Claro offers $10K reward to people reporting copper theft
Technology and information company Claro recently announced it is offering a $10,000 reward to people who provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the theft of the company’s copper cables.
“Telecommunications are the backbone of the island’s economy and the recurrence of these acts of sabotage places essential services in a critical position,” said Claro CEO Enrique Ortiz de Montellano.
“That’s why at Claro we’re offering a reward to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. This is everyone’s problem and we urge citizens to remain vigilant,” he said.
As a consequence of these criminal acts, many essential services are interrupted — 9-1-1 emergencies, police, fire, hospitals, schools, businesses and much more, he said. Similarly, residential Internet and long-distance services are affected, isolating hundreds of thousands of people on the island.
The company is urging citizens to call its Executive Communications Center at 787-792-8484, 24/7 to report suspicious acts.
If you live in Vieques, this article is quite surprising. Here, miles of Claro phone lines are still laying on the ground or hanging low. Service has been restored in only a few places after 18 months. Generally, we’ve been abandoned – except by the billing department that thinks they can charge for service whether or not they provide it. Claro, a company that says you can’t cancel your service without visiting their offices across the ocean. Judging from what we see laying in the street, their equipment here is not lost or stolen, it’s abandoned.