Protesters demand closure of airport in Puerto Rico to stop covid-19 infections

Credit: RICARDO ARDUENGO / AFP via Getty Images

(CNN Spanish) - Members of the Socialist Movement of Puerto Rico Workers protested this Saturday near the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Carolina and demanded the closure of the terminal to curb the contagions by covid-19.

During the protest, the Movement's leader, Ricardo Santos Ortiz, was arrested on charges of assaulting a member of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau.

According to the police report, Santos Ortiz punched the face of an agent assigned to the Carolina command with his hands.

In statements to CNN, Santos Ortiz stated that he was taken to the police station in Carolina, where his rights were communicated to him and he received a summons for next October 9 in the Carolina Court.

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The detainee confirmed that he did not have legal representation at that time.

Santos Ortiz also complained about the inefficiency of the authorities in handling the health emergency.

"We can see how each time we face a crisis, such as Hurricane Maria, the tremors and now the Covid, the precarious situation of the different government agencies due to the austerity measures of recent years makes an efficient response impossible", denounced.

The protest affected vehicle traffic on the access roads to the airport, but the agents managed to establish a control perimeter and prevent the protesters from accessing the airport.

Isabel Berríos Cruz, spokesperson for the Socialist Workers Movement, denounced the government's alleged inability to manage the pandemic and urged the people to protect themselves.

"That protection, these individual measures, in no way substitute the government's responsibility in the situation of taking the necessary measures such as the control of passengers entering the country," said Berríos Cruz.

The Puerto Rico Department of Health confirmed 5,236 positive cases of the virus and 9,907 probable cases. The death toll is 201.