Tourism in Puerto Rico has been displacing locals on the island for years, and it has now reached boiling point and caused a gentrification crisis due to Americans moving there for tax breaks and a rise in short-term rentals for tourists price gouging and displacing Puerto Ricans. On January 2, a Missouri woman visiting Puerto Rico allegedly set fire to several businesses on the Caribbean island, burning three businesses to the ground and partially causing damage to another.
According to the Puerto Rico Police Department, the alleged suspect has been identified as Danielle Bertothy, a St. Louis woman who was vacationing on the island. The businesses that fully burned down are the restaurant Marinera, Bar Marea, and souvenir shop Artesanías Juavia, and the boutique hotel Luichy’s Seaside Hotel was also partially damaged with 50 guests on site at the time of the incident. The investigation is ongoing but no arrest has been made …