A Colonial Timeline From 1999 to 2026

BOSTON — This is Part Two of our selected colonial timeline of Puerto Rico and the United States, covering 1999 to 2026. Part One ran on Thursday. As Nuria Net and I note in the Episode 1 Prologue of American Colony — which launches Saturday, July 4, the 250th anniversary of the United States — this timeline was never intended to be comprehensive. But the pattern it shows makes it impossible to call Puerto Rico anything other than a colony.

April, 1999 — Vieques Protests Begin
When a stray U.S. Navy bomb kills David Sanes Rodríguez, a civilian security guard, protests erupt across Puerto Rico demanding an end to decades of U.S. military bombing exercises on the island of Vieques. The movement draws international attention and unites Puerto Ricans across political lines.

May 1, 2003 — U.S. Navy Closes Vieques Base
After years of sustained protests and civil disobedience, the U.S. Navy closes its base on Vieques. Much of the island is transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, leaving behind significant environmental contamination and elevated cancer rates among residents.

2006 — Section 936 Fully Phased Out
Section 936 of the federal tax code, which had offered U.S. corporations major tax incentives to operate in Puerto Rico, is fully phased out in 2006 after Congress began eliminating it in 1996. The loss of those incentives accelerates an economic collapse where people leave the archipelago and deepens its reliance on debt.

2012 — Fourth Plebiscite
For the first time, Puerto Ricans reject their current political status — 54% reject it, 46% approve. In the second question, 61.2% choose statehood, 33.3% free association, and 5.5% independence. Congress does not act.

2012 — Act 22 (Later Act 60): Tax Breaks for Wealthy Newcomers
Puerto Rico enacts Act 22, offering wealthy individuals who relocate to the island a 100% exemption from taxes on capital gains, dividends, and interest. The law, later consolidated into Act 60 in 2019, attracts high-income Americans to Puerto Rico, driving up housing prices and accelerating the displacement of Puerto Rican residents. According to a 2025 GAO report, recipients of the incentive were, on average, high-income and paid significantly less federal tax after moving to Puerto Rico.

June 30, 2016 — PROMESA Act
President Barack Obama signs the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability (PROMESA) Act, establishing a financial oversight board — La Junta — that takes control of the archipelago’s finances. Puerto Rico has no vote in Congress. The board is imposed on them.

June 2017 — Fifth Plebiscite
Due to boycotts and low participation, statehood wins with 97% of the vote. Congress does not act.

September 2017 — Hurricanes Irma and María
Hurricane Irma strikes in early September. Two weeks later, Hurricane María devastates the archipelago, knocking out power across Puerto Rico — in some places for nearly a year, the longest blackout in U.S. history. An estimated 2,975 people die in the aftermath. Billions in congressionally approved recovery funds are withheld or delayed.

Summer, 2019 — Governor Ricardo Rosselló Resigns
Following the leak of a private Telegram chat in which Rosselló and his inner circle made misogynistic and homophobic comments and mocked hurricane victims, hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans take to the streets. Rosselló resigns.

November 2020 — Sixth Plebiscite
Puerto Ricans vote 52.52% in favor of statehood. Congress does not act.

June 1, 2021 — LUMA Energy Takes Over Puerto Rico's Power Grid
The transmission, distribution, and repair of Puerto Rico's electrical grid are transferred from the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (AEE) to LUMA Energy, a private company. Chronic blackouts, rising rates, and a lack of accountability follow.

December 2022 — Puerto Rico Status Act Passes the House
H.R. 8393, which would have instituted a binding referendum on Puerto Rico’s status, passes the House 233-191. Every Democrat votes for it, along with 16 Republicans. The bill never receives a vote in the Senate.

2022 — Supreme Court Upholds Insular Cases; Gorsuch Calls for Their Overturn
In United States v. Vaello Madero, the Supreme Court rules 8-1 that Congress can legally exclude Puerto Rico from Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Justice Neil Gorsuch writes a concurrence declaring that the Insular Cases “have no foundation in the Constitution and rest instead on racial stereotypes” and calls on the Court to overturn them. Justice Sotomayor, in dissent, calls the cases “premised on beliefs both odious and wrong.”

January 2023 — Genera PR Takes Over Puerto Rico’s Power Generation
Power generation previously owned by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (AEE) is transferred to Genera PR, a subsidiary of New Fortress Energy. Combined with LUMA’s control of transmission and distribution, Puerto Rico's entire electrical system is now in private hands.

November 2024 — Seventh Plebiscite and Historic Gubernatorial Election
A seventh non-binding plebiscite on Puerto Rico’s political status is held alongside the general election. In the governor’s race, Jenniffer González Colón of the pro-statehood party wins. But the historic result belongs to Juan Dalmau Ramírez, who finishes second — the strongest showing ever for a pro-independence candidate in Puerto Rico’s history and the first time a candidate outside the island’s two traditional parties has finished second. Congress still does not act on status.

2025 — U.S. Military Reactivates Cold War-Era Base in Puerto Rico
The U.S. military reactivates a Cold War-era naval base in Puerto Rico, deploying thousands of troops to the Caribbean amid escalating tensions with Venezuela. It marks the largest American military buildup in the region in decades. Puerto Ricans protest the militarization of the archipelago.

July 1, 2026 — Federal Audit
A federal audit released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds that only 25% of approximately $14 billion in federal funds obligated for Puerto Rico’s power grid after Hurricane María — nearly a decade ago — has actually reached the archipelago.

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American Colony Pre-Launch: In preparation for the July 4 premiere of American Colony, we featured social media videos from Anthony Modesto MIlián in English…

Y Aliana M. Bigio en español.

Julio Ricardo Varela is the founder of The Latino Newsletter. He is also its current part-time publisher and executive director. He edited and published this edition.

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