The Puerto Rican Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against three tourists, including a woman from Florida, claiming they had not been quarantined after they swore they would do so on their travel declaration form as the island struggled with a wave of tourists behaving badly as visitors started returning.
This is the first time that so-called “ideological lies” have been charged in Puerto Rico to tourists who do not comply with self-isolation, said Hernandez, director of the investigations office at Puerto Rico’s Ministry of Health. Anyone who fills out a Puerto Rico Department of Health travel form can be charged while breaching a 14-day quarantine, and charged for individuals who do not provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival.
If convicted, the crime is punishable by up to 3 years’ imprisonment.
“For our epidemiological array, it is very important to know where this person is,” he said. “The tourists should be very clear that the document they fill out is a document that may result in us having to file criminal charges for lying and not providing the correct information.”
The tourists, in a press release issued by the Puerto Rican Department of Justice were identified as Soneris Serrano Moya from Florida, Talita Sarai Carrillo from Chicago and Muhammad Hamzan from New York. In addition to the felony charges, visitors face 2 misdemeanors for roaming and not wearing a muzzle. A judge released bail of $ 10,000 for Serrano and $ 25,000 for other tourists. Serrano and Carrillo are captured while the whereabouts of Hizam are unknown.
The arrests come as reports of tourists misconduct in public places and breach of COVID-19 protocols are spreading on local media and social media. Videos and photos surfaced of visitors gathering in large groups, wearing no masks, fighting in public places, and even riding motorcycles on the highways. Police have arrested both locals and tourists for violating curfews but not for violating quarantine, a new level of enforcement designed to deter travelers from risky behavior that may spread the virus.
Some incidents, many of which were documented on smartphones, turned violent. In November, an American tourist at San Juan Airport was reported to have attacked a National Guard soldier who told him to wear a mask. Also, A woman in a wheelchair was attacked when she made the same request to a separate group of visitors and poured the drink on her head.
