In Puerto Rico, couple face trial after refusing to comply with Covid protocols

A couple in Puerto Rico now faces trial on charges of refusing to comply with executive orders outlining Covid safety protocols, after they locked themselves in a minivan for several hours to avoid being detained.

Zulma Figueroa, 53, and Luis Ángel Colón, 44, arrived in Puerto Rico on a flight from Florida on Jan. 2 with two of their children. The couple refused to fill out a Covid-19 entry form at the airport and provide proof of a negative test for the coronavirus as required by an executive order from Gov. Pedro Pierluisi.

Puerto Rican authorities found out about the incident after Figueroa posted a video on social media saying, in Spanish, "You can arrive to Puerto Rico without getting tested, in a domestic flight, and you don't have to give anyone any information."

Prosecutor Iliana Martínez told Telemundo Puerto Rico, also in Spanish: "These people basically declared contempt for public authority and challenged it in a haughty way. They simply did not want to comply with the provisions in both the executive order and the law."