The cruise company also re-routed another ship yesterday, Empress of the Seas, to stop in Tortola instead of San Juan because of the protests and continued civilian unrest. It’s planned to return to Miami on Sunday.
According to the company’s official blog, the aborted stop was to ensure the safety of guests. "In light of current unrest in San Juan, Puerto Rico, we have canceled today’s call to San Juan, said spokesman Matt Hochberg. “We continue to monitor the situation closely and will make adjustments as necessary to ensure the safety and security of our guests and crew."
The protests against Governor Rossello are a result of years of growing tensions between civilians and the Puerto Rican government, after the Center for Investigative Journalism published over 800 pages of private conversations between Rosselló and his close collaborators on July 11.
The conversations are riddled with misogynistic and homophobic comments, violent threats against journalists and political opponents, and their plans to manipulate public opinion. The people of Puerto Rico are arduously protesting Rosselló and calling for his resignation.
Although they’ve re-routed two ships, Royal Caribbean has not made further comments on future stops in Puerto Rico. The ship Allure of the Seas is planned to stop in San Juan tomorrow.
Despite two of Rosselló’s top officials stepping down this week after the leaked messages, he said on a radio interview for Nacion Z that he will not be resigning.
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This article appears in Jul 11-18, 2019.