Puerto Rico Morning Brief Sunday, October 11, 2026

New Fortress Energy (NFE) announced it was coordinating the entry of the tanker Amur River into the port of San Juan on Sunday, October 11, to deliver a natural gas cargo for power generation. The entry was subject to weather and operational conditions. That effort led to communications among NFE, the Energy Bureau and the Oversight Board, in coordination with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), to clarify questions and move the delivery forward. The Energy Bureau clarified that its orders do not instruct withholding payments for delivered gas.

Josué Colón, Puerto Rico’s energy czar and head of the Public-Private Partnerships Authority, broke his silence while at least three simultaneous investigations were under way. He also faces a possible perjury referral over his appearance before the House of Representatives a little more than a month ago. Colón insists he acted within the parameters his roles allowed him. That includes his decision not to tell Mary Carmen Zapata, then director of PREPA, about alleged irregularities surrounding the signing of the Power Expectations contract.

Puerto Mosquito Bay in Vieques is in its third blackout of this century, after a gradual drop in its bioluminescence since July. Waldemar Quiles, secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, said in written statements that agency technical staff have been evaluating a possible drop in bioluminescence measurements since July. He called it a matter of great importance that the agency will treat with the agility it requires. Secretary Waldemar Quiles described the bay as one of the most beautiful in the world, with an ecological diversity that is essential.

Para La Naturaleza held its fourth day of free tree distribution on Saturday, October 10, as part of its La Siembra initiative. The giveaway followed a season of increased wildfires and extreme drought across wide regions of Puerto Rico. From Wednesday to Friday, the organization had already handed out the initial 21,000 trees at six sites, with a limit of four per person. Erick Carrero Berríos, reforestation coordinator at the group’s nursery at the Northern Botanical Garden in Río Piedras, said the goal is to plant 50,000 trees over the whole month.

Wilfredo "Bazooka" Gómez, a former world champion and one of the most important figures in Puerto Rican sports history, died Saturday night at age 69. On Wednesday, his son Wilfredo Gómez Jr. had asked for prayers for the man known as "Niño de las Monjas" in a social media post. Gómez lost his unbeaten record to Salvador Sánchez on September 21, 1981. Sánchez died in a car accident the following year, and Gómez never got a rematch.

On the AAA’s reservoir charts for the week of October 4–10, Carraízo rose 17 cm while La Plata fell 27 cm. Carraízo went from 40.74 to 40.91 meters over six days, leaving it in the Safe band, 4 cm below the spill line, with 4.07 inches of rain nearby in the final week.