsured deposits, between Silicon Valley

Bank’s collapse and last Wednesday. (Late last week, 11 of the country’s biggest banks said they would lend First Republic $30 billion.)

Executives of small and regional banks — typically considered those with up to $50 billion or so in assets — appeared to be divided on the toll the crisis has taken on their finances.

In Washington on Tuesday, those at a previously scheduled meeting of the largest bank lobbying group, the American Bankers Association, sought to show that the panic was subsiding.

“Things are calming down in the market,” said A. Scott Anderson, the chief executive of the Utah-based Zions Bank, which has $90 billion in assets.

Anderson and three chief executives of smaller banks, who appeared together on a panel in a session called “The View From Main Street,” each said they were not seeing deposits being pulled from their banks.

But one member of the audience — the chief executive of a bank with around $60 billion in assets — described some outflows of deposits, largely pulled by nonprofit organizations and businesses too small to have a full-time chief financial officer.

The person, who did not want to be identified because naming the bank risked causing more withdrawals, helped draft a letter that Brent Tjarks, a lobbyist for mid-size banks, sent to regulators on Friday, seeking unlimited deposit insurance for all banks.

The person said the main goal of the letter was to level the playing field. The “too big to fail” label had suddenly made the largest banks appealing destinations for smaller companies’ funds, while some depositors now view mid-size banks as too risky to trust, the person said.

Last week, Mayopoulos sent Silicon Valley Bank clients a note: “If you, your portfolio companies or your firm moved funds within the past week, please consider moving some of them back as part of a secure deposit diversification strategy.” He added that the bank was “actively opening new accounts

of all sizes and making new loans.”

Other bankers, however, said they were not seeing widespread anxiety from customers.

Camden Fine, a former president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said that after Silicon Valley Bank failed, he had begun calling bankers he knew to check in.

“I probably spoke to at least three dozen community bank CEOs from all parts of the country, probably banks ranging from $500 million in assets all the way up to $10 billion in assets,” Fine said. “Without exception, every single one of them said: ‘We are seeing deposit inflows to our banks. We’re actually gaining deposits.’ They were baffled by all this talk about deposits are fleeing smaller and regional banks and going to the megabanks.”

To keep cash at risk of leaving, some bankers are steering clients to products that reduce their unprotected deposits. One popular option is often referred to as an “insured cash sweep” — a service that breaks large deposits up into chunks and farms them out to multiple banks.

Nearly 3,000 financial institutions, mostly community and regional banks, participate in a network operated by IntraFi Network, a company in Arlington, Virginia. Founded 20 years ago, IntraFi runs a service that lets banks make “reciprocal deposit” swaps. A customer can, for example, deposit $10 million in a local bank, which can then use IntraFi’s network to parcel the deposit out to other institutions in amounts below $250,000. That ensures that the money is fully covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s guarantee.

Pacific West Bank, one of the regional banks whose stock has been hammered, dangled IntraFi’s service on Tuesday as a lure for nervous customers. “Looking for a new banking partner? We are a one-stop solution,” the bank posted on Twitter, promoting its ability to use the service to protect deposits of up to $125 million.

Since March 13, IntraFi’s transaction volume has risen 15%, said Mark Jacobsen, the company’s chief executive and a founder. The typical deposit through the network is $3.1 million.

Orn of Kruze Consulting said it would take at least a few more weeks to know where customers landed. Some are opening accounts at big banks as a safeguard, but may eventually migrate to a small, more business-friendly bank for their continuing needs, he said.

But some companies burned by recent explosions are simply moving into the biggest fortress they can find. On Monday, customers of Smartsheet, a business collaboration software maker with annual sales of just over $750 million, received a note directing them to stop making payments to the company’s account at Silicon Valley Bank.

Smartsheet had “migrated its banking relationship,” the note said, and would now be doing business at Bank of America.

“Regional banks are vital to businesses,” said Maya Mikhailov, a start-up founder who is keeping her company’s money at First Republic.

Pacific Western Bank raises $1.4 bln, says deposits have stabilized

Pacific Western Bank has raised $1.4 billion from investment firm Atlas SP Partners, the lender said on Wednesday, as the crisis-hit sector scrambles to limit the damage from the recent collapse of two mid-sized lenders.

Shares of the bank were down 10% in morning trading, even as the lender tried to allay investor worries by saying it had more than $11.4 billion in cash as of March 20.

Los Angeles-based PacWest also said it had explored the idea of raising new capital, but decided against the move due to a rout in bank stocks. “Any time that you know a bank talks about having considered a capital raise, especially in this environment where there’s so much skittishness from the markets, it’s bound to have a negative impact of the stock,” said Gary Tenner, analyst at brokerage D.A. Davidson & Co.

Reuters first reported last week that PacWest was in talks with investment firms including Atlas SP Partners for ways to boost its liquidity.

The bank said deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, including accounts eligible for pass-through insurance, exceeded 65% of its total deposits, as of March 20.

Total deposits at the bank fell 20% to $27.1 billion from $33.9 billion as of Dec. 31.

“The update that put out today versus the update that put out last Friday, the read on it is a little bit more negative,” Tenner said.

Regional banks, whose stocks have been battered since the collapse of two mid-sized U.S. lenders this month, have tried to assure customers their deposits are secure after the recent bank runs whipsawed the global financial ecosystem.

Graphic: PacWest shares plummet in the aftermath of bank runs - https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBALBANKS/egpbyjjgavq/chart_eikon.jpg

“We will continue to see flows away from regionals and into systemically important banks that are too big to fail,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman and managing member of Great Hill Capital.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in prepared remarks before the American Bankers Association, said the U.S. banking system has stabilized due to decisive actions from regulators, but warned more action might be required.

Attention now shifts to the Fed, which has gathered for its two-day monetary policy meeting, at which the members of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) will revisit their economic projections and, in all likelihood, implement another increase to the Fed funds target rate in their ongoing battle against inflation.

“The Fed will raise interest rates by 25 basis points and the market won’t care,” Pursche added. “It will all be about (Chairman Jerome) Powell’s statement on the economy and inflation, and if he can do a good enough job convincing

MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS

PUERTO RICO STOCKS COMMODITIES CURRENCY

the public that the banking noise” can be attributed to bad management on the part of a few banks.

At last glance, financial markets have now priced in an 83.4% likelihood of a 25 basis-point rate hike, and a 16.6% probability that the central bank will leave its policy rate unchanged, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

Economic data released early in the session showed a 14.5% jump in existing home sales, blasting past expectations and snapping a 12-month losing streak.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 50.84 points, or 1.29%, to end at 4,002.41 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 181.47 points, or 1.55%, to 11,860.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 313.36 points, or 0.97%, to 32,566.44.

Shares of First Republic Bank FRC.N saw their biggestever one-day percentage jump as JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon leads talks with other big banks aimed at investing in the lender, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Peers PacWest Bancorp PACW.O and Western Alliance Bancorp WAL.N also surged.

The broader European STOXX 600 index also managed to make it into positive territory to be up 0.98%.

Macron denounces violent protests, warning against ‘excesses’

By ROGER COHEN and AURELIEN BREEDEN

President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the French people for the first time since the tumultuous passing of a law that raises the retirement age to 64 from 62, denounced violent protests and said he would not tolerate their threat to the republic.

Speaking in a televised interview with two journalists, Macron said he respected “the labor unions who defend their point of view.” But, alluding to the threat to democracy constituted by the assault of a mob on the U.S. Congress in 2021, he made clear that he would “not tolerate any violent excesses.”

His tone was firm and unapologetic on the eve of another day of mass protests and strikes called for Thursday. Asked if he had made any mistakes, Macron said, “Having failed to convince people.”

That was his only concession on his methods, which have included a last-minute recourse to a legal tool, article 49.3 of the constitution, in order to avoid a full parliamentary vote on a change that has split the country. This course was perceived by his critics as anti-democratic.

It would be easy, Macron said, to shirk his responsibilities and avoid an overhaul essential to the country’s financial stability and ability to invest in its future. “But if I have to shoulder unpopularity today, I shoulder it,” he said.

Labor unions and opposition politicians reacted angrily to Macron’s defense of his approach. “He is in absolute denial,” said Olivier Faure, the leader of the Socialist Party. “I fear that Macron has emptied more explosives on a fire that was already well lit.”

But Macron was adamant. “Do you think it gives me pleasure to push through this reform?” he asked. “No.”

But, he continued, “this reform is not a luxury, not a pleasure; it’s a necessity for the country.”

He used a chart showing retirement ages of 65 or older in several other countries to illustrate his point, reverting to a professorial mode that has contributed to a persistent view of him as an aloof president.

“We have a president who is too sure of himself,” said Philippe Martinez, the leader of the Confédération Générale du Travail, or CGT, France’s second-largest union, after Macron spoke. “This is serious.”

The protests against retirement at 64, which brings France more in line with its European neighbors, have been generally

peaceful over the past two months even as anger has mounted. But on Wednesday, protesters in Marseille set fire to wooden pallets and tires to block a highway; in Brest, dockers blocked the port; and in Paris, demonstrators from the CGT union occupied a McDonald’s on the Champs-Élysées.

Over the past week, violent nighttime clashes between police and protesters have erupted in several cities, including Paris, where there have been repeated chases between riot police firing tear gas and small groups of protesters lighting trash fires.

“When groups, as they have this week, use violence without any rules because they are not happy with something, then that is no longer democracy,” Macron said. At a time when “the United States lived what it lived at the Capitol,” he continued, “we respect, listen, we try to advance for the sake of the country, but we cannot accept insurrectionists or factions.”

Under the French system, today’s workers pay the pensions of a growing number of retirees, who now live longer. Over the medium term, the financial viability of this arrangement appears doubtful, even if Macron has not convinced French people of the urgency of the changes.

Macron, 45, noted that there were 10 million pensioners when he started working; there are 17 million now; and soon, there will be 20 million. Failure to raise the retirement age, he said, would be tantamount to “making our children pay because today you refuse to act with clarity and courage.”

His stance Wednesday — that his course

was the only responsible one for the country and generations to come — was a return to arguments Macron made last year. In recent months, the official narrative on the pension system has at different times been about justice, parlous public finances, even a leftwing program. The result has been confusion and growing resistance.

Macron had made clear his resolve Tuesday evening when he told members of his centrist Renaissance party and its allies, “If you believe in this democratic and Republican order, a riot cannot win the day over the representatives of the people.”

Addressing a gathering at the presidential Élysée Palace, he continued, “The mob, whatever it is, has no legitimacy before the sovereign people expressing themselves through its elected representatives.”

In effect, at a time when the nature of democracy is being vigorously debated in France’s Fifth Republic, with its constitution that gives the president enormous power, Macron argued that his decision to ram through the pension overhaul without a full parliamentary vote on the bill itself was more democratic than the “democracy” of widespread street protest.

His method was legal, and therefore, he said, he had the prerogative to use it; end of story, as Macron argued the case.

Commenting on Macron’s remarks Tuesday, François Bayrou, one of Macron’s key centrist allies, told Franceinfo on Wednesday, “I wouldn’t have put it that

way. Demonstrations have their legitimacy, but it is not a greater legitimacy than democratic legitimacy.”

Macron has said very little about his pension overhaul over the past two months, leaving his prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, and his ministers on the front lines to defend it from the opposition and to convince a skeptical public. This approach appears to have failed, as the president himself acknowledged without offering concessions or any possible compromise.

Speaking of Borne, who has faced intense criticism in the Parliament, Macron said, “She has my confidence to lead this government.” He added that “even in this moment of political incandescence, there is no alternative majority.”

This was an apparent allusion to the fact that while the extreme-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen and the far-left led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon hold considerable power in the National Assembly, or lower house, they agree on very little except the need to prevent the pension overhaul.

While Macron stood firm on his pension changes, he outlined other measures to placate anger in the country, which he said was due partly to a “feeling of injustice.”

“This feeling of injustice is saying, in a way, ‘When it comes down to it, we are always the ones who are working, who are asked to make an effort,’” Macron said of the many protesters who will have to work longer because of the change in the retirement age.

The government, he said, would look into ways to ensure that when large companies collect “exceptional profits,” those profits are also shared with employees instead of being used only to buy back stock.

Overall, however, Macron’s intransigent position in his remarks suggested that the dispute over the pension overhaul could last a long time. He had no response when asked when exactly French people could expect a return to calm.

The president has taken on something much bigger than the retirement age: the nation’s deep attachment to social solidarity and the pervasive view that a long sentence of work is offset only by the liberating rewards of a retiree’s life.

At a time of war in Europe, rising inflation, increasing energy costs, broad anxiety about economic prospects and growing distrust of the democratic institutions of the Fifth Republic, Macron’s determination to fight this battle now has crystallized resentments and brought into frontal conflict two views of French society and identity.

President Emmanuel Macron of France spoke on Wednesday in a televised interview with two journalists, his first remarks since pushing through a rise in the retirement age.

In a brother act with Putin, Xi reveals China’s fear of containment

By CHRIS BUCKLEY

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, flew into Moscow this week cast by Beijing as its emissary for peace in Ukraine. His summit with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, however, demonstrated that his priority remains shoring up ties with Moscow to gird against what he sees as a long campaign by the United States to hobble China’s ascent.

Talk of Ukraine was overshadowed by Xi’s vow of ironclad solidarity with Russia as a political, diplomatic, economic and military partner: two superpowers aligned in countering American dominance and a Western-led world order. The summit showed Xi’s intention to entrench Beijing’s tilt toward Moscow against what he recently called an effort by the United States at the full-fledged “containment” of China.

Xi and Putin used the pomp of the threeday state visit that ended on Wednesday to signal to their publics and to Western capitals that the bond between their two countries remained robust and, in their eyes, indispensable, 13 months after Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. They laid out their vision for the world in a nine-point joint statement that covered everything from Taiwan to climate change and relations with Mongolia, often depicting the United States as the obstacle to a better, fairer world.

“It looks like a strategic plan for a decade or even more. It’s not a knee-jerk reaction to the war in Ukraine,” said Alexander Korolev, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Australia, who studies Chinese-Russian relations. Noting the statement’s repeated criticisms of the United States, he said: “The threat is no longer implicit and hypothetical; it’s very explicit.”

Discussion of China’s murky proposal to end the war in Ukraine appeared only in the last section of their joint statement, offering no specifics about a way forward. In a warning to Western countries supporting Ukraine, it said that any settlement to the crisis must “prevent the formation of confrontational blocs that add fuel to the flames.”

Instead, the leaders talked up plans to enhance economic cooperation and draw more Chinese investors to Russia. They declared their admiration for each other’s authoritarian rule, with Xi going as far as endorsing Putin for another term in power, indicating to Russians that he was sure that they should back Putin in elections a year away.

“Xi Jinping in effect launched the reelection campaign for Putin,” said Maria Repnikova, a scholar at Georgia State Uni-

versity who studies political communication in China and Russia. “It seems like an important signal that highlights the extent of their friendship and that he’s really rooting for Putin.”

But while Xi sought to show China’s commitment to Russia, he stopped short of writing Putin a blank check of support. Though Putin claimed that a new pipeline for delivering natural gas to China would be finished by 2030, Xi did not confirm the deal.

China also calibrated the language used to describe its relationship with Russia. When Xi and Putin issued a joint statement last year, three weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine, they had said that Beijing and Moscow had a “limitless friendship.” This time, they sought to draw clearer boundaries, declaring that they are not in a traditional political and military alliance. Xi and other Chinese officials have also generally avoided reviving that rhetoric of “limitless friendship,” even though Putin still used it.

Xi’s and Putin’s media operatives have cast their relationship as a brotherly bond, cemented over shots of vodka, birthday cakes and ice cream during more than 40 meetings. But Xi’s calculus toward Russia is not based on sentiment. It is founded in China’s broader strategic calculations that are likely to remain fixed, whatever the outcome of the coming spring battles in Ukraine.

In Xi’s view, recently stated in unusually blunt terms, the United States is engaged in “all-around containment, encirclement and suppression of China” — a campaign of sanctions and diplomatic pressure that he says has brought “unprecedented severe challenges” to the country. To counter Western pressure, Xi wants to give Putin the political and economic support to secure their partnership, even if China may not want to wade into Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“Xi is making a significant gesture of political support to Putin with this trip, basically demonstrating that the relationship will be resilient even in these straitened circumstances and that he is willing to live with the opprobrium of the West,” said Andrew Small, the author of “No Limits: The Inside Story of China’s War With the West.”

Strong relations with Russia have become more crucial to China as its ties with the United States have deteriorated. A succession of events since last year appear to have hardened Xi’s wariness of Washington, even as he as sought to stabilize relations with President Joe Biden.

Chinese officials have pointed to U.S. restrictions on Chinese access to advanced semiconductors that are needed in anything from supercomputing to weapons development. They have also condemned moves by the United States and Britain to help Australia build nuclear-powered submarines, to counter China’s military growth.

“Beijing is trying to emphasize to a mainly domestic audience that the United

States is engaged in a multidomain, multipronged, and multi-actor effort to actively inhibit China’s continued rise,” said Jude Blanchette, the holder of the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Xi’s term of “all-around containment” is intended to summarize “an effort to slow Chinese growth, block its access to cuttingedge technologies, and to erode China’s ties with neighboring countries,” Blanchette said.

In their joint statement, Xi and Putin criticized NATO’s efforts to pay more attention to Asia. The leaders held up China and Russia’s relationship as superior to traditional Western military blocs because it is “mature, stable, independent and resilient.” China’s official news agency, Xinhua, issued an article explaining why the two countries would not want to establish a formal alliance that obliged them to aid each other in wars.

Some readers were not convinced. “It’s only in name that we’re not allies,” said one reader’s comment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo during a signing ceremony following their talks at The Grand Kremlin Palace, in Moscow, March 21, 2023.

As Haiti’s police retreat, gangs take over much of the capital

By CHRIS CAMERON and ANDRE PAULTRE

One by one, schools and hospitals have closed. Kidnappings are an everyday risk and gang warfare rages openly on the streets. But now, the chaos that has long consumed many parts of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, has spread: The national police, outgunned, outnumbered, underpaid and demoralized, have ceded control of most of the city to gangs.

Almost no one is safe anymore, analysts and residents say. Even the wealthy who have long looked down at the gang-ridden city from their homes in the mountains above Port-auPrince are no longer immune.

Gangs operate with impunity across Portau-Prince and increasingly in wealthy enclaves above the city, analysts say, tightening their grip by attacking police officers and destroying police stations.

“Today, security in Haiti is not a matter of means,’’ said Youri Mevs, the managing partner of an industrial park who lives in the mountains overlooking the city. “It is a matter of avoiding the wrong place at the wrong time. And, the wrong place is almost everywhere,

just as the wrong time is literally all the time.”

Mevs said she was sending some of her relatives out of the country because of safety concerns.

The spreading insecurity and the wides-

pread collapse of law and order have led officials to take the astonishing step of telling residents that they should take their protection into their own hands and not count on the government.

“We are asking for more citizen participation,” Gary Desrosiers, a police spokesperson, said, citing the example of one Port-au-Prince neighborhood where “the population is standing up to prevent disorder.”

The ruthless hallmarks of gang rule have advanced beyond the capital: More than 200 people were killed across the country in the first two weeks of March alone, mostly from snipers randomly shooting at people in their homes or on the streets, according to a United Nations report released this week.

The assassination of Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse, in July 2021 unraveled the country, tipping it into terror and disarray. There is, effectively, no elected government. The acting prime minister is widely viewed as inept. There is no legislature since the terms of the last remaining members of parliament expired in January. The judiciary is seen as fundamentally corrupt, and the national police force appears on the brink of collapse.

“The police are completely absent, the authorities are completely absent, the government is completely absent,” said Pierre Espérance, the executive director of the Haitian National Human Rights Defense Network.

A U.N. official in Haiti said in December that gangs controlled about 60% of Port-auPrince. Now analysts like Espérance estimate that the figure has risen to more than 90%.

“The government is deeply concerned’’ about the violence, Jean-Junior Joseph, a spokesperson for Ariel Henry, Haiti’s acting prime minister, said in a statement. He acknowledged that the police no longer have the capacity to take on the gangs.

In a speech to the armed forces Friday, Henry gave a sobering picture of the country’s condition. “Despair reaches such a level that the daughters and sons of the country only consider their future elsewhere,” he said.

The national police force has shrunk to fewer than 9,000 members, according to the United Nations, from as many as 15,000 three years ago, after many officers quit or left the country, among other factors.

“The government that is being paid to give us security is giving a clear statement that we are not about to protect you,” said Magali Comeau-Denis, a leader of the Montana Accord, an opposition group. “When you tell me to exercise self-defense, you tell me to engage myself in a civil war with the gangs.’’

The United States, Canada and other cou-

ntries have provided security aid to Haiti, including anti-gang and SWAT training and armored vehicles. But police officials say even more is needed to counter the firepower of the gangs, which have armed themselves through shipments of powerful weapons trafficked into the country from the United States, including machine guns, according to a report released this month by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

Henry’s government in October appealed for outside military intervention in Haiti to quell the violence, a remarkable request that underscored the dire situation in a country deeply resentful of foreign intervention. The political opposition called it an attempt to strengthen Henry’s tenuous claim to power.

Biden administration officials are pushing to rally a multinational armed force to Haiti, although the effort has stalled, largely because no country wants to lead it. American military leaders do not want U.S. troops drawn into another open-ended peacekeeping mission after the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Canada had expressed interest in a leadership role, according to the Biden administration, but recently Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to pull back, telling reporters that outside intervention in the past had not worked “to create long-term stability.”

Brian Nichols, the top State Department official for the Western Hemisphere, visited Haiti recently and met with Henry and Frantz Elbé, the national police chief. Henry’s spokesperson said the meeting focused on holding national elections and the need for more international support for the police.

The extreme violence has had a grim impact on the most vulnerable Haitians. Gangs have used sexual violence against women and girls to terrorize and pressure families to pay ransoms for abductees, according to a U.N. report released on Tuesday. Many children have also been forcibly recruited by armed gangs, the report said.

Doctors Without Borders, a global humanitarian organization that is helping keep the Haitian health system functioning, said that the number of patients — including children, women and older people — arriving at its emergency center with gunshot wounds had surged in recent days.

The group closed its hospital in Cité Soleil — the country’s largest slum — this month because patients and staff could not be assured protection.

Heavily armed groups were battling just yards from the hospital compound’s gate, according to Vincent Harris, a medical adviser who worked at that hospital.

People walk past members of the Haitian National Police in March as they attempt to repel gangs in a neighborhood near the Presidential Palace in Port-auPrince.

How big a deal is the banking mess?

By PAUL KRUGMAN

I’m on vacation and trying to spend a few weeks not thinking about the usual stuff. But it turns out that I can’t stay completely out of the debate over the sudden wave of banking crises and their effect on the economic outlook.

So as everyone knows, Silicon Valley Bank — not a huge institution, but an integral part of the tech industry’s financial ecosystem — has been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after facing a classic bank run. Signature Bank soon followed; First Republic Bank is under severe pressure. Swiss authorities have arranged a takeover of Credit Suisse, a major bank, by its rival UBS. And everyone is wondering what other land mines may be about to go off.

There will and should be many inquests into how and why these banks managed to get into so much trouble. In the case of Silicon Valley Bank, it appears that regulators had known for some time that the bank was a problem case, but for some reason didn’t or couldn’t rein it in.

But the more pressing questions are forward-looking. How much does the banking mess change economic conditions? How much should it change economic policy?

Some commentators — mainly, as far as I can tell,

cryptocurrency enthusiasts — are issuing apocalyptic warnings about hyperinflation and the imminent collapse of the dollar. But that’s almost certainly the opposite of the truth. When depositors pull their money out of banks, the effect is disinflationary, even deflationary. That’s certainly what happened in the early years of the Great Depression.

The savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s wasn’t a Depression-level event, largely because depositors were generally insured, so they were made whole (at taxpayers’ immense expense) despite huge industry losses. Even so, the crisis may have curbed business lending, especially in the commercial real estate industry, contributing to the 1990-91 recession.

And the financial crisis of 2008 — which was functionally a bank run even though the crisis centered on “shadow banks” rather than traditional depository institutions — was also disinflationary and helped bring on the worst economic slump since the Great Depression.

So how does the current mess compare? It will definitely impose a drag on the economy. But how big a drag? And how much should it change policy, in particular the interest rate decisions of the Federal Reserve?

The answer is simple: Nobody knows.

Here’s what we do know: Depositors don’t seem to be demanding cash and putting it under their mattresses. They are, however, moving funds out of small and medium-size banks, to some extent into big banks, and to some extent into money market funds.

Both types of institutions are likely to do less business lending than the smaller banks now under pressure. Big banks are more tightly regulated than smaller banks, required to have more capital (the excess of assets over liabilities) and more liquidity (a higher proportion of their assets devoted to investments that can readily be converted into cash). Money market funds also face quite stringent liquidity requirements. Add in the likelihood that even banks that haven’t experienced a run on their deposits will become much more cautious, and we’re probably looking at a serious reduction in credit. In effect, banking turmoil will act a lot like a rate hike by the Fed.

But how big an effective rate hike? I’m seeing smart, well-informed people produce numbers that are all over the place. Goldman Sachs says we’ll see the equivalent of a rate hike of 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points; Torsten Slok of Apollo Global Management says 1.5 percentage points. I have no idea who’s right.

However, the direction of the shock seems clear. I wrote a couple of weeks ago that the Fed is creeping its way through a dense data fog, trying to steer between the Scylla of inflation if it tightens too little and the

Charybdis of recession if it tightens too much (or maybe it’s the other way around; input from Homer scholars is welcome). Well, the fog has gotten even thicker. But clearly the risk of recession has gone up and the risk of inflation has gone down. So it makes sense for the Fed to steer somewhat to the left.

What this probably means in practice is that the Fed should pause its rate hikes until there’s more clarity about the inflation picture and the effects of the banking mess — and it should be clear that that’s what it is doing.

There doesn’t seem to be much danger that the Fed will lose its inflation-fighting credibility if it takes time to get its bearings. Inflation expectations are looking very well anchored.

Should the Fed go further and actually cut rates? Even though I’m generally a monetary dove, I wouldn’t call for an actual cut, at least just yet. Among other things, that might convey a sense of panic.

And even though the wave of bank problems has shocked almost everyone, panic doesn’t seem like the right response.

On the other hand, for the Fed to continue with rate hikes right now might send the opposite signal: a sense of cluelessness. This seems like a time to say, “Don’t just do something — stand there.”

For what it’s worth — and these may be famous last words — I’m actually somewhat reassured by the way that policymakers have been responding to the current wave of banking problems. Some of us remember bitter debates in 2008-09 about how to stabilize the financial system: The troubled institutions were complex and opaque, and nobody in power seemed willing to seize them so that they could be rescued without also bailing out shareholders. This time we’re talking about conventional banks that can be and have been seized by the FDIC, protecting depositors without letting shareholders off the hook.

The upshot is that so far, at least, this doesn’t look like a full-blown financial crisis. Stay tuned, though.

Departamento de Justicia Recobrará el dinero robado por corruptos

POR EL STAR STAFF

SAN JUAN – En un esfuerzo novel en la Isla, el Departamento de Justicia de Puerto Rico implementará los mecanismos legales disponibles para recobrar los fondos públicos que se han perdido por culpa de esquemas de corrupción ejecutados por funcionarios o contratistas privados que se han lucrado ilegalmente de las arcas gubernamentales. Así lo confirmó el secretario de Justicia, Domingo Emanuelli Hernández.

“Vamos dirigidos a recuperar el dinero del pueblo puertorriqueño. Junto al gobernador, Pedro Pierluisi, hemos estado evaluando distintos mecanismos para atajar la corrupción pública, como parte del plan de seguridad y la política anticorrupción de esta administración. Entre estos, se encuentran la posibilidad de iniciar demandas civiles en recobro del dinero público malversado o apropiado ilegalmente, ya sea por parte de funcionarios o personas del sector privado que le han fallado a Puerto Rico. Para esto tendremos que realizar una evaluación caso a caso. Queremos que devuelvan lo que le han robado al pueblo”, manifestó el secretario de Justicia.

A esos fines, el año pasado el gobernador también aprobó una enmienda al Código Penal de Puerto Rico, mediante la Ley 76-2022, que dispone la pena de restitución, ya sea satisfecha en dinero, mediante la prestación de servicios, o la entrega de los bienes ilegalmente apropiados.

“A través de este estatuto, podríamos recobrar el

dinero en el procedimiento penal”, explicó Emanuelli Hernández.

Además, el titular de Justicia indicó que ha estado observando lo acontecido durante el juicio federal por corrupción contra el exalcalde de Guaynabo, Ángel Pérez Otero, y que cuando culmine el proceso evaluará la comisión de delitos en la jurisdicción estatal.

“Habiendo un proceso judicial en desarrollo en la jurisdicción federal, hay que brindar el espacio para que este se complete. No obstante, una vez la fiscalía federal concluya de manera final y firme el proceso judicial que se está llevando a cabo, estaremos en posición de, responsablemente, realizar la coordinación requerida con las autoridades federales para llevar a cabo

la evaluación correspondiente de la evidencia y auscultar la posible comisión de delitos en la jurisdicción estatal. Esto, de conformidad a la normativa vigente en el caso Pueblo v. Sánchez Valle, por supuesto”, señaló el secretario. Por otra parte, Emanuelli Hernández informó que el Departamento de Justicia y otras agencias del Gobierno de Puerto Rico colaborarán “con todo lo que sea requerido como parte de la investigación que realizan las autoridades en República Dominicana, denominada Operación Calamar. A través de la Oficina de la Jefa de Fiscales estaremos cooperando con ese proceso que ha estremecido a la comunidad dominicana. La corrupción existe en todas partes y la unidad de esfuerzos es clave para combatirla”.

Senadora asigna $30 mil a gimnasio del Municipio de Culebra

POR EL STAR STAFF

EL CAPITOLIO – La senadora del Distrito de Carolina, Marissa ‘Marissita’ Jiménez Santoni, asignó la cantidad de $30 mil al gimnasio municipal de Culebra.

“Teniendo muy presente la inolvidable y más que cierta frase: ‘Mente sana, en cuerpo sano’, estamos asignándole la cantidad de $30 mil al gimnasio de la municipalidad”, manifestó.

“El ejercicio nos proporciona muchos beneficios, entre éstos, nos permite mantener el peso, eliminar toxinas y aumentar nuestro nivel de ener-

gía. Asimismo, contribuye a una sana autoestima”, hizo hincapié.

“Además de todo lo anterior, entrenar nuestro cuerpo nos ayuda a acondicionar la mente… El ejercicio físico mejora y ejercita la mente, memoria, agilidad, flexibilidad mental y rapidez”, subrayó.

“El alcalde, Edilberto ‘Junito’ Romero Llovet, tiene el gran interés de que nuestros hermanos culebrenses disfruten de una buena salud y tengan un lugar donde puedan recrearse… Esto no solo va a ayudar a los atletas, sino también a las personas de la tercera edad, jóvenes y niños”, terminó diciendo.

Five science fiction movies to stream now

By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

‘Still Time’

Dante (Edoardo Leo) works in insurance. Or rather, he overworks in insurance. His life is spent rushing around and juggling responsibilities, and so he is always running late, much to the frustration of his artist girlfriend, Alice (Barbara Ronchi). Until the morning following a birthday, when Dante wakes up to the realization that an entire year has gone by while he was asleep — mind you, everybody else experienced it normally. Another day goes by, and another year that has elapsed for him. In what feels like just a few (subjective) hours, Alice is pregnant, then the couple have a baby, who just as quickly turns into a toddler, and into a little girl. One day Dante’s a grunt at his company, the next he is the boss, and so on. To his horror, he is living his life in fast-forward.

An Italian remake of the 2021 Australian film “Long Story Short” (which stars Rafe Spall and is on Netflix), Alessandro Aronadio’s comedy skips cumbersome logistics — the script does not bear close scrutiny — to essentially focus on Dante’s powerlessness as his life passes him by. The message to slow down and smell the roses is fairly obvious, but that does not make “Still Time” any less fun. Stream it on Netflix.

‘Re/Member’

A great advantage of the time-loop conceit is that it can power many kinds of movies: rom-com, heist, thriller, life lesson. Here, director Eiichiro Hasumi delivers a J-horror version with a young adult twist. In his tale, a murderous entity tracks six high school students and slaughters them one by one. But the teenagers slowly gain an advantage since they keep waking up to the same morning, “Groundhog Day”-style, and relive the violent events. The teens quickly realize their life (and death) will be stuck on repeat until they complete a so-called body search — not anything the Transportation Security Administration might do but a morbid treasure hunt in which they must locate hacked-out body parts that have been stashed around their school. With the resets, they learn the parts’ locations, as well as where and when the Red Person might strike.

Unfortunately, one morning there is a hitch in the loop: The six are down to five. Hasumi keeps the scares coming while inserting a surprisingly effective subplot about teenagers being wolves to each other: A key character, Asuka (Kanna Hashimoto), is shunned by her classmates, who consider her a dorky loser.

Naturally, the repeat ordeal creates unexpected bonds. Make sure you stick around for the scene tucked after the end credits. Stream it on Netflix.

‘Strange World’

The reviews were not precisely ecstatic when this animated adventure was released in November, but there’s a reason Don Hall and Qui Nguyen’s movie has been doing very well on Disney+: It’s a fun caper with enough high jinks to make you overlook the sometimes heavy-handed message. A quarter century after he was left behind by his explorer father (Dennis Quaid), Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal) has become a successful farmer growing the electricity-producing Pando plant that powers everything in the wondrous land of Avalonia. Not only that, but he has a dream family with his wife, Meridian (Gabrielle Union), and son, Ethan ( Jaboukie Young-White). All is rosy, or rather eco-green, until Searcher notices that his plant is slowly dying. To troubleshoot, he sets out to locate the plant’s root and finds himself in an underground world. Pando-monium ensues. The movie often is overwhelmingly breathless, but the way it fully embraces old-fashioned family adventure has a winning retro-cool vibe. Stream it on Disney+.

‘Something in the Dirt’

Since “Resolution,” in 2013, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have explored the outer edges of human consciousness in a joint filmography steeped in horror and science fiction. Their most accessible movie so far is “Synchronic” (2020), in which the title drug allows Anthony Mackie to time-travel. Benson and Moorhead followed it up with this gonzo talkathon in which two neighbors become enmeshed in a world of conspiracy theories and supernatural shenanigans, against a backdrop of ominous black smoke and low-flying aircrafts. It’s all very Los Angeles weird.

The story revolves around the instafriendship between Levi (Benson) and his new neighbor, John (Moorhead). Levi has just moved into an apartment that had been empty for 10 years. When odd phenomena start to happen — the lease didn’t mention levitating, glowing crystals — the two men decide to film them for a documentary they hope will lead to Netflix riches. Golden ratio? Mysterious symbols? Possible alien presence? Direct references to “The X-Files”? It’s all there, and more.

The movie is less about a traditional mystery-explaining narrative than Levi and John’s buddy chemistry. They are exemplars of seekers whose knowledge is fed by sketchy message

boards and half-digested information pulled from podcasts and TED Talks, so much so that “Something in the Dirt” feels like a meta-commentary on people who really, really want to believe. Stream it on Hulu.

‘Next Exit’

For her debut feature, writer-director Mali Elfman chose a tried-and-true structure: two strangers thrown together on a cross-country road trip. Here, however, the end of the line truly is the end of the line, because Rose (Katie Parker) and Teddy (Rahul Kohli) are going from New York to San Francisco to commit assisted suicide as part of an experiment in post-consciousness survival. If this sounds like they are volunteering to become ghosts, that is pretty much what is going on — Rose and Teddy are heading to the Life Beyond Institute, where the guru-like Dr. Stevensen (Karen Gillan) promises “the next era of the human existence.”

Life after death is essentially accepted as a new reality but “Next Exit” does not really

explore what that entails. Rather, the movie is interested in what people do when they think they have nothing to lose — or to gain, for that matter. It’s a common trope in psychological science fiction concerned with human behavior in the shadow of extinction, and while this movie does not add anything groundbreaking to the mini-genre, it is a compelling watch thanks to Parker and Kohli’s prickly rapport. You see where Rose and Teddy’s relationship is going long before the characters do, but as with the best road trips, the journey matters more than the destination.

Stream it on Hulu.

Edoardo Leo, right, with Barbara Ronchi in “Still Time.”

MENONITA CAGUAS ES TU HOSPITA

Aq uí e re s pa rt e d e la f a m y tus servicios médicos están en un mismo lugar.

RADIOLOGÍA

FARMACIA

OFICINAS MÉDICAS

LABORATORIO CLÍNICO

CLÍNICAS DE SUBESPECIALISTAS

PEDIÁTRICOS

Coordina tu cita

787-653-0550

SALA DE EMERGENCIA ADULTOS / PEDIÁTRICA

CENTRO DE NEUROCIENCIA Y MANEJO DE ATAQUE CEREBRAL

CENTRO ESPECIALIZADO EN REHABILITACIÓN

LEGAL NOTICE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF PUER-

TO RICO

FINANCE OF AMERICA

REVERSE, LLC.

Plaintiff Vs.

NILDA LUZ SANTIAGO

MEDINA A/K/A NILDA

L. SANTIAGO MEDINA

A/K/A NILDA SANTIAGO

MEDINA A/K/A NILSA

SANTIAGO MEDINA A/K/A

NILDA LUZ SANTIAGO

A/K/A NILDA L.

SANTIAGO A/K/A NILDA

SANTIAGO A/K/A NILSA

SANTIAGO; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Defendants

Civil Action No.: 17-cv-1627.

NOTICE OF SALE.

To: NILDA LUZ

SANTIAGO MEDINA A/K/A

NILDA L. SANTIAGO

MEDINA A/K/A NILDA

SANTIAGO MEDINA

A/K/A NILSA SANTIAGO

MEDINA A/K/A NILDA

LUZ SANTIAGO A/K/A

NILDA L. SANTIAGO

A/K/A NILDA SANTIAGO

A/K/A NILSA SANTIAGO;

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

GENERAL PUBLIC.

WHEREAS: Judgment was entered in favor of plaintiff to recover from defendants the principal sum of $86,409.11, plus interest at a rate of 5.060% per annum until the debt is paid in full. The defendant Nilda Luz

Santiago Medina a/k/a Nilda L.

Santiago Medina a/k/a Nilda

Santiago Medina a/k/a Nilsa

Santiago Medina a/k/a Nilda

Luz Santiago a/k/a Nilda L. Santiago a/k/a Nilda Santiago a/k/a Nilsa Santiago to pay Finance of America Reverse, LLC., all advances made under the mortgage note including but not limited to insurance premiums, taxes and inspections as well as 10% ($17,100.00) of the original principal amount to cover costs, expenses, and attorney’s fees guaranteed under the mortgage obligation. The records of the case and of these proceedings may be examined by interested parties at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Room 150, Federal Office Building, 150 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. WHE-

REAS: Pursuant to the terms of the aforementioned Judgment, Order of Execution, and the Writ of Execution thereof, the undersigned Special Master was ordered to sell at public auction

for U.S. currency in cash or certified check without appraisement or right of redemption to the highest bidder and at the office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150 – Federal Office Building, 150 Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, to cover the sums adjudged to be paid to the plaintiff, the following property.

“URBANA: Solar número seis de la Manzana H, Urbanización Santa Mónica, Barrio Pájaros de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, compuesta de 325.00 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar número 5, en 25.00 metros; por el SUR, con el solar número 7, en 25.00 metros; por el ESTE, con la Calle número 6, en 13.00 metros y por el OESTE con el solar número 21, en 7.00 metros y con el solar número 20, en 6.00 metros, con un total la distancia de 13.00 metros.” Property Number 19,829 recorded at page 146 of volume 438 of Bayamon Sur, Registry of the Property of Puerto Rico, Section I of Bayamón. The mortgage being foreclosed is recorded at page 37, volume 1,933 of Bayamon Sur, property 19,829, 12th inscription, Registry of the Property of Puerto Rico, Section I of Bayamon. WHEREAS: This property is subject to the following liens: Senior Liens: None. Junior Liens: Reverse mortgage securing a note in favor of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, or its order, in the original principal amount of $171,000.00, due on March 30, 2094 pursuant to deed number 84, issued in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 9, 2014, before notary Magaly Rodriguez Batista, and recorded, at page 37 of volume 1,933 of Bayamon Sur, property number 19,829, 13th inscription. Other Liens: None. 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. THEREFORE, the FIRST PUBLIC SALE shall be held on the 4TH DAY OF APRIL, 2023

AT 9:15 AM. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $171,000.00. In the event said first auction does not produce a bidder and the property

is not adjudicated, a SECOND PUBLIC AUCTION shall be held on the 11TH DAY OF APRIL, 2023 AT 9:15 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum $114,000.00, which is two-thirds of the amount of the minimum bid for the first public sale. If a second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a THIRD PUBLIC AUCTION will be held on the the 18TH DAY OF APRIL, 2023

AT 9:15 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $85,500.00, which is one-half of the minimum bid in the first public sale. The Special Master shall not accept in payment of the property to be sold anything but United States currency or certified checks, except in case the property is sold and adjudicated to the plaintiff, in which case the amount of the bid made by said plaintiff shall be credited and deducted from its credit; said plaintiff being bound to pay in cash or certified check only any excess of its bid over the secured indebtedness that remains unsatisfied. WHE-

REAS: Said sale to be made by the Special Master subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the deed of conveyance and possession to the property will be executed and delivered only after such confirmation. Upon confirmation of the sale, an order shall be issued cancelling all junior liens. For further particulars, reference is made to the judgment entered by the Court in this case, which can be examined in the Office of Clerk of the United States District Court, District of Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 24th day of February of 2023. Pedro A. Vélez-Baerga, Special Master, specialmasterpr@gmail.com, 787-672-8269.

LEGAL NOTICE

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO. BANESCO USA, Plaintiff, v. CENTRO CITOPATOLÓGICO

DEL CARIBE, INC.; LABORATORIO CLÍNICO EL CENTRO, INC.; OFICINAS DEL CENTRO, INC.; PUERTO RICO INSTITUTE OF PATHOLOGY, INC.; ELIUD LÓPEZ VÉLEZ; CRISTINA GÓMEZ D’ANGELO; ARMANDO TROCHE OLIVIERI; HIS WIFE KATHERINE DÁVILA

MORALES; AND THEIR CONJUGAL LEGAL PARTNERSHIP,

Defendants Case No. 19-1697 (PAD). NOTICE OF SALE.

TO: DEFENDANTS AND GENERAL PUBLIC

On February 1, 2022, the Court entered Judgment in favor of plaintiff, Banesco USA (“Banesco”) and against defendants, Centro Citopatológico del Caribe, Inc.; Oficinas del Centro, Inc.; Puerto Rico Institute of Pathology, Inc.; Eliud López Vélez; and Cristina Gómez D’Angelo; (“Defendants”). As of February 27, 2020, Defendants owe Banesco the total amount of $1,380,025.92 consisting of $974,721.66 of principal, plus interest at a rate of $216.54 per diem. The interest continues to accrue until the debt is paid in full. Defendants also owe Banesco accrued late charges and any other advance, charge, fee or disbursements made by Banesco on behalf of Defendants, in accordance with the mortgage deeds, plus costs, charges and disbursements, expenses, plus the amount of $220,550.00 in attorneys’ fees. The amounts owed by codefendant Centro Citopatológico will be satisfied only with the proceedings obtained from the judicial sale of the property. The amounts owed by codefendant Centro Citopatológico del Caribe, Inc. will be satisfied only with the proceedings obtained from the judicial sale of the properties. Pursuant to said judgment and/or the Order 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 property: PROPERTY H: URBAN: HORIZONTAL PROPERTY: Apartment No.602 of PELICAN REEF CONDOMINIUM, Apartment Building, located in Corsica ward, of the municipality of Rincón, Puerto Rico. This apartment is built in reinforced concrete. Single level, with its entrance door from the exterior corridor by the east boundary, and that goes to the corridor that leads to the lobby of elevators and stairs by which you reach the first level of the building and from there to the parking

building. This apartment has a total area of approximately 715.32 square feet, equivalent to 66.4554 square meters. In boundaries by the NORTH, in 33’9” equivalent to 10.29 meters, with dividing wall that separates it from apartment 603; by the SOUTH, in 33’9” equivalent to 10.29 meters, with a dividing wall that separates it from apartment 601 and the exterior corridor that is a common area; by the EAST, in 30’0” equivalent to 9.14 meters, with dividing wall that separates it from the exterior corridor that is common area; and by the WEST, in 30’0” equivalent to 9.14 meters, with dividing wall that separates it from apartment 603 and with railing that separates it from the common exterior area. This apartment consists: entrance hall, kitchen with closet for laundry equipment, living room, balcony, linen closet, bathroom and master bedroom with closet. This apartment corresponds to parking No.81 on the first level of the parking lot in front of the apartment building.

Percentage: 1.5440% in the common elements of the Condominium. The property described above is recorded at page 119 of volume 161 of Rincón, property number 8,155, Registry of Property, Section of Aguadilla. The property is subject to the following liens: By its origin: Easement in favor of Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales. By itself: MORTGAGE in guarantee of note in favor of Popular Mortgage, or to its order, in the principal amount of $189,190.00, with a annual interest rate of 5 7/8% and due on July 1, 2035, as per Deed No. 299, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 30, 2005, before Notary Public Namyr I. Hernández Sánchez, recorded at page 119 of volume 161 of Rincón, 2nd inscription. At entry 900 of journal 861, on January 21, 2015, Deed #3 was presented, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on January 28, 2013, before the Notary Public Mayra Rotger Meléndez, through which appeared Alejo Edgar Nery Beyer, t/c/c Edgar Alejo Nery Beyer, Edgar Nery Beyer and Edgar Nery Beijer, single; and María Cristina GÓMEZ D’Angelo, t/c/c Cristina Gómez D’Angelo, Cristina Gómez Nery and Doctor Cristina Nery, single, whose marriage was declared broken and dissolved by Judgment of December 6, 2012, followed in the Court of First Instance, Superior Chamber of San Juan, in Civil Case #KDI2012-1470, which is attached. Alejo Edgar Nery Beyer sells his participation in favor of María Cristina Gómez D’Angelo for the price

of $20,000.00. In entry 901 of journal 861, on January 21, 2015, deed #20 was presented, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on October 31, 2014, before the Notary Rafael L. Rovira Arbona, through the which appears Cristina Gómez D’Angelo, t/c/c Cristina Gómez Nery, single, to establish a Mortgage as collateral for a promissory note in favor of Banesco USA, or at its order, for the principal sum of $172,500.00, with interest at 12% per year and due on presentation. BANESCO USA Bank is holder by endorsement of the promissory note of $189,190.00 and POSTPONES said debt to the one hereby constituted; attesting the notary to add an “allonge”. At entry 2022-052206-AG01 on April 22, 2022, Order and Writ Attachment dated April 21, 2022 was filed in civil case #19-1697 (PAD) in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. Plaintiff Banesco USA; Defendant: Caribbean Cytopathological Center Inc. Amount claimed: $1,380,025.92. 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 lien executed is the Order and Writ of Attachment over the property, and for the purposes of the first judicial sale the minimum bid amount is the amount of $172,500.00. Said sale to be made by the appointed Special Master is subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the deed of conveyance and possession to the property may be executed and delivered after the judicial sale. Upon confirmation of the sale, 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 herein before referred to, will, on the April 21st, 2023, at 10:30 a.m., in the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Federal Building, 350 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, will sell at public auction to the highest bidder the property described herein, the proceeds of

said sale to be applied in the manner and form provided by the Court’s Judgment. The records of the case and of these proceedings may be examined by the parties at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Federal Building, Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 3rd day of March, 2023. Aguedo de la Torre, Appointed Special Master.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE CAROLINA ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante, V. ISABEL ORTEGA RIVERA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CA2018CV02578. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, hago saber a la parte demandada, ISABEL ORTEGA RIVERA; Y AL PÚBLICO EN GENERAL; que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 14 de agosto de 2019, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor pagadero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o giro postal, a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal, la siguiente propiedad con dirección física: [#C 33 El Diamantino Condominio, Carolina, Puerto Rico 00987] y que se describe como sigue:

URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento número ‘C’ guión treinta y tres (C-33), localizado en el inmueble sometido al régimen de Propiedad Horizontal, denominado Condominio Diamantino que radica en el Barrio Martin Gonzáles del término municipal de Carolina, Puerto Rico. Es de forma irregular y está construido de hormigón reforzado y bloques de hormigón a ser utilizado para fines residenciales. Tiene una entrada principal por su lado SUR que lo comunica con el pasillo por dónde tiene acceso a su vez a la vía público y estacionamiento. Colinda por el NORTE, en una distancia de veintidós pies cinco pulgadas (22’5’) con el elemento común general, por el SUR, en veintidós pies cinco pulgadas (22’5’) con elemento común general, por el ESTE, en treinta pies (30’) con el apartamento C’ guion treinta y cuatro (C-34), y por el OESTE, en cuarenta

y dos pies (42’), con el apartamento ‘C’ guión treinta y dos (C-32). Tiene una cabida superficial setecientos setenta y siete punto ochocientos treinta y tres pies cuadrados (777.833). Consta de sala-comedor, tres (3) cuartos dormitorios con sus respectivos closets, cuarto de baño, cocina y patio de servicio. A este apartamento le corresponde un espacio (1) para estacionamiento de un automóvil marcado con el número diecinueve (19) localizado en el área de estacionamiento del condominio. Corresponde, además, a este apartamento en los elementos comunes generales del inmueble, una participación tres punto catorce por ciento (3.14%). Finca 60205 inscrita al folio195 del tomo 1450 de Carolina; inscrita al folio 195 del tomo 1450 del Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina II. La finca antes descrita se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: (i) HIPOTECA constituida por Isabel Ortega Rivera, soltera, en garantía de un pagaré a favor del Municipio de Carolina o a su orden por la suma principal de $10,000.00, sin intereses anuales. Vencimiento en 10 años, según escritura número 20 otorgada en Carolina, el 31 de mayo de 2000 ante el notario Aurelio Segundo Serrano, inscrita al folio 195 del tomo 1450 de Carolina, Según inscripción 2da. (ii) HIPOTECA constituida por Isabel Ortega Rivera, soltera, en garantía de un pagaré aff. #4959 a favor de Oriental Bank & Trust, o a su orden, por la suma de $49,000.00, con intereses al 9 3/4% anual y vencimiento el 1 de junio de 2030, según Esc. #241, otorgada en Carolina, el 31 de mayo de 2000, ante Delia Castillo de Colorado, inscrita al folio 75 del tomo 1451 de Carolina, según inscripción 3era. (iii) AVISO DE DEMANDA radicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, en el caso civil # CA2018CV02578, sobre Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Oriental Bank v. Isabel Ortega Rivera, por $36,291.32 anotado al Sistema Karibe, el 3 de enero de 2019, anotación A. (iv) Al asiento 2022-164464-CR02, el 23 de diciembre de 2022, se presentó Esc. #315, en Carolina, el 22 de diciembre de 2022, ante la notario Leslie Feliciano Rodriguez, por la cual se cancela hipoteca por $10,000.00. La hipoteca objeto de esta ejecución es la que ha quedado descrita en el inciso (ii). Será celebrada la subasta para con el importe de la misma satisfacer la sentencia dictada el 20 de febrero de 2019, mediante la cual se condenó a la parte demanda-

rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 210-2015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente

Aviso de Pública Subasta en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy 10 de marzo de 2023. ALEJANDRO

L. URBINA ROQUE, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #997, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS, SALA SUPERIOR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO

MMG I PR CDGY LLC

Demandante, Vs. SUCESIÓN DE CARMEN

LÓPEZ COLLAZO

COMPUESTA POR

RAYMOND CINTRÓN

LÓPEZ, RAFAEL

CINTRÓN LÓPEZ, JUNIOR

CINTRÓN LÓPEZ, EDWIN APONTE LÓPEZ, JERRY APONTE LÓPEZ, WILLIAM APONTE

LÓPEZ, HÉCTOR

APONTE LÓPEZ, JOHN

DOE Y JANE DOE COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS

DESCONOCIDOS;

SUCESIÓN DE JOSÉ LÓPEZ COLLAZO COMPUESTA POR

FULANO DE TAL Y FULANA DE TAL COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS

DESCONOCIDOS Y LA SUCESIÓN DE JOSÉ LÓPEZ, HIJO, COMPUESTA POR

MENGANO DE TAL Y

MENGANA DE TAL; ERIC LEE CINTRÓN SOLÍS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”)

Demandados

Civil Núm.: FA2022CV01104.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA.

EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO E INTERPELACIÓN. LOS

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., S.S.

A: MENGANO DE TAL Y

MENGANA DE TAL COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE JOSÉ

LÓPEZ, HIJO. Queda(n) emplazado(s) y notificado(s) que en este Tribunal se ha radicado Demanda sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca en su contra. Se le notifica para que comparezca ante el Tribunal dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación de este edicto y exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga, en el presente caso. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr/sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, y notificando copia de dicha contestación a los abogados de la parte demandante: Lcda. Ana J. Bobonis Zequeira a su dirección: Fernández Chiqués, LLC, P.O. Box 9749, San Juan, P.R. 00908; Teléfono 787-7223040 / Fax (787) 722-3317 dentro del término de Treinta (30) días de haberse publicado este edicto, descontando la fecha de la publicación del edicto. Se le advierte que, 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 ejercicio de su sana discreción lo entiende procedente. Se le ORDENA además a usted(es) a que dentro del término legal de treinta (30) días, de haberse publicado del presente edicto, descontando la fecha de su publicación, acepte o repudie la participación que le corresponda en la herencia de la Sr. José López Collazo. SE LES APERCIBE a los herederos antes mencionados que de no expresarse dentro de ese término de treinta (30) días en torno a su aceptación o repudiación de herencia, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante, Sr. José López Collazo, y, por consiguiente, responden por las cargas de dicha herencia conforme dispone el Artículo 957 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. 2785. EXPEDIDO

BAJO MI FIRMA Y SELLO DE ESTE TRIBUNAL. En Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 13 de marzo de 2023. WANDA SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA. IVELISSE SERRANO GARCÍA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

MMG I PR CDGY LLC

Demandante, Vs. SUCESIÓN DE CARMEN

LÓPEZ COLLAZO

COMPUESTA POR

RAYMOND CINTRÓN LÓPEZ, RAFAEL

CINTRÓN LÓPEZ, JUNIOR

CINTRÓN LÓPEZ, EDWIN APONTE LÓPEZ, JERRY APONTE LÓPEZ, WILLIAM APONTE LÓPEZ, HÉCTOR APONTE LÓPEZ, JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; SUCESIÓN DE JOSÉ LÓPEZ COLLAZO COMPUESTA POR

FULANO DE TAL Y FULANA DE TAL COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y LA SUCESIÓN DE JOSÉ LÓPEZ, HIJO, COMPUESTA POR

MENGANO DE TAL Y MENGANA DE TAL; ERIC LEE CINTRÓN SOLÍS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”)

Demandados

Civil Núm.: FA2022CV01104. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO E INTERPELACIÓN. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., S.S.

A: JOHN DOE Y JANE DOS COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE CARMEN LÓPEZ COLLAZO. Queda(n) emplazado(s) y notificado(s) que en este Tribunal se ha radicado Demanda sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca en su contra. Se le notifica para que comparezca ante el Tribunal dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación de este edicto y exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga, en el presente caso. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr/sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, y notificando copia de dicha contestación a los abogados de la parte demandante: Lcda.

Ana J. Bobonis Zequeira a su dirección: Fernández Chiqués, LLC, P.O. Box 9749, San Juan, P.R. 00908; Teléfono 787-722-

3040 / Fax (787) 722-3317 dentro del término de Treinta (30) días de haberse publicado este edicto, descontando la fecha de la publicación del edicto. Se le advierte que, 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 ejercicio de su sana discreción lo entiende procedente. Se le ORDENA además a usted(es) a que dentro del término legal de treinta (30) días, de haberse publicado del presente edicto, descontando la fecha de su publicación, acepte o repudie la participación que le corresponda en la herencia de la Sr. José López Collazo. SE LES APERCIBE a los herederos antes mencionados que de no expresarse dentro de ese término de treinta (30) días en torno a su aceptación o repudiación de herencia, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante, Sr. José López Collazo, y, por consiguiente, responden por las cargas de dicha herencia conforme dispone el Artículo 957 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. 2785. EXPEDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y SELLO DE ESTE TRIBUNAL. En Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 13 de marzo de 2023. WANDA SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA. IVELISSE SERRANO GARCÍA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

MMG I PR CDGY LLC Demandante, Vs. SUCESIÓN DE CARMEN LÓPEZ COLLAZO COMPUESTA POR RAYMOND CINTRÓN LÓPEZ, RAFAEL CINTRÓN LÓPEZ, JUNIOR CINTRÓN LÓPEZ, EDWIN APONTE LÓPEZ, JERRY APONTE LÓPEZ, WILLIAM APONTE LÓPEZ, HÉCTOR APONTE LÓPEZ, JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; SUCESIÓN DE JOSÉ LÓPEZ COLLAZO COMPUESTA POR

FULANO DE TAL Y FULANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y LA SUCESIÓN DE JOSÉ LÓPEZ, HIJO, COMPUESTA POR MENGANO DE TAL Y

MENGANA DE TAL; ERIC LEE CINTRÓN SOLÍS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”)

Demandados

Civil Núm.: FA2022CV01104. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO E INTERPELACIÓN. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., S.S. A: FULANO DE TAL Y FULANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE JOSÉ LÓPEZ COLLAZO.

Queda(n) emplazado(s) y notificado(s) que en este Tribunal se ha radicado Demanda sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca en su contra. Se le notifica para que comparezca ante el Tribunal dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación de este edicto y exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga, en el presente caso. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr/sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, y notificando copia de dicha contestación a los abogados de la parte demandante: Lcda. Ana J. Bobonis Zequeira a su dirección: Fernández Chiqués, LLC, P.O. Box 9749, San Juan, P.R. 00908; Teléfono 787-7223040 / Fax (787) 722-3317 dentro del término de Treinta (30) días de haberse publicado este edicto, descontando la fecha de la publicación del edicto. Se le advierte que, 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 ejercicio de su sana discreción lo entiende procedente. Se le ORDENA además a usted(es) a que dentro del término legal de treinta (30) días, de haberse publicado del presente edicto, descontando la fecha de su publicación, acepte o repudie la participación que le corresponda en la herencia de la Sr. José López Collazo. SE LES APERCIBE a los herederos antes mencionados que de no expresarse dentro de ese término de treinta (30) días en torno a su aceptación o repudiación de herencia, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante, Sr. José López Collazo, y, por consiguiente, res-

ponden por las cargas de dicha herencia conforme dispone el Artículo 957 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. 2785. EXPEDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y SELLO DE ESTE TRIBUNAL. En Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 13 de marzo de 2023. WANDA SEGUÍ

REYES, SECRETARIA. IVELISSE SERRANO GARCÍA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO

WILMINGTON SAVINGS

FUND SOCIETY, FSB, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR FINANCE OF AMERICA STRUCTURED SECURITIES

ACQUISITION TRUST

2019-HB1

Demandante Vs. SUCESION AUREA

BASILISA LUGO URRUTIA

T/C/C AUREA B. LUGO

URRUTIA T/C/C AUREA

LUGO URRUTIA T/C/C

AUREA BASILISA LUGO

T/C/C AUREA LUGO DE CHRISTIAN T/C/C

AUREA L. DE CHRISTIAN

T/C/C AUREA B. LUGO

T/C/C AUREA LUGO

COMPUESTA POR JOHN

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

Civil Núm.: AR2022CV00012.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

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

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

GENERAL:

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Arecibo, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo, el 9 DE MAYO

DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Extensión San Lorenzo, Barrio Hato Debajo de Arecibo, Puerto Rico, siendo el Solar número quince del Bloque H, con cabida de cuatrocientos treinta y cuatro punto treinta y cinco metros (434.35 m.c.). Colinda por el NORTE, con Solar numero H dieciséis A., por donde mide la distancia de veintidós punto dieciocho metros; por el SUR, colinda en una distancia de veintiocho punto noventa y dos metros, con el Solar numero H catorce; por el ESTE, mide diez y siete metros y colinda con la Calle número cuatro; por el OESTE, colinda con los Solares número H diecisiete y H dieciocho en línea recta, por donde mide la distancia de diez y ocho punto veintinueve metros. Contiene una residencia de hormigón y bloques. Inscrita al folio 71 del tomo 297 de Arecibo, finca 13,032, Registro de la Propiedad de Arecibo, Sección I. La Hipoteca Revertida consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe, finca 13,032 de Arecibo, Registro de la Propiedad de Arecibo, Sección I, inscripción 5ª. Propiedad localizada en: URB. EXT. SAN LORENZO, H-15 (52) CALLE 4, ARECIBO, PUERTO RICO 00612. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga: N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento: N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano. Suma de la Carga: $180,000.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 24 de agosto de 2078. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $180,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de

Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo, el 16 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $120,000.00, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $90,000.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo, el 23 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $111,044.89 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $12,443.40 en intereses acumulados al 23 de marzo de 2022 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 3.733% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $4,333.96 en seguro hipotecario; $525.00 de tasaciones; $340.00 de inspecciones; $1,400.00 en honorarios de abogado; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $18,000.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado, esta última habrá de devengar intereses al máximo del tipo legal fijado por la oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras aplicable a esta fecha, desde este mismo día hasta su total y completo saldo. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Arecibo, Puerto Rico, hoy 9 de marzo de 2023. WILFREDO OLMO SALAZAR, ALGUACIL REGIONAL. ÁNGEL DE JESÚS TORRES PÉREZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #770.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE GUAYNABO LUNA RESIDENTIAL II, LLC.

Parte Demandante V. MARÍA MILAGROS LÓPEZ SOTO

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: GB2022CV01175.

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

A: MARÍA MILAGROS

LÓPEZ SOTO. CONDOMINIO PÓRTICOS DE GUAYNABO EDIFICIO #14 APT. 101 GUAYNABO PR 00969.

Por la presente se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días de haber sido notificado 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 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. Representa a la parte demandante el Lcda. Raquel Deseda Belaval, Delgado Fernández, LLC, PO Box 11750, Fernández Juncos Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910-1750. Tel. [787] 274-1414. DADA en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, a 13 de marzo de 2023. LCDA.

LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL II.

SARA ROSA VILLEGAS, SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL CONFIDENCIAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE CAROLINA

ANDRES RIVERA

SANCHEZ Y SU ESPOSA

ANDREA VALENTIN

PEÑA, POR SÍ Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES

COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS

Demandantes Vs. DORAL MORTGAGE

CORP., HOY BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO; JOHN DOE; RICHARD ROE, PERSONAS DESCONOCIDAS CON POSIBLE INTERES

Demandados

Civil No.: CN2023CV0092.

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

A: DORAL MORTGAGE CORP.; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE, COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES DEL PAGARÉ.

Por medio del presente edicto se les notifica de la radicación de una Demanda de Cancelación de Pagaré Extraviado en la que se solicita la cancelación del siguiente pagaré hipotecario, que se ha extraviado, luego de haber sido saldado por el deudor hipotecario: Pagaré a favor de DORAL MORTGAGE CORP., o a su orden, por la suma de $50,000.00 de principal, intereses al 9.95% anual y vencedero el día 1 de abril de 2020, según consta de la escritura número 41, el día 29 de marzo de 2005, ante la Notaria lvonne Santiago Camacho, e inscrita al folio 215 del tomo 379 de Canóvanas, finca número 8,429, inscripción séptima. La parte demandante solicita del Honorable Tribunal que declare Con Lugar la demanda y en su consecuencia ordene al Secretario del Tribunal que expida Mandamiento al Registrador de la Propiedad correspondiente, para que dicho funcionario proceda a cancelar en los libros a su cargo la referida hipoteca dejando la propiedad aquí descrita libre de dicho gravamen hipotecario. POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO se les emplaza y requiere para que conteste la Demanda radicando el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, y notificándole con copia de dicha contestación al abogado de la parte demandante, Lcdo.

Alejandro J. Cacho Rodríguez, 54 Calle Resolución, Suite 303 San Juan, PR 00920 Tel: (787) 722-2242; Fax: (787) 7222243, cacho@cacholaw.com dentro del término de treinta (30) días siguientes a la fecha de publicación de este Edicto; si dejaren de así hacerlo, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia contra ustedes concediendo el remedio solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPE-

DIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del Tribunal de Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 14 de marzo de 2023.

LCDA. MARILYN APONTE RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARICRUZ APONTE ALICEA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. LAURA ORTIZ FERRER

T/C/C LAURA DORAINE ORTIZ FERRER; AUTORIDAD PARA EL FINANCIAMIENTO DE LA VIVIENDA DE PUERTO RICO

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV06084.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO ANUNCIANDO PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe, funcionario del Tribunal de la Sala Superior de San Juan, Puerto Rico, por la presente anuncia y hace saber al público en general que en cumplimiento con la Sentencia dictada en este caso con fecha 20 de enero de 2023, y según Orden y Mandamiento del 6 de marzo de 2023 librado por este honorable Tribunal, procederé a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor, y por dinero en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal con todo título derecho y/o interés de la parte demandada sobre la propiedad que se describe a continuación:

PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL:

URBANA: Apartamento número once cero tres (1103), ubicado en el Condominio Golden View Plaza, localizado en el Sub-Barrio de Sabana Llana del Barrio Río Piedras del municipio de San Juan. Con una cabida superficial de setecientos veintiuno punto ochenta y tres pies (721.83 p.c.) equivalentes a sesenta y siete punto cero sesenta metros cuadrados (67.060 m.c.). Contiene tres (3) habitaciones, sala-comedor, cocina y baño. Colinda por el NORTE, en treinta y cinco pies seis pulgadas (35’6”) con espacio exterior y área de escaleras; por el SUR, en treinta y cinco pies seis pulgadas (35’6”) con espacio exterior; por el ESTE, en veinte pies cuatro pulgadas (20’4”) con espacio exterior; y por el OESTE, en diecinueve pies seis pulgadas (19’6”) con el apartamento once cero dos (1102) y con el pasillo que le da acceso. Este apartamento tiene asignado el estacionamiento número noventa y nueve (99). En los elementos comunes tiene un cero punto cero cero

cinco siete cinco (0.00575%) de participación. FINCA NÚMERO: 31,902, inscrita al folio móvil del tomo 971 de Sabana Llana, sección V de San Juan. Dirección Física: COND. GOLDEN VIEW PLAZA APTO. 1103, SAN JUAN, PR 00924. Se anuncia por medio de este edicto que la PRIMERA SUBASTA habrá de celebrarse el día 25 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina sita en el edificio que ocupa el Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala Superior de San Juan. Siendo ésta la primera subasta que se celebrará en este caso, será el precio mínimo aceptable como oferta en la Primera Subasta, eso es el tipo mínimo pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca para la propiedad, la suma de $88,200.00. De no haber remanente o adjudicación en esta primera subasta por dicha suma mínima, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 2 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar antes señalado en la cual el precio mínimo serán dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo pactado en la escritura de hipoteca, la suma de $58,800.00. De no haber remanente o adjudicación en esta segunda subasta por el tipo mínimo indicado en el párrafo anterior, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA en el mismo lugar antes señalado el día 9 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA. en la cual el tipo mínimo aceptable como oferta será la mitad (1/2) del precio mínimo pactado en la escritura de hipoteca, la suma de $44,100.00. Si se declare desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Con el importe de esta venta se habrá de satisfacer el balance de la sentencia dictada en este caso el cual consiste en el pago de $66,243.78 de principal, más intereses convenidos al 6.5000% anual más recargos hasta su pago, más el pago de lo pactado en la sentencia para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados. Se dispone que una vez celebrada la subasta y vendido el inmueble relacionado, el alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial a los nuevos dueños dentro del término de veinte (20) días a partir de la celebración de la Subasta. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del demandado/deu-

dor la ocupen. El Alguacil de este Tribunal efectuará el lanzamiento de los ocupantes de ser necesario. Por la presente, también se notifica e informa a la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, por éstos contar con una hipoteca a su favor por la suma de $3,000.00 sin intereses y a vencer el 31 de marzo del año 2011, según consta de la escritura #435, otorgada en San Juan, el 31 de marzo de 2005, ante el Notario Fernando Luis Meléndez López, inscrito al folio 58 del tomo 1023 de Sabana Llana, finca #31,902, inscripción 5ta. Condiciones La Llave para tu Hogar. Además, se notifica e informa a Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal, personas desconocidas que puedan tener derechos en la propiedad o título objeto de este edicto. La Venta en Pública Subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga y gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la Primera, Segunda y Tercera Subasta, si eso fuera necesario, a los efectos de cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha Subasta. 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. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento del caso de epígrafe están disponibles en la Secretaría de este Tribunal durante horas laborables y para la concurrencia de los licitadores expido el presente Edicto que se publicará en un periódico de circulación diaria en toda la Isla de Puerto Rico por espacio dos (2) semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana y se fijará, además, en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Alcaldía y la Colecturía de Rentas Internas del Municipio donde se celebrará la Subasta y en la Colecturía más cercana del lugar de la residencia de la parte demandada. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente que firmo y sello, hoy día 16 de marzo de 2023. ERIK

F. OSUNA ACEVEDO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR. PEDRO HIEYE GONZÁLEZ, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BAYAMÓN BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. JOSÉ RIVERA PÉREZ Y YARITZA ROMAN I CONDE

Demandado(a)

Civil: BY2022CV05226. Sala: 502. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: JOSÉ RIVERA PÉREZ Y YARITZA ROMAN I CONDE URB. JULIO

PÉREZ ROSADO SOLAR

#2 TOA ALTA, PR 00954. DIRECCIÓN POSTAL:

VILLA REAL 1-A CALLE

9 VEGA BAJA, PR 00693;

1 A 9 VILLA REAL VEGA

BAJA, PR 00693 Y URB. ALAMAR 2-A CALLE A LUQUILLO, PR 00773. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 16 de marzo de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 17 de marzo de 2023. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 17 de marzo de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. SANDRA I. BÁEZ HERNÁNDEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN

JUAN

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE MILKA

COTT RODRIGUEZ

COMPUESTA POR

SU HEREDERA

CONOCIDA MIRIAM

COTT RODRIGUEZ

RODRIGUEZ; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES; CON INTERÉS EN DICHA SUCESIÓN Demandados

Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV11153. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y 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: MIRIAM COTT

RODRÍGUEZ T/C/C

MYRIAM COTT

RODRÍGUEZ COMO

HEREDERA CONOCIDA DE LA SUCESIÓN DE MILKA COTT

RODRÍGUEZ; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS

DESCONOCIDOS DE DICHA SUCESIÓN. URB. RESIDENCIAL REPARTO

PARQUE CENTRAL, BO. HATO REY, SOLAR 6

MANZANA D, SAN JUAN, PR 00918. DIRECCIÓN

POSTAL: URB. PARQUE

CENTRAL461 (6D) CALLE

SERGIO CUEVAS SAN JUAN, PR 00918.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días a partir de la publicación de este edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: 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. Se le apercibe que conforme al artículo 1578 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. §11021, usted tiene 30 días para aceptar o repudiar la herencia desde la publicación de este edicto. A esos efectos, de no rechazarla, se tendrá la herencia por aceptada. Representa a la parte demandante, la representación legal cuyo nombre, dirección y teléfono se consigna de inmediato: BUFETE FORTUÑO & FORTUÑO FAS, C.S.P.

LCDO. JUAN C. FORTUÑO FAS RÚA NÚM.: 11416 PO BOX 3908, GUAYNABO, PR 00970

TEL.: 787-751-5290, FAX: 787-751-6155

E-MAIL: ejecuciones@fortuno-law.com

En San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 20 de marzo de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. BRENDA BÁEZ ACABA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALAS DE FAMILIA Y ASUNTOS DE MENORES REGIÓN JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN ELVIN ANTHONY ROSA MIRANDA

Parte Demandante Vs AIMEE PRISCILLA ORTIZ CASTILLO POR SÍ Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE YEAN PAUL YIZREEL ORTIZ

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: BY2022CV05666. Sala: 4003. Sobre: EXEQUATUR. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRCIA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S.

A: AIMEE PRISCILLA ORTIZ CASTILLO POR SÍ Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE YEAN PAUL YIZREEL ORTIZ.

Por la presente, se le notifica que la parte demandante de epígrafe ha presentado ante este Tribunal, demanda contra usted, solicitando la concesión del siguiente remedio: EXEQUATUR. La parte demandante se encuentra representada por:

LCDA. MICHEL A. RACHID LAW OFFICE RUA 12085 PO BOX 3892 GUAYNABO PUERTO RICO 00970-3892 michelarlaw@hotmail.com

787-642-9008 / 724-0230 / Fax-787-724-9171

Se le apercibe que si no compareciere usted a contestar dicha demanda dentro del término 30 días a partir de la publicación del último edicto, notificando copia de su contestación al abogado de la parte demandante; se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia en rebeldía en su contra concediendo el remedio solicitando en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: hhtps://www.poderjudicial.pr/ index.php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal. En Bayamón, Puerto

Rico a 14 de marzo de 2023.

LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARIBELLA SANTANA CINTRÓN, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALAS DE FAMILIA Y ASUNTOS DE MENORES REGIÓN JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN ELVIN ANTHONY ROSA MIRANDA

Parte Demandante Vs AIMEE PRISCILLA ORTIZ CASTILLO POR SÍ Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE YEAN PAUL YIZREEL ORTIZ

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: BY2022CV05666.

Sala: 4003. Sobre: EXEQUATUR. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRCIA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S.

A: YEAN PAUL YIZREEL ORTIZ REPRESENTADO POR SU MADRE AIMEE PRISCILLA ORTIZ CASTILLO.

Por la presente, se le notifica que la parte demandante de epígrafe ha presentado ante este Tribunal, demanda contra usted, solicitando la concesión del siguiente remedio: EXEQUATUR. La parte demandante se encuentra representada por:

LCDA. MICHEL A. RACHID LAW

OFFICE

RUA 12085

PO BOX 3892 GUAYNABO PUERTO RICO 00970-3892 michelarlaw@hotmail.com

787-642-9008 / 724-0230 / Fax-787-724-9171

Se le apercibe que si no compareciere usted a contestar dicha demanda dentro del término 30 días a partir de la publicación del último edicto, notificando copia de su contestación al abogado de la parte demandante; se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia en rebeldía en su contra concediendo el remedio solicitando en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: hhtps://www.poderjudicial.pr/ index.php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico a 14 de marzo de 2023.

LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARIBELLA SANTANA

CINTRÓN, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE CAROLINA

FINANCE OF AMERICA

REVERSE LLC

Demandante V.

SUCESIÓN DE MARIA

DOMINGA VARGAS DE JESUS T/C/C MARIA

VARGAS T/C/C MARIA

VARGAS T/C/C MARIA

DOMINGA VARGAS DE JESUS T/C/C

MARIA VARGAS DE JESUS T/C/C MARIA

D VARGAS DE JESUS

T/C/C MARIA VARGASDEJESUS, COMPUESTA

POR JESSICA LOREN

SANCHEZ CEPEDA; FULANO DE TAL

Y SUTANO DE TAL

COMO POSIBLES

HEREDEROS NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS

MUNICIPALES; ESTADOS

UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CA2023CV00339.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HI-

POTECA - IN REM. EMPLA-

ZAMIENTO POR EDICTO E INTERPELACIÓN. ESTADOS

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

A: SUCESIÓN DE MARIA

DOMINGA VARGAS DE JESUS T/C/C MARIA

VARGAS T/C/C MARIA

VARGAS T/C/C MARIA

DOMINGA VARGAS DE JESUS T/C/C

MARIA VARGAS DE JESUS T/C/C MARIA

D VARGAS DE JESUS

T/C/C MARIA VARGASDEJESUS COMPUESTA

POR FULANO DETAL

Y SUTANO DE TAL

COMO MIEMBROS DE NOMBRES

DESCONOCIDOS DE LA

SUCESIÓN DE MARIA

DOMINGA VARGAS DE JESUS T/C/C MARIA

VARGAS T/C/C MARIA

VARGAS T/C/C MARIA

DOMINGA VARGAS DE JESUS T/C/C MARIA

VARGAS DE JESUS

T/C/C MARIA D VARGAS DE JESUS T/C/C MARIA

VARGAS-DEJESUS.

emplaza y se les notifica que se ha presentado en la Secretaria de este Tribunal la Demanda del caso del epígrafe solicitando la ejecución de hipoteca y el cobro de dinero relacionado al pagaré suscrito a favor de Senior Mortgage Bankers, Inc., o a su orden, por la suma principal de $135,000.00, con intereses computados sobre la misma desde su fecha hasta su total y completo pago a razón de la tasa de interés de 3.157% anual, la cual será ajustada mensualmente, obligándose además al pago de costas, gastos y desembolsos del litigio, más honorarios de abogados en una suma de $13,500 equivalente al 10% de la suma principal original. Este pagaré fue suscrito bajo el affidávit número 480, ante el notario Alfredo A. Infante Gutierrez. Lo anterior surge de la hipoteca constituida mediante la escritura número 57 otorgada el 25 de octubre de 2014, ante el mismo notario público, inscrita al folio 71 del tomo 269 de Rio Grande, finca número 18,652, inscripción 7ma. La Hipoteca Revertida grava la propiedad que se describe a continuación:

URBANA: Solar marcado con el número C-sesenta y dos (C62), en el plano de inscripción del proyecto de solares denominado José P.H. Hernández (UM-Dos-Veintiocho) radicado en el Barrio Ciénega Baja del término municipal de Río Grande, Puerto Rico, dicho solar tiene un área de trescientos dos metros cuadrados con veintitrés centésimas de metro cuadrado (302.23). En lindes por el NORTE, con solar C-63, distancia de 21 metros con .26 centímetros (21.26); por el SUR, con paso de peatones, distancia de veintiún metros catorce centímetros (21.14); por el ESTE, con la Calle “A”, distancia de catorce metros con treinta y seis centímetros (14.36); y por el OESTE, con solar C-84, distancia de catorce metros con veintiún centímetros (14.21). Finca Número 18,652 inscrita al folio 71 del tomo 269 de Rio Grandez, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección III de Carolina. Se apercibe y advierte a ustedes como personas desconocidas, que deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// unired.jamajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal. De no contestar la demanda radicando el original de la contestación ante la secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Región Judicial de Carolina, Sala de Carolina, y notificar copia de la contestación de

esta a la parte demandante por conducto de su abogada, GLS LEGAL SERVICES, LLC, Atención: Lcda. Genevieve López Stipes, Dirección: P.O. Box 367308, San Juan, P.R. 009367308, Teléfono: 787-758-6550, dentro de los próximos sesenta (60) días a partir de la publicación de este emplazamiento por edicto, que será publicado una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general en la isla de Puerto Rico, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia, concediendo el remedio solicitando en la Demanda sin más citarle ni oírle. Vista la interpelación judicial presentada por la parte demandante al amparo del Artículo 1578 del Código Civil de Puerto Rico se ordena a a Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como miembros de nombres desconocidos de la Sucesión de Maria Dominga Vargas de Jesus t/c/c Maria Vargas t/c/c Maria Vargas t/c/c Maria Dominga Vargas de Jesus t/c/c Maria Vargas de Jesus t/c/c

Maria D Vargas de Jesus t/c/c Maria Vargas-Dejesus que notifiquen si aceptan o repudian la herencia de la causante dentro del plazo de 30 días contados a partir de la notificación de la orden. Se le apercibe que de no comparecer en dicho termino a aceptar o repudiar la herencia, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal hoy 21 de marzo de 2023. WANDA SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA. IVELISSE SERRANO GARCÍA, SUB-SECRETARIA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE GUAYAMA - SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Vs ROSARIO MATOS, WILFREDO Caso: GAC2015-0095. Sobre: OTORGAMIENTO DE ESCRITURA. NOTIFICACION DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

WILFREDO ROSARIO MATOS, SU ESPOSA ADRIANA SANTOS ORTIZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS. EL SECRETARIO(A) QUE SUSCRIBE LE NOTIFICA A USTED QUE EL 14 DE MARZO DE 2023, ESTE TRIBUNAL HA DICTADO SENTENCIA, SENTENCIA PARCIAL O RESOLUCIÓN EN ESTE CASO, QUE HA SIDO DEBIDAMENTE REGISTRADA Y ARCHIVADA EN AUTOS DONDE PODRÁ USTED ENTERARSE DETALLADAMENTE DE LOS TÉRMINOS DE LA MISMA. ESTA

NOTIFICACIÓN SE PUBLICARÁ UNA SOLA VEZ EN UN PERIÓDICO DE CIRCULACIÓN GENERAL EN LA ISLA DE PUERTO RICO, DENTRO DE LOS 10 DÍAS SIGUIENTES A SU NOTIFICACIÓN. Y, SIENDO O REPRESENTANDO USTED UNA PARTE EN EL PROCEDIMIENTO SUJETA A LOS TÉRMINOS DE LA SENTENCIA, SENTENCIA PARCIAL O RESOLUCIÓN, DE LA CUAL PUEDE ESTABLECERSE RECURSO DE REVISIÓN O APELACIÓN DENTRO DEL TÉRMINO DE 30 DÍAS CONTADOS A PARTIR DE LA PUBLICACIÓN POR EDICTO DE ESTA NOTIFICACIÓN, DIRIJO A USTED ESTA NOTIFICACIÓN QUE SE CONSIDERARÁ HECHA EN LA FECHA DE LA PUBLICACIÓN DE ESTE EDICTO. COPIA DE ESTA NOTIFICACIÓN HA SIDO ARCHIVADA EN LOS AUTOS DE ESTE CASO, CON FECHA DE 21 DE MARZO DE 2023. LIC. TOUS BOBONAS, RÁUL J. RTOUS@BUFETETOUS.COM. SE EMITE NUEVAMENTE A LOS EFECTOS DE ELIMINAR EL ENLACE DE LA SENTENCIA. EN GUAYAMA, PUERTO RICO, EL 21 DE MARZO DE 2023. MARISOL ROSADO RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA. MIRIAM SOTO SUÁREZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

MAYRA LISSETTE ROMAN COLON

Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE: DDN MANUEL DEL VALLE CONTE COMPUESTA

POR FULAND DE TAL, PERSONA DESCONOCIDA Y CON INTERES

Demandados

Caso Núm.: AR2022CV01799. Sala: 401. Sobre: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO, ADQUISICIÓN POR SUCAPIÓN. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: FULANO DE TAL, PERSONA DESCONOCIDA, PERTENECIENTE A LA SUCESION DE MANUEL DEL VALLE CONTE. Por la presente se le emplaza y se le notifica a usted que se ha radicado una demanda del caso epígrafe solicitando adquirir el dominio sobre la siguiente propiedad: RUSTICA: Parcela marcada con el #32 en el plano de parcelación de

la comunidad rural Barahona del barrio Barahona del término municipal de Morovis, con una cabida superficial de 0.1793 cuerdas, equivalente a 704.80 metros cuadrados. En lindes, por el norte, con la parcela #31 de la comunidad; por el sur, con calle de la comunidad; por el este, con la parcela #37 de la comunidad y por el oeste, con la parcela #32-A de la comunidad. Enclava sobre dicha finca edificación dedicada a vivienda. Tracto Registral: Se segrega de la finca #5,753 de Morovis. Se le emplaza por edicto y se le requiere que dentro del término de veinte (20) días después de la última publicación de este edicto, excluyendo el día de la publicación, 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 De Primera Instancia de Arecibo, y que notifique copia de la contestación de la Demanda al abogado de la parte demandante, cuyo nombre, dirección postal, teléfono y correo electrónico son los siguientes: Lcdo. LUIS FELIPE SANTIAGO MARTÍNEZ, P.O Box 9281, Carolina PR.009889281 teléfono: (787)-374-3666, correo electrónico: Luisfelipesantiago85@gmail.com. Se le apercibe que, de no presentar su contestación a la Demanda dentro del término concedido se podrá obtener que se apruebe el expediente de dominio y se ordene inscribir a nombre del demandante en el Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, registro de Manatí, el dominio de la finca antes descrita.

Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy 15 de marzo de 2023. VIVIAN Y. FRESSE

GONZÁLEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. JACQUELYNE

GONZÁLEZ QUINTANA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA SALA

SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA

MTGLQ INVESTORS, LP

Demandante V. MARIA DEL CARMEN

VIÑAS TORRES POR SI EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA, LA SUCN DE LUIS EMILIO OCASIO RIVERA, COMPUESTA POR IVAN

LUIS OCASIO RIVERA, LUIS EMILIO OCASIO RIVERA, ADDY DEL CARMEN OCASIO DE LEON, CENTRO DE

RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Demandado(a)

Civil: TJ2018CV00614. Sala:

403. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO, EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: MARIA DEL CARMEN

VIÑAS TORRES POR SI

Y EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA DE LA SUCESION DE LUIS

EMILIO OCASIO RIVERA. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto)

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 12 de enero de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 13 de marzo de 2023. En CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, el 13 de marzo de 2023. LCDA. MARILYN APONTE RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA. LILLIAM ORTIZ NIEVES, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOT ICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE CAROLINA FIRSTBANK

PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE MIGUEL ÁNGEL SANTIAGO

COLÓN Y LA SUCESION DE ROSA AMELIA

OCASIO FEBRES, T/C/C ROSA ACASIO

FEBRES COMPUESTA

POR MIGUEL ANGEL

SANTIAGO OCASIO; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; CENTRO RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS

MUNICIPALES, ADMINISTRACIÓN

PARA EL SUSTENTO DE MENORES, ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

POR CONDUCTO DEL FISCAL FEDERAL DE LA CORTE DE DISTRITO DE ESTADOS UNIDOS PARA EL DISTRITO DE PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandada Caso Civil Núm.: CA2022CV02199. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINERO. ANUNCIO DE SUBASTA. El suscribiente, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Carolina, a los demandados de epígrafe y al público en general hace saber que los autos y documentos del caso de epígrafe estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables y que venderá en pública subasta al mejor postor, en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América en efectivo, cheque certificado, o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, en mi oficina en este Tribunal el derecho que tenga la parte demandada en el inmueble que se relaciona más adelante para pagar la SENTENCIA por $31,620.26 de balance principal, el cual se compone de un primer principal por la suma de $30,257.30 y un principal diferido por la suma de $1,362.96, más los intereses calculados sobre la suma de $30,257.30 a razón de 9.50% annual, desde el primero de diciembre de 2021, más las primas de seguro hipotecario, y riesgo, recargos por demora computados al 5% sobre cada mensualidad adeudada; más costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado hasta la suma pactada de $5,200.00, y cualesquiera otras sumas que por cualesquiera concepto legal se devenguen hasta el día de la subasta. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Parcela marcada con el número doscientos setenta y uno (271) guión “A” en el plano de parcelación de la comunidad rural Buenaventura del Barrio Hoyo Mulas del término municipal de Carolina, con una cabida superficial de trescientos veintinueve punto noventa y seis (329.96) metros cuadrados, en lindes por el Norte, con la calle Clavel; por el Sur, con propiedad de Andrés Maeso; por el Este, con parcela doscientos setenta (270) de la comunidad; y por el oeste, con la parcela número doscientos setenta y uno (271) de la comunidad. Inscrita al tomo móvil mil doscientos ochenta y cuatro (1284) de Carolina, finca número cincuenta y cuatro mil ochocientos cincuenta (54,850), Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, sección

II. Dirección Física: 271A Calle Clavel, Buzón 417, Comm. Buenaventura, Barrio Hoyo Mulas, Carolina, PR 00987. Dicha propiedad se encuentra afecta al siguiente gravamen posterior: EMBARGO: Estados Unidos de América contra Miguel A. Santiago, por la suma de $9,533.89, notificación número 182305715, seguro social numero xxx-xx-8889, de fecha 28 de octubre de 2015, anotado al libro 8 folio 12 Asiento 1. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a cabo el día 4 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 11:15 DE LA MAÑANA, y servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la suma de $52,000.00 sin admitirse oferta inferior. En el caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en la primera subasta, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 11 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 11:15 DE LA MAÑANA y el precio mínimo para esta segunda subasta será el de dos terceras partes del precio mínimo establecido para la primera subasta, o a sea la suma de $34,666.67. Si tampoco hubiera remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 18 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 11:15 DE LA MAÑANA y el tipo mínimo para esta tercera subasta será la mitad del precio establecido para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $26,000.00. El mejor postor deberá pagar el importe de su oferta en efecto, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se dará por terminado el procedimiento, pudiendo adjudicarse el inmueble al acreedor hipotecario dentro de los diez días siguientes a la fecha de la última subasta, si así lo estimase conveniente, por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada conforme a la sentencia, si ésta fuera igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta y abonándose dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta fuera mayor. Se avisa a cualquier licitador que la propiedad queda sujeta al gravamen del Estado Libre Asociado y CRIM sobre la propiedad inmueble por contribuciones adeudadas y que el pago de dichas contribuciones es la responsabilidad del licitador. Que se entenderá por todo licitador acepte como suficiente la titulación y que los cargos y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes en entendiéndose que el rematador los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse su extinción al precio rematante. Todos los nombres de los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad

a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surgen de la certificación registral, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria en Puerto Rico y en los sitios públicos de acuerdo a las disposiciones de la Regla 51.7 de las de Procedimiento Civil, así como para la publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria y en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas con antelación a la fecha de la primera subasta y por lo menos una vez por semana. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento indicado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables.

(Art. 102 (1) de la Ley núm. 210-2015). Expedido el presente en Carolina, Puerto Rico a 20 de marzo de 2023. HÉCTOR L.

PEÑA RODRÍGUEZ, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE CAROLINA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON.

IRIS MERCEDES

SANTOS OTERO

DEMANDANTES Vs. BETZY SANCHEZ ARVELO; MARITZA

SANCHEZ ARVELO

DEMANDADOS

CIVIL NUM.: BY2023CV01308.

SOBRE: LIQUIDACIÓN DE COMUNIDAD DE BIENES HE-

REDITARIOS Y GANANCIA-

LES. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR

EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNI-

DOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

SS. A: BETSY SANCHEZ ARVELO

14328 SW 170th, Miami Florida, Estados

Unidos de América, 33177

POR LA PRESENTE se le noti-

fica a usted, que se ha radicado en esta secretaría la Demanda de epígrafe. POR LA PRESENTE 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 dentro del referido término, a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramaiudiciaj.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.

Lcda. Sary Magdalena Brea Falcón

Colegiado 19,780, RUA 19,700 Jardines de Humacao A23, Humacao PR 00791

Tel. 787-407-5832; 787-719-5585

Fax.: 787-852-4605 lcda. breafalcon@yahoo.com

Se expidió bajo mi firma y sello de este Honorable Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 14 de marzo de 2023. Lcda. Laura I Santa Sanchez, Sec Regional. Maria E Collazo Febus, Sec del Tribunal.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON.

IRIS MERCEDES

SANTOS OTERO DEMANDANTES Vs. BETZY SANCHEZ ARVELO; MARITZA SANCHEZ ARVELO DEMANDADOS

CIVIL NUM.: BY2023CV01308.

SOBRE: LIQUIDACIÓN DE COMUNIDAD DE BIENES HEREDITARIOS Y GANANCIA-

LES. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

SS.

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 dentro del referido término, a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramaiudiciaj.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.

Lcda. Sary Magdalena Brea Falcón Colegiado 19,780, RUA 19,700 Jardines de Humacao A23, Humacao PR 00791 Tel. 787-407-5832; 787-719-5585 Fax.: 787-852-4605 lcda. breafalcon@yahoo.com Se expidió bajo mi firma y sello de este Honorable Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 14 de marzo de 2023. Lcda. Laura I Santa Sanchez, Sec Regional. Maria E Collazo Febus, Sec del Tribunal.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

LEGACY MORTGAGE ASSET TRUST

Demandante V. ASSOCIATES INTERNATIONAL HOLDING CORPORATION; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS Demandado(a)

Civil: BY2022CV03793. Sobre: CANCLACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: MARTIZA SANCHEZ ARVELO, tcp/ Maritza Sánchez de Martínez, 14951 SW 156th Terrace, Miami Florida, Estados Unidos de América, 33187.

POR LA PRESENTE se le notifica a usted, que se ha radicado en esta secretaría la Demanda de epígrafe. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al Tribunal, su alegación

cribe le notifica a usted que el 16 de marzo de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 16 de marzo de 2023. En Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, el 16 de marzo de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. MARITZA ROSARIO ROSARIO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN ASOCIACION DE RESIDENTES RIO HONDO II, VALLE VERDE I Y II, INC.

Demandante V. CARLOS JOEL ZAPATA MORALES

Demandado(a) Civil: BY2022CV05593. Sala: 403. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - REGLA 60. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: ASSOCIATES INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION. US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 451

7 HT STREET, S.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20410.

JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS.

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que sus-

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 15 de marzo de 2023. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 15 de marzo de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. KATHERINE SANTIAGO RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC Demandante Vs WILMARYS ROSARIO SOTO Demandado(a)

Civil Núm.: CY2022CV00077.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: WILMARYS ROSARIO SOTO - REPARTO MONTELLANO G25 CALLE C CAYEY, PUERTO RICO 007364133.

NAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC., COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC.

Demandante V. PAMELA A BOULWARE

Demandado(a)

Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV01751.

Sala: 807. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: PAMELA A BOULWARE.

A: CARLOS JOEL ZAPATA MORALES. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto). EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 15 de marzo de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a

(Nombre de las partes a las que se les notifica la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 14 de marzo de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 17 de marzo de 2023. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, el 17 de marzo de 2023. LISILDA MARTÍNEZ AGOSTO, SECRETARIA. VIONNETTE ESPINOSA CASTILLO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 15 de marzo de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 17 de marzo de 2023. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 17 de marzo de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. MILDRED J. FRANCO REVENTÓS, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. IVONNE MARIE

MERCADO LARA

Demandado(a)

Civil: BY2022CV06416. 702.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO, EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA

POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA

POR EDICTO.

A: IVONNE MARIE

MERCADO LARA. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 16 de marzo de 2023, este

Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 17 de marzo de 2023. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 17 de marzo de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. MIRCIENID GONZÁLEZ TORRES, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR. LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA

TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE VEGA BAJA

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. VIRGENMINA GARCÍA ORTIZ Y LA SUCESIÓN DE RAÚL TRINIDAD GARCÍA COMPUESTA POR RAÚL SELAIC TRINIDAD GARCÍA; CARLOS ABDIEL TRINIDAD GARCÍA Y LA SUCESIÓN DE WADY OMAR TRINIDAD GARCÍA, COMPUESTA

POR: FULANO DE TAL Y MENGANO DE TAL LOS POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y ZUTANA DE TAL, EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA; DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA; DEPARTAMENTO DE JUSTICIA

Demandado(a)

Civil: VB2022CV00437. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA VÍA ORDINARIA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: VIRGENMINA GARCÍA ORTIZ Y RAÚL SELAIC TRINIDAD GARCÍA, CARLOS ABDIEL TRINIDAD GARCÍA Y LA SUCESIÓN DE WADY OMAR TRINIDAD

GARCÍA, COMPUESTA POR FULANO DE TAL Y MENGANO DE TAL, LOS POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y ZUTANA DE TAL, EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA.

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

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 16 de marzo de 2023, este

Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia

Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 20 de marzo de 2023. En Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, el 20 de marzo de 2023. LCDA LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. MARITZA ROSARIO ROSARIO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA MUNICIPAL DE BAYA-

MÓN ASOCIACIÓN DE RESIDENTES RÍO HONDO

II, VALLE VERDE I YII INC.

Demandante Vs. NECTALIA HERRERO MARTI

Demandado(a)

Civil Núm.: BY2019CV06962.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (R.60). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: NECTALIA HERRERO

MARTI. FÍSICA & POSTAL: URB. VALLE VERDE I, AS28 CALLE RIO OROCOVIS, BAYAMÓN PR 00961.

PÚBLICO EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil del Tribunal que suscribe anuncia y hace constar: 1. Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia

de Puerto Rico, Sala de Bayamón, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor de contado y en moneda de curso legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América, todo derecho, título o interés que tenga la Parte Demandada en el bien inmueble que se describe a continuación:

“URBANA: URBANIZACIÓN

VALLE VERDE I de Bayamón Norte. Solar 28 del Bloque AS. Cabida: 353.865 metros cuadrados. Linderos: Norte, con la calle 31 en 22.249 metros. Este, con el solar 2, en 15.500 metros; Oeste, con calle 29 en 14.749 metros. Enclava una casa en concreto dedicada a vivienda. Viene del folio 36 del tomo 1201 de Bayamón Sur, finca 53,284. Finca 9899, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección III.” Dirección física: Urb. Valle Verde I, AS28 Calle Rio Orocovis, Bayamón, PR 00961. 2. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. 3. 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 ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el remanente los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. 4. La propiedad para ejecutar se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. 5. Que el licitador y/o mejor postor pagará el importe de su oferta en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil de Tribunal. 6. La propiedad se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: A. Anotación de Embargo (Judicial, Ley 209): Afecta por sí a Anotación de Embargo a favor de la Asociación de Residentes de Río Hondo II, Valle Verde I y II, lnc., por la suma de $5,002.90 en virtud de Orden en el caso civil número BY2019CV06962 (601)

sobre Cobro de dinero Regla 60 ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, Asociación de Residentes Río Hondo II Valle Verde I y II, lnc. Demandante vs. Nectalia Herrero Martí demandados a 5 de octubre de 2021, anotado en sistema según anotación letra “A”. 7. Dicha subasta se celebrará para con el importe de la misma satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma principal de $3,857.50 por concepto de cuotas de mantenimiento vencidas y no pagadas al 10 de agosto de 2019, más intereses desde que se dicte la sentencia al 4.25% anual ($0.57 diario), a partir de esa fecha en la cantidad de $487.52, al 29 de diciembre de 2022; más $148.00

de costas y gastos según sentencia, más $500.00 por concepto de honorarios de abogado otorgados según sentencia; más $363.05 por concepto de memorando de costas aprobados mediante Orden del 9 de septiembre de 2020, totalizan la cantidad de $5,356.07; más $950.00 por honorarios del proceso en la ejecución de la sentencia mediante Venta en Pública Subasta, más las costas y gastos del proceso de acuerdo a lo dispuesto en la Regla 51.10 de las de Procedimiento Civil de 2009, más intereses diarios a razón de 4.25% anual ($0.57 diario), a partir del 30 de diciembre de 2022, todo ello sin prestación de fianza por solicitarse luego de dictada la sentencia. La subasta se llevará a cabo en mi oficina localizada en el local que ocupa en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Municipal de Bayamón, el día 26 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA. Y para la conveniencia de los licitadores expido el presente Edicto para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general y por un término de catorce (14) días en los lugares públicos que determine la ley. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 16 de marzo de 2023.

FRANCES TORRES CONTRERAS, ALGUACIL PLACA #325.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE MARCIAL

ANDINO DELGADO, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDO

COMO MARCELINO

ANDINO DELGADO Y COMO MANUEL ANDINO DELGADO, COMPUESTA

POR FULANO DE TAL

Y ZUTANO DE TAL, COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS CON POSIBLE INTERÉS;

CARMEN MONSERRATE

RIVERA ALVAREZ, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDA

COMO CARMEN

RIVERA ALVAREZ, POR SÍ Y EN CUANTO

A LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM)

Demandados

Civil Núm.: HU2023CV00254.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉ-

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

A: CARMEN

MONSERRATE RIVERA ALVAREZ, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDA CARMEN RIVERA ALVAREZ, POR SÍ Y EN CUANTO A LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA DE LA SUCESION DE MARCIAL ANDINO DELGADO, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDO COMO MARCELINO ANDINO DELGADO Y COMO MANUEL ANDINO DELGADO; FULANO DE TAL Y ZUTANO DE TAL, COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE MARCIAL ANDINO DELGADO, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDO COMO MARCELINO ANDINO DELGADO Y COMO MANUEL ANDINO DELGADO.

POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO se le notifica que se ha radicado 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 $33,964.14, intereses al 8 3/8% anual, desde el día 1ro de agosto de 2022, hasta su completo pago, más recargos acumulados, más la cantidad de $7,000.00, 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 pública subasta es: RÚSTICA: Solar marcado con el número Uno (1) en el plano de inscripción, situado en el BARRIO TEJAS del término municipal de Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de QUINIENTOS PUNTO DOSCIENTOS DIECINUEVE (500.219) METROS CUADRADOS; y en lindes por el NORTE, con solar marcado con el número Dos (2) en el plano de inscripción; por el SUR, con Alfonso Martínez; por el ESTE, con José Cáez; y por el OESTE, con área marcada camino de uso público en el plano de inscripción. Sobre dicho solar se construyo la siguiente edificación: Casa de dos niveles construida de hormigón y bloques de cemento que mide veintiocho pies (28’) por treinta y un pies (31’) que consta el primer nivel de marquesina, medio balcón, sala, comedor y cocina en una sola pieza, dos cuartos dormitorios y un baño con servicio sanitario; y el segundo nivel consiste de balcón, sala, comedor y cocina

en una sola pieza, cuatro cuartos dormitorios y un baño con servicio sanitario, La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio móvil del tomo 268 de Las Piedras, Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao, finca número 12,895, inscripción segunda. 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://unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac/ salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribuna! y enviar copia a la representación legal de la parte demandante cuya dirección más adelante se indica. 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.

Lcda. Xana M. Connelly Pagán Bufete Collazo, Connelly & Surillo, LLC

P.O. Box 11550 San Juan, P.R. 00922-1550

Tel. (787) 625-9999

Fax (787) 705-7387

E-mail: xconnelly@lawpr.com

Se le advierte, además, a los herederos que conforme el caso de Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria y. Latinoamericana de Exportación, Inc., 164 D.P.R. 689, 696 (2005) y a tenor con las disposiciones del Artículo 1578 del Código Civil de Puerto Rico (31 L.P.R.A. sec. 11021), deberá aceptar o repudiar la herencia del causante Marcial Andino Delgado, dentro del término de treinta (30) días. De no expresar su intención de aceptar o repudiar la herencia dentro del término que se le fijó, la herencia 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 de! Distrito en que está situada la propiedad objeto de este pleito, un aviso de estar pendiente esta acción. Para publicarse conforme a la Orden dictada por el Tribunal en un periódico de circulación genera!. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto que firmo y sello en Humacao, Puerto Rico, hoy 14 de marzo de 2023. IVELISSE C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ SECRETARIA REGIONAL. IVELISSE M. MONCLOVA CRUZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE HUMACAO ASOCIACIÓN DE PROPIETARIOS DE PLAYA HÚCARES, INC.

Parte Demandante V. INOCENCIA ACEVEDO RIVERA Y OTROS Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: NG2023CV00014.

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

A: VIOLETA VIERA RODRÍGUEZ; MYRNA

E. VIERA RODRIGUEZ; DAVID JR. VIERA ACEVEDO. POR LA PRESENTE, se le emplaza y requiere para que notifique a: GONZÁLEZ & MORALES LAW OFFICES, LLC PO BOX 10242

HUMACAO, PR 00792

TELÉFONO: (787) 852-4422

FACSÍMIL: (787) 285-4425

Email: jrg@gonzalezmorales.com abogados de la parte demandante, cuya dirección es la que deja indicada, con copia de su Contestación a la Demanda, copia de la cual le es servida en este caso, 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://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Debe saber que en caso de no hacerlo así podrá dictarse Sentencia en Rebeldía en contra suya, concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el Tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el Sello del Tribunal, hoy día 14 de MARZO de 2023. Ivelisse C. Fonseca Rodríguez, Secretaria. Michelle Guevara De León, Sub-Secretaria.

LEGAL NOT ICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO ELIEZER RODRIGUEZ ROSADO; LYDIA URSULA ROSARIO DIAZ

Demandante V. ASOCIACION EMPLEADOS DEL ESTADO LIBRE

ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO - JOHN DOE; RICHARD ROE

Demandado(a)

Civil: RG2022CV00560. Sobre: CANCELACIÓN O RESTITUCIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: JOHN DOE RICHARD ROE - DIRECCION DESCONOCIDA.

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

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 10 de marzo de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 17 de marzo de 2023. En Fajardo, Puerto Rico, el 17 de marzo de 2023. Wanda Seguí Reyes, Secretaria. Katherine Robles Torres, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA MUNICIPAL DE HUMACAO

PALMAS DEL MAR

HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

Demandante V. MIGUEL ARROYOS CAPELES

Demandado(a)

Civil: HU2022CV00765. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO, VÍA ORDINARIA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: MIGUEL ARROYO

CAPELES P/C LCDO

JOSE R. GONZALEZ RIVERA. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 16 de MARZO de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted en-

terarse 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 17 de MARZO de 2023. En HUMACAO, Puerto Rico, el 17 de MARZO de 2023. Ivelisse C. Fonseca Rodríguez, Secretaria. Karilin Morales Figueroa, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO DE RINCON

Demandante V. NERI CRUZ MATOS Demandado(a) Civil Núm.: LJ2022CV00037. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: NERI CRUZ MATOS. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 12 de marzo de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia o Sentencia Parcial 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 o Sentencia Parcial, 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 16 de marzo de 2023. En SAN GERMAN, Puerto Rico, el 16 de marzo de 2023. Norma G. Santana Irizarry, Sec Regional. Wanda Rivera Ortiz, Sec Auxiliar.

Ohtani shines as Japan beats US to win World Baseball Classic

questions about it for a month and a half.”

“Everyone in America thought Shohei and Trout facing off would be ideal,” Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama added. “Watching that made me think of how great baseball is. It’s symbolic of life.”

Meanwhile, Darvish, a longtime major leaguer who pitches for the San Diego Padres, injected drama into the game. Originally lined up to start the final game until a switch the day before, Darvish entered as a reliever in the eighth inning. But United States designated hitter Kyle Schwarber blasted a solo home run into the right field seats to trim the deficit to one run and reenergize the crowd of 36,098.

A small lead, though, was enough for Japan with Ohtani looming as a closer. Ohtani, the ace of the Angels, made his first relief appearance since 2016, when he played for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan.

played its strength at the plate. Facing Kyle Freeland, first baseman Kazuma Okamoto sent a hanging slider over the left-center field wall to extend Japan’s lead to 3-1.

“I’m on top of the world,” Okamoto said afterward. Added Nootbaar, “Playing against maybe the greatest lineup that’s ever been assembled in baseball history makes it sweet that we did it undefeated.”

Then in the later innings came Darvish’s stumble, Schwarber’s blast and the matchup that everyone wanted to see. Kuriyama said he had recently talked to Ohtani about the possibility of relieving. But he said it was difficult to decide when to send Ohtani to the bullpen during the game.

When Ohtani left the bullpen, his uniform pants were dirty from running the bases. He later admitted he was nervous but felt gratitude toward the sport he loves while standing on the mound.

By JAMES WAGNER

The matchup that many had dreamed about all along — between two of the world’s baseball powerhouses and two of its very best players in Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout — is exactly what it came down to.

Ohtani, the two-way phenomenon, was Japan’s designated hitter all game and took the mound in the ninth inning with the chance to close out a title. And with a powerful inning that included a six-pitch strikeout of Trout — his Los Angeles Angels teammate — to end it, Ohtani sent Japan into pandemonium.

With the 3-2 win, Japan dethroned the United States on Tuesday at loanDepot Park in Miami and claimed the 2023 World Baseball Classic trophy. The United States, which did not embrace the tournament as quickly as some other countries, won the WBC the last time it was played in 2017.

“This is the best moment in my life,” Ohtani, 28, said afterward through an interpreter. To no one’s surprise, he was named the most valuable player of the tournament for his all-around excellence.

Behind power hitting and stout pitching from a cast of characters that went far beyond just Ohtani, Japan went 7-0 in the quadrennial two-week tournament and further

cemented its place as the top country in the relatively short history of this tournament, which began in 2006. In the five editions of the WBC, Japan has now won three times.

Despite a lineup filled with All-Stars and past winners of the MVP award, the United States mustered little against Japan, a team made up mostly of stars from that country’s top professional league, along with some MLB stars like Yu Darvish and Ohtani, who is arguably the game’s best player.

“This really proves that Japanese baseball can beat any team in the world,” said Ohtani, who called American baseball as their benchmark. “It was a very short time, but I really enjoyed playing with my teammates.”

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Ohtani showed off his speed by beating out a throw from United States shortstop Trea Turner to earn a single. And when the inning was over, he jogged over to Japan’s bullpen in left field to warm up his right arm.

Trout, a three-time American League MVP, said he started to see the possibility of their showdown coming together when he saw Ohtani head in that direction after his final at-bat. Ohtani said he had been hoping for it but didn’t think it would actually happen.

“I think every baseball fan wanted to see that,” Trout, 31, said. “I’ve been answering

Before the game, Ohtani addressed his teammates and told them to stop admiring the superstars on the other side.

“If you admire them, you can’t surpass them,” he said, according to reports. “We came here to surpass them, to reach the top. For one day, let’s throw away our admiration for them and just think about winning.”

The United States struck first against Japan in the second inning. Turner, the Philadelphia Phillies shortstop who powered the United States earlier in the tournament, smashed his fifth home run of the WBC. He clobbered a low fastball from Japan starting pitcher Shota Imanaga into the left field seats. The many United States fans in attendance and Turner beamed in the dugout afterward.

But the lead didn’t last long. In the bottom half of the second inning, Japan tied the score when the slugging third baseman Munetaka Murakami destroyed a pitch from United States starting pitcher Merrill Kelly into the upper deck. The home run by Murakami, who set the Japanese single-season record for homers by a native-born player last season, with 56 for the Yakult Swallows, was measured at 432 feet.

Japan’s lineup then chased Kelly from the game with two singles and a walk. A groundout by Lars Nootbaar, a St. Louis Cardinals outfielder whose mother is Japanese, gave the team a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth inning, Japan again dis-

Ohtani fired a 102-mph to the leadoff batter, Jeff McNeil, but walked him. After he got superstar Mookie Betts to hit into a double play, up came Trout. The two made brief eye contact.

“He’s a competitor,” Trout said. “That’s why he’s the best.”

Ohtani hit 100 mph with his fastball but he fell into a 3-2 count. Then he fired a sweeping slider that Trout missed for the final out. Ohtani bounced off the mound, screamed and tossed his gear aside.

“He won round 1,” said Trout, suggesting Team USA would be back for the next edition of the WBC, which will be held in 2026. Trout’s Angels teammate, and now WBC rival, had the same thought: “I would love to enter again,” Ohtani said.

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

FINAL (loanDepot Park, Miami) Japan 3, USA 2

SEMIFINALS (loanDepot Park, Miami) Japan 6, Mexico 5 USA 14, Cuba 2

QUARTERFINALS (loanDepot Park, Miami) USA 9, Venezuela 7 Mexico 5, Puerto Rico 4 (Tokyo Dome)

Japan 9, Italy 3 Cuba 4, Australia 3

Munetaka Murakami’s solo homer got the scoring started for Japan in its win over the United States in the World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday.

Baseball’s unicorn made the WBC ‘real’

By TYLER KEPNER

He strode to the mound with purpose, 6-foot-4 and full of muscle, a relief pitcher unlike any other. Fresh from the bullpen, his uniform was already caked in dirt. Shohei Ohtani had put in a full day’s work by the ninth inning of the World Baseball Classic final Tuesday, coming to bat four times, and now he was going to pitch.

This is how greatness looks, and the setting was appropriate: a ballpark on the site of the old Orange Bowl in Miami, where Joe Namath delivered on his guarantee to win the Super Bowl for the New York Jets in 1969.

That event was just three years old then, and Namath’s heroics helped establish it as a national spectacle. This was the fifth World Baseball Classic and the first with baseball’s superpowers, Japan and the United States, together at the end. The tournament, it is safe to say, is no longer taking off. It is already in orbit.

“This thing is real — the WBC’s real,” said Mark DeRosa, the U.S. manager. “The whole world got to see Ohtani come in, big spot, battling. It’s kind of how it was scripted.”

Yet the 36,098 fans here Tuesday — part of a record crowd of 1,306,414 for the games — could not have known that the finale would follow such a dreamy script. In baseball, every hitter waits his turn; you cannot draw up a game-ending try for the superstar.

But with Ohtani needing to protect a 3-2 lead, this challenge awaited: the reigning major league batting champion, Jeff McNeil, and then three recent win-

ners of the Most Valuable Player Award: Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and, potentially, Paul Goldschmidt.

Ohtani said later that he thought his heart might burst from his chest. He walked McNeil but then did just what the world expected. After a double play ground out by Betts, Ohtani pumped 100mph fastballs past Trout, his teammate on the Los Angeles Angels, then struck him out on a sweeping slider. Game over.

“I believe this is the best moment in my life,” Ohtani said through an interpreter, adding later, “I happened to be able to get the MVP, but this really proves that Japanese baseball can beat any team in the world.”

Six other stingy pitchers preceded Ohtani to the mound, and he did not have one of Japan’s two home runs Tuesday. But nobody in this WBC hit a ball harder than Ohtani (a double against the Czech Republic at 118.7 mph). Nobody threw a pitch harder (a 102-mph fastball against Italy). Nobody hit a longer home run (448 feet against Australia).

Overall, Ohtani batted .435 with a .606 on-base percentage and a .739 slugging percentage. He had four doubles and a homer, and earned his last hit, in the seventh

inning Tuesday, by beating out an infield grounder. As a pitcher, he worked 9 2/3 innings, striking out 11 with a 1.86 earned run average.

“What he’s doing in the game is what probably 90% of the guys in that clubhouse did in Little League or in youth tournaments, and he’s able to pull it off on the biggest stages,” DeRosa said. “He is a unicorn to the sport.”

Indeed, as remarkable as Ohtani has been, he has not inspired a wave of twoway players; the preparation required to excel at both disciplines is simply overwhelming. Others may try, DeRosa said, but few — if any — will ever succeed like this.

“All you’ve got to do is just be born to be able to throw a hundred and hit the ball 500 feet — there’s really not that much going into it,” said the St. Louis Cardinals’ Lars Nootbaar, Japan’s leadoff hitter, laughing. “But, no, he’s exceeded all of my expectations. He’s able to do stuff that I can’t even dream of doing. He’s so diligent and he works so hard and he’s so meticulous about how he goes about his business that it’s not a surprise.”

Ohtani, 28, was so eager to prove himself in Major League Baseball that he left Japan at age 23, in 2017. Because he had not yet turned 25, Ohtani was bound by strict international signing rules that limited his bonus. He chose the Angels, who have never had a winning season with him and may lose him in free agency after this season.

A record contract — from someone

— is clearly coming soon for Ohtani. After winning an MVP in 2021, he did something unprecedented last season, becoming the first player with enough plate appearances (666) and innings (166) to qualify for both the batting title and the ERA title in the same season.

In other words, Ohtani was the game’s first full-time two-way player — and he excelled, hitting .273 with 34 homers and going 15-9 with a 2.33 ERA. Even Babe Ruth never hit and pitched in the same season, in the same volume, as Ohtani.

“He’s doing something nobody has done in the past,” first baseman Kazuma Okamoto, who homered on Tuesday, said through an interpreter. “He’s somebody we need to chase and go after, but he’s doing something impossible, you know? So he just keeps us motivated to catch up with him.”

If his teammates needed any more motivation Tuesday, Ohtani gave it in a pregame speech. Standing in the middle of the home clubhouse, Ohtani told the players to stop admiring their U.S. counterparts.

“If you admire them, you can’t surpass them,” he told them. “We came here to surpass them, to reach the top.”

Hours later, after the celebration and the medal ceremony and rounds of television interviews, Ohtani explained at his news conference the meaning of his message.

“We want to respect, of course, American baseball, so we do,” he said through an interpreter. “So just looking at the great lineup of great players makes us feel like — how do I say that? I mean, obviously, we have respect, but at the same time, it looks like we might be beaten down. So just forget about those kinds of feelings. We’re just even. We have to just beat ‘em.”

Now they have, with the third championship for Japan and first since 2009. Soon Ohtani will be back in Tempe, Arizona, in spring training with the Angels and Trout, a three-time MVP, who said he never had more fun playing baseball than he did at this WBC.

There was no shame in silver, after all, not on a night like this. In Ohtani, Trout was beaten by the one player in the world who deserved a gold medal even more than he did.

“He’s a competitor, man,” Trout said. “That’s why he’s the best.”

Shohei Ohtani did it all for Japan in this year’s World Baseball Classic, starring as a hitter and a starting pitcher, and closing out the final game as a reliever.

Sudoku

How to Play:

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

Sudoku Rules:

Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Crossword

Answers on page 30

Wordsearch

Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

Rock your own agenda, as the line-up in your sign, including the Moon, can be a call to focus on your plans, projects and needs. Rather than team up, you’ll prefer to go solo and enjoy the freedom of following your own star. This trend is set to last for a few more weeks, and can find you exploring new ideas, making friends, reaching out to relevant people and loving life.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

As a Taurus you tend to be down to earth, but with plenty going on in an unfocused and hazy zone, getting anything done may be an uphill battle. And with the Moon aligning with Jupiter, this is a time to dream big. Whether they happen at night or in the day, use this opportunity to get inspired, write down any brilliant ideas and get creating. Something amazing could emerge.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

You get the best results when you team up with others and pool skills and experience. If you’re having difficulties doing something solo, this is the way to make it a resounding success. And if you can’t locate the right person, then reaching out to someone who might be able to help could net you a new friend and collaborator. If you just want to enjoy socializing, you’re in luck too.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

The Aries Moon and its link with bountiful Jupiter, can fuel a desire to expand your reach. You’ll also be optimistic about your chances of pulling off an interview or forging ahead with a business idea. Taking that leap of faith may be the action step you’ve been missing. Need reassurance? Someone who’s already succeeded is your ultimate guide to getting it done.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

You’ll be in an especially outspoken mood, and ready to share your perspective with anyone who’ll listen. There are those who may be in a sensitive mood Leo, so if you need to deliver a critique of someone’s work, go easy and make it constructive. Travel plans might be on the cards, so if you and your partner need a chance for quality time, it could do you so much good.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

The focus on an alluring zone means you can’t help but be noticed. And you’ll be very hard to resist, whether you want to influence someone to do a business deal with you or ask them out on a date. Don’t jump into anything too quickly though, Virgo. The urge to act on impulse may be strong. Only your intuition can tell you if it’s best avoided or time to exit your comfort zone.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

Libra 24 September - 23 October : If you and another have had words, today’s tie between the Moon and healing Chiron, encourages you to talk about it. You’ll likely find there’s been a misunderstanding and once resolved, you can get back to normal. And with lucky Jupiter on the field, someone may make you an offer you can’t refuse. If you want to experience more of life and have fun too, think about saying yes.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

Under today’s bright and breezy sky, you won’t have a lot of time for details, which is a shame, as you could miss something important if you’re in a hurry or don’t listen to what others are saying. A fabulous opportunity can whizz by you, and you won’t be any the wiser. While it’s great to see the bigger picture, it helps to adjust your lens so you appreciate the finer points as well.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

Even if it’s midweek, you’ll be in the party spirit or eager to get out with friends and enjoy a delightful evening. The Moon’s tie with jovial Jupiter your guide planet, hints that you’ll be in an upbeat mood, and because of this, you could be lucky. It might show up in a variety of ways, but the cosmos hints that you’ll be pleased with the outcome. A romantic date can be a lot of fun too.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

Whatever domestic issues or challenges show up, you’ll look at them as an opportunity rather than a problem, and this is down to an uplifting blend of energies in your home zone. Because you are geared towards finding solutions, they’ll more easily show up. And you’ll be ready to take a risk if you feel that it will pay off. You expect good things, and they will come your way.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

You need people around who understand you, and who are willing to give your ideas the attention they deserve. Don’t dally with those who are frivolous, as this is a day when ideas and opportunities can benefit you. If you follow your intuition, you’ll be in the right place at the right time to take advantage of them. Ready to promote your talents? Go for it now, Aquarius.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

The positive line up in your sector of values, can go a long way to boosting your self-esteem and encouraging you to boldly pursue your dreams, Pisces. You’ll have the confidence to make decisions that may involve a little risk, but that could take your plans to the next level and beyond. And when it comes to the resources you need to get ahead, you’ll be inspired, Pisces.

Speed Bump