The Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DCR) has gone 15 days without paying rent for its Hato Rey headquarters after a provisional lease expired June 30, while the Financial Oversight and Management Board (JSF) has stalled negotiations on a new five-year lease. The dispute surfaced Wednesday at a San Juan court hearing on an eviction lawsuit filed by property owners Luis A. Rivera Siaca and Enery Pilar Ortiz Jiménez against DCR.
The eviction request was put in "suspense" pending an agreement. Plaintiffs’ attorney Charles Cuprill Hernández said he was willing to amend the suit and pause the eviction if DCR compensates the owners for the interim occupancy period. Judge Lorimar Barreto Vincenty gave the property owners 10 days to amend the complaint to include payment for the days occupied without a contract.
DCR’s legal representative, Iván Ramírez Camacho, said the agency is not refusing to pay but is following required procedures, noting DCR Secretary Francisco Quiñones Rivera has authorization from Governor’s Office Secretary Francisco Domenech and the Office of Management and Budget. He said a competitive process demanded by the JSF had to be completed, and that the JSF confirmed receiving the proposed $4,118,316 lease contract on July 7 but has not yet responded. The two parties have had a contractual relationship since 2020.