I remember the Caribe Hilton … it’s still there. I didn’t know about this. I remember vaguely … “Operation Boostrap”. SMH ….
“This glaring abuse of Puerto Rican land, taxes and labor was repeated throughout the entire island and called “Operation Bootstrap.”
Congressman Vito Marcantonio thought that Gov. Muñoz Marín’s “Operation Bootstrap” was a corrupt political scam. He called it “Operation Booby Trap.”
The Caribe Hilton Hotel was a perfect example of this booby trap.
Under the guise of “economic aid” to Puerto Rico, a theft in broad daylight was engineered by Gov. Muñoz Marín. Through the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) Muñoz Marín built the 300-room hotel at a cost of $7 million, ($68 million in 2015 dollars) and then handed the entire resort – the building, casino and swimming pools – to Conrad Hilton on a 20-year lease.
One year after the hotel opened, in 1950, the people of Puerto Rico were still waiting for Muñoz Marín to disclose the terms of that lease.
Everything used in the hotel, including the furniture, was purchased and flown in from the US. Nearly every management employee was from the US. Even…
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