San Juan, August 18 (RHC)-- In Puerto Rico, resistance to the dumping of toxic coal ash in the southern town of Peñuelas is spreading across the island. In the capital San Juan, activists wearing hazmat suits poured buckets of coal ash on the steps of the Capitol building Thursday morning in protest.
Then, early this morning, over 100 police officers, including a militarized "strike force," mobilized to stop residents of Guayama from blockading trucks carrying toxic ash as they left the coal-fired power plant en route to Peñuelas.
Less than an hour later, 200 more police officers mobilized in Peñuelas to stop residents from blockading the trucks as they arrived to dump the coal ash there. At least 25 activists have been arrested blockading the trucks so far this month.