New York – Daniela Velázquez, the Puerto Rican-born councilwoman from St. Louis, Missouri , revealed to El Diario that she decided to contact the employers of the tourist suspected of setting fire to four businesses in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico , shortly after New Year's, in response to the outrage the news sparked among members of the diaspora and other sectors .

In an interview with this newspaper, the official, who describes herself as a “Missourican ,” stated that shortly after images of the alleged arsonist became popular on social media , she began receiving messages from Puerto Ricans inside and outside the state, as well as people of other nationalities asking her if she could intervene in some way.

“I have my little chats, and Puerto Ricans in the diaspora (in general) were discussing it…”, confirmed Velázquez.

Velázquez, the first Latina and Puerto Rican on the Sixth Division Board of Aldermen in St. Louis , added that she even communicated directly with those in charge of the HLK agency , based in the city.

The officer subsequently sent a letter that she made public in which she called on them to take disciplinary action against the woman in view of the seriousness of the allegations.

Following the steps taken by Velázquez, the advertising company suspended the woman from her position until more information was available about the events and the course of the case.

The councilwoman, who has been a vocal figure in the diaspora against laws such as 22 that promote the relocation of foreign investors to the island under tax exemptions, asked for clarity from authorities, both state and federal, on the course that the investigation has taken in view of the general perception that there has been no urgent action in the case.

As of early Friday afternoon, the suspect had not been arrested , despite officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) raiding her residence in St. Peters on Tuesday .

El Diario contacted the Miami, Florida, office of the ATF, which handles requests for information related to Puerto Rico, to request information on the scope of the agency's involvement in the investigation led by authorities on the island, but has not yet received a response.

At least four businesses in the El Combate sector, on PR-3301 highway, were affected by the fire, allegedly started by Danielle Bertothy, on January 2 , after she refused to leave the Bar Marea while drunk.

The fire hit that establishment, as well as Marinera Restaurant, Artesanías Juavia and Luichy's Seaside Hotel .

The woman is allegedly the one who appears in videos circulating on social networks arguing with staff and customers at the aforementioned bar, and, later, carrying a gallon of gasoline in the area.

Below is the interview that El Diario conducted with Velázquez (the transcript has been lightly edited for clarity):

El Diario: “Why did you decide to send that letter to the advertising agency?”

Velázquez: “I was getting ready to go out that night. I was going to meet some Puerto Rican friends, and, during the day, I think a lot of us in the diaspora, we saw everything on social media. My phone was blowing up with calls; ‘you know this person is in Missouri’; ‘you know this person is in St. Louis.’ Then I thought about it for a minute, and, of course, I was really outraged… the blatant disregard for our culture, our people, especially around the holidays . I wanted to know if she worked in the city of St. Louis. I wanted to make sure that her employers knew and that people here knew that she came back , because I realized that the media hadn’t really followed up on it. So I wanted to make sure that I said something.”

El Diario: “So Puerto Ricans in Missouri were talking about the issue”

Velázquez: “Yeah, they were doing it. I have my little chats, and Puerto Ricans in the diaspora (in general) were discussing it…There’s a guy I know from law work in Washington DC who’s a professor in Washington State who I think was on vacation in Colombia and he sent me a message asking what was going on…And I have another friend who lives here who sent me almost the same message. I was stunned, but I said, ‘ ok, well, let me do something; let me at least try to do something . ’”

El Diario: “How did you find out about this woman (the suspicious tourist) and her employers?”

Velázquez: “On the Internet. I was a reporter before I was elected (as a councilwoman). That was my first career. So I looked at the different posts…I saw that her profile had been removed; I saw different things. When I contacted her employer…before I posted about her employer, I sent an email to the CEO and the team in charge.”

El Diario: “But it seems that in Puerto Rico the authorities do not want to identify this woman by name, why do you think?”

Velázquez: “The only thing I can say is that, not having official positions or a person of official interest, it makes it more difficult to pass the information here, because I have reporters in St. Louis and I passed the letter to them, and I said, 'Hey, I'm sending this; there's a story going on; you should know about it,' and since there were no official positions, 'we can't really publish anything'…”

Velázquez: “This created more complications and more anger in Puerto Rico, here in St. Louis. I received several messages, (that read) 'we are not like this', 'this person does not represent us'. People in St. Louis were wondering why the authorities were not doing anything … In democracy, we have to follow the legal process and people are innocent until proven guilty and you have to have charges. So not officially identifying her I think has created more confusion and more anger, in my opinion . Again, I cannot officially say why, but you can see the emotions growing.”

El Diario: “It seems that people do not understand why she has not been arrested, although there are even videos circulating on social media of ATF agents at her residence”

Velázquez: “The search warrant was executed on Tuesday and the ATF took over the case. But what I understand is that the alleged crime occurred in Puerto Rico . It has to be a federal crime (for federal charges to be filed); the charges have to be where the crime originated…The St. Louis authorities are limited because it is not their jurisdiction.”

El Diario: “If federal authorities do not have jurisdiction (to file charges in this case), in what sense could the ATF be contributing to the investigation based on the information you have ?

Velázquez: “I’m not sure that’s the case. I would talk to the ATF. I’m in the middle here. It seems to me that the authorities in Puerto Rico, whether state or federal, continue to investigate and seek to file charges. I don’t think that won’t happen, because it’s not happening yet… There is an intention to file and the reason why the federal authorities are involved, I assume it’s because there could be federal charges or a combination of state and federal charges… So I don’t think there is no intention, but from an optical perception, people are upset because they think that no action has been taken on something that seems obvious to all of us.”

El Diario: “Do you agree with that perception or not?”

Velázquez: “Yes, but I don’t know the circumstances of the case, because I’m not the investigator… But I have common sense and it seems that you have a person, you have names, many videos, you know, and people are angry. I think we both read the comments and it’s a good coincidence that Bad Bunny released his album at the same time. There is a context where all this fits. And the context is gentrification, the economic crisis, and the context is that people are being forced, and the context is whether Puerto Rico is existing as it was, and if it can exist and exist as we all think, now and in 10, 20 years. And I think that’s what people are feeling right now and the perception of inaction exists and I don’t see how it can be separated.”

Velázquez: “Especially in the middle of the holiday season, which is the time when a lot of us are coming back; that’s the time that a lot of us share. I think that’s sacred to the culture and that someone comes to burn down (businesses) and get away with it and then the inaction. I think that encapsulates the anger, the fear, maybe the disempowerment that people feel, and maybe the double standard or second-class citizenship that people perceive… What I feel, hear and see, it also seems to me that it’s part of the outrage.”

El Diario: “You talk about double standards, and I want to ask you about the debate on social media where I have seen several posts comparing the case of the woman who protested in the church where Puerto Rican Governor Jenniffer González was shortly before she was sworn in and the case of the tourist. People are questioning whether the Puerto Rican Police acted more quickly against the Puerto Rican woman than against the tourist. What do you think of this analysis? Do you think it is a fair comparison or not considering the circumstances of the cases?”

Velázquez: “ I think we are in a moment in which our people feel vulnerable . I think that is what it is aimed at… On the one hand, a Puerto Rican being punished, and on the other, you have instances of two tourists, one in Cabo Rojo and another in Rincón in the same period of time and two different treatments, two for one… And there is a reaction. I have received messages from people saying, 'thank you for speaking up ,' from all over Missouri, from the island, Iowa, Tennessee, Florida. I think I received a message from St. Paul, Minnesota, this morning (Thursday); Madison, Wisconsin. I think that many people just want to feel heard and at this moment with that comparison. They do not feel heard and that is the reason.”

El Diario: “ How do you evaluate the work of the Police in Puerto Rico ? They (municipal agents) claimed that they did not intervene immediately with the woman despite being alerted on at least two occasions, due to problems in the system caused by power outages. Is that a valid reason for you?”

Velázquez: “Since I don’t have the details of the case, it’s difficult to comment more officially. I read that one of the officers was suspended…From what I’ve gathered, we’re back to the double standard again, and I think we see this in many places that depend on tourism, and again, I think it’s that context that Bad Bunny mentions, and that conversation about gentrification…and I even think I read that the mayor mentioned that a town that values tourism is going to want tourism to continue. However, tourists must respect; but what do you do when they don’t respect? The first answer is that the initial burden is on the tourist, on the person who acts like that; they act badly, they commit a crime; that shouldn’t happen. I think what people are saying now is how can we continue to have tourism and find the way, the balance, where we locals can, without fear, be respected, and that the laws are respected and benefit from tourism. I think that, just by observing, that is what they are asking for… I think that people just want to be able to have a quality of life, not to be threatened; to be respected, and I think that they want their institutions to be able to defend them.”

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