Lawmakers Denounce Alleged Russian Election Interference in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rican officials have uncovered and reported various Russian attempts to allegedly undermine the island’s democratic processes. 

US Shadow Representative Roberto Lefranc Fortuño originally flagged Russia’s surreptitious misinformation campaign against Puerto Rico. 

According to Representative Fortuño, misleading propaganda produced by Russia’s state-run ‘Russian Television’ channel has flooded Puerto Rican media platforms in recent weeks. 

“I make a call to action against foreign misinformation campaigns seeking to meddle in Puerto Rico’s democratic processes,” said Fortuño.

US Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), a brazen Russia critic, denoted his discomfort with Fortuño’s news. 

“I am extremely concerned about the interference of enemies of our nation who are interfering in Puerto Rico to support candidates who intend to turn the Isle of Enchantment into a communist disaster like Cuba or Venezuela,” said Representative Gimenez. 

Fortuño also reported how local left pro-independence parties are allying themselves with international Latin-America socialist and communist groups. 

Such groups include the Sao Paulo Forum, which was formerly presided by Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro. 

Fortuño explained the misinformation campaigns are aimed to undermine Puerto Rican’s desire for statehood, previously affirmed in 2012,2017, and 2020 referendums. 

In 2022, the US House of Representatives passed legislation that would have granted Puerto Rico statehood upon Puerto Rican’s electoral approval. 

The bill, called the Puerto Rico Status Act, would have held a plebiscite in November of 2023 to allow eligible voters to choose from three political statuses: sovereignty in free association with the United States, independence, or statehood.

Such a plebiscite never occurred, however, as the US Senate refused to consider the bill. 

Gimenez again recently forayed Russian initiatives undermining US national security. 

A new report conducted by The Insider, Der Spiegel, and CBS' 60 Minutes has concluded that US officials suffering from "Havana Syndrome" may have been targeted by Russian sonic weaponry. 

Gimenez expressed via X that “"as the only Cuban-born Member of Congress & the US Representative for the Cuban-American community, I'm calling on President Biden to hold the dictatorship in Cuba accountable for collaborating with Russia to actively target & kill the US officials."