Puerto Rico News Digest For June 17, 2015

ACTIVISTS READY FOR UN DECOLONIZATION HEARINGS 

From The San Juan Daily Star:

As a prelude to next week’s hearings of the United Nations Decolonization
Committee in New York to discuss Puerto Rico’s status, a demonstration to
free nationalist Oscar López Rivera was held for the second year in a row in
Condado. Some 2,000 independence supporters from several organizations
spoke out for the freedom of López Rivera and the independence of Puerto
Rico, significantly increasing attendance from the first such demonstration
last year. The annual discussion about the future statusof Puerto Rico will be
held Monday for the 33rd time. Another local action to call attention to the
June 22 deliberations was a letter written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-
moon urging him to have the hearings broadcast throughout the world. The
letter was signed by José M. López Sierra of the organization Todos Unidos
Descolonizar, which has also printed T-shirts in English and Spanish to pu-
blicize the annual event.

SAN JUAN HOT DESTINATION FOR JULY 4

From Caribbean Business:

A travel agency that can be used online but can also be called to speak with
its agents, CheapOair, announced Wednesday the top 10 destinations  U.S.
mainland travelers are booking for the Independence Day holiday. The agen-
cy’s data show that airfare to these destinations is significantly lower than
the average airfare for all booked flights for the same weekend. Key findings
include that consumers are traveling mostly within the continental U.S.; San
Juan, Puerto Rico and Cancun, Mexico, were the only overseas spots making
it into the top 10.

GDB LIQUIDITY DOWN 24% IN MAY

From News Is My Business:

The Puerto Rico Government Development Bank released Monday its latest
liquidity report showing the agency had $777.8 million left as of May 31, re-
presenting a 24 percent drop from the $1.02 billion it had in April. The agency
attributed the decrease in net liquidity to the disbursement of $120 million thr-
ough the Puerto Rico Treasury Department, $250 million for the repayment of
Tax Revenue Anticipation Notes, and $95 million to pay debt service owed by
the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.