Puerto Rico governor announces historic bankruptcy filing in federal court

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello announced Wednesday that the territory is filing paperwork to move its debt crisis to a federal bankruptcy court, making it "the largest government to seek refuge from its creditors in United States history," The New York Times writes.

"We're going to protect our people," Rossello said. Negotiations with bondholders have failed to move forward, and creditors hit the territory with lawsuits looking to recuperate millions, including by claiming revenues generated by the island's Treasury Department, The Associated Press reports.

While Puerto Rico cannot seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy, it will utilize a similar debt restructuring process called PROMESA. The island has about $73 billion of bond debt.

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