WASHINGTON (Conspiracy Talk News) – Secret conversations are well advanced and an announcement is expected in the coming days of US returning Puerto Rico to Spain.
119 years after the Treaty of Paris, which enabled the transfer of ownership over Puerto Rico from Spain to the United States, Madrid and Washington have virtually finalised an agreement to return the jurisdiction of the Caribbean island to the country, European, confirmed endi.com sources of the three countries.
The deal, which has been negotiated in secret for at least two years, is not official yet , but it has the approval of Presidents Donald Trump of the United States and Mariano Rajoy of Spain, and all that remains is to finalize certain technical details to make ad.
An announcement was expected before the end of the year , but it is possible that the emergence of last-minute complications delays approval of the transfer until the first days of 2018. The agreement has to be approved by the US Congress , which was occupied with the federal tax reform and did not have time to address this issue.
It was reported that the agreement enjoys overwhelming support in Congress. “The United States should never have taken possession of Puerto Rico. It was a mistake. Puerto Rico has cost us too much, “said Alabama Republican Sen. Luke McCullen.
Washington has not approved funds for the reconstruction of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria or to keep afloat the government’s health plan. They expect Spain to respond for these accounts.
According to sources, the talks began in 2015 after a joke that the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang -Schaueble , made to the then Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Jacob Lew, telling him that the European Union would accept Puerto Rico as a member if The United States took over Greece. Lew, according to sources, wanted to play the joke on Spain’s finance minister , Jesus Galindo, who did not realise it was a joke and the next day approached US officials with a proposal already formalised and authorised by the government of Rajoy and for the Spanish Crown.
“Lew read the proposal funny, but as he read he realised that it made a lot of sense. That’s how this started, “ said a White House source. Lew spoke about the issue to then President Barack Obama on the same days that Alejandro García Padilla announced that Puerto Rico had no way to pay its debt. “Go ahead,” Obama told him, according to sources.
It is not the first time that a colony has been transferred from one jurisdiction to another. Hong Kong went from British to Chinese domination in 1999.
The three political forces of Puerto Rico have not been consulted or had any participation in the talks. But as a gesture of goodwill the announcement will be made in the coming days and, in general terms, have no major objections, confirmed sources statesmen, establishments and independents
“Given the state of affairs at this historic moment in Madrid, Washington and San Juan, this is a logical and beneficial step for all parties. Washington comes out of a problem that has long since become clear that it does not know how to handle, Spain receives a possession when it seems increasingly clear that it will lose Catalonia and Puerto Rico is under the care of a country with its own language and traditions “, said Venancio Montes, ambassador of Spain in Washington.
Cletus Ryder, US ambassador to Spain, added: “After 119 years under the jurisdiction of the United States, it is clear that Puerto Rico is not going to assimilate and that it continues to speak Spanish and maintain its Hispanic traditions. Our relationship was at a dead end. This is beneficial for everyone. ”
As part of the agreement, the United States will be responsible for half of the $120,000 million debt of Puerto Rico. Of the remaining $60,000 million, the European Union will be responsible for 50%. Puerto Rico will have about $30,000 million in debt. The European Union, meanwhile, will allocate 50,000 euros to continue with the reconstruction work after Hurricane Maria.
Spain will give Puerto Rico the autonomic regime that enjoyed the island for a short time from 1897 until the US invasion and the agreement states that it will allocate to the island funds in a similar proportion to those now assigned by the United States.
Once the transfer is approved, a transition process will be initiated that should not last more than six months, so it is expected that the American flag will be lowered from federal facilities in Puerto Rico no later than the summer of 2018. At that moment, the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico in Washington,Jenniffer González , must move to Madrid and begin to act as a delegate of Puerto Rico in the Spanish Parliament.
On the always complicated issue of US citizenship, the agreement establishes that Puerto Ricans who now have it will keep it until they die, but their children will be born Spanish citizens. Spain also undertakes to authorise removals of Puerto Ricans residing in the United States to that country without restrictions. Those who decide to stay in the United States can do so.
Sources from the New Progressive Party (PNP) said that from their point of view they have no objection to the change if economic assistance is guaranteed at the same level as that now provided by the United States. Among the popular ones, there are no problems as long as control over the affairs of Puerto Rico is exercised from the outside. The independents said that they will continue fighting for the same independence against Spain as against the United States.
“We thought it would be more difficult to handle the reaction of the political parties in Puerto Rico. But no. They have assumed it with enough resignation. Puerto Ricans have always been very pragmatic about who is in charge of their land, “ said Ambassador Montes.
Governor Ricardo Rosselló has cited for a press conference on this subject at 3:00 pm today, December 28.
Editor’s note: this story is not true. Happy April Fool’s Day!
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