Judge signs plan, resolves Puerto Rico bankruptcy battle

By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s nearly five-year bankruptcy battle is ending after a federal judge signed a plan that slashes the U.S. territory’s public debt load as part of the largest municipal debt restructuring in U.S. history and allows the government to start repaying creditors. The plan was approved Tuesday after the judge held heated hearings in recent months and as the island struggles to recover from deadly hurricanes, earthquakes and a pandemic that deepened its economic crisis. A federal control board appointed to oversee Puerto Rico’s finances said the plan cuts Puerto Rico’s central government debt by 80% and saves the government more than $50 billion in debt service payments.