There’s anxiety in it, as we on the mainland wait for any word from relatives trapped on the small prison island known as Puerto Rico. Waiting is what Puerto Rico does best. Puerto Rico is effectively a zombie state, a U.S. territory with no true self-governing power, expressing its “will” in periodic toothless plebiscites, most recently in June with a nonbinding referendum in favor of statehood. The political voice of Puerto Rico, an island of 3.7 million, would be impossible to ignore. An angry Earth has sent its shock troops to Puerto Rico in the form of a hurricane innocently named Maria.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 01, 2017 10:52 UTC