David Noriega Rodriguez took 3.8 percent. As Washington seeks to cut the federal deficit, the benefits the island receives under Section 936 of the Internal Revenue Code will be phased out over the next ten years. The press and broadcast media are well developed, highly varied, and critical. In a federal lawsuit, the newspaper accused the administration of harassment. Some journalists went so far as to question Rosello s commitment to press freedom.
Labor unions are well organized and have the right to strike.
The greatest cause for concern is the steep rise in criminal violence in recent years, much of which is drug related, and the Rosello government s response to it. Puerto Rico is now the Caribbean s main drug transshipment point. In 1997, island residents were shocked by a U.S. District Court report that found that many elected officials were actively currying the favor of incarcerated gang members in order to court votes among inmates. The report said that violent narcotics gangs were in virtual control of Puerto Rico s 36 prisons, and had the ability to decide who received goods ranging from toothpaste to cocaine. According to the report, a shadow governing body led by the strongest of several competing prison gangs the Asociacion Neta, which dominates the drug trade inside the corrections system had taken control of prison functions from corrections staff.