Puerto Rico votes for US statehood in referendum
Puerto Ricans voted overwhelmingly in favor of statehood in a referendum on Sunday. While only 23 percent of registered voters cast ballots, 97 percent of the votes were in favor of becoming a U.S. state. "From today going forward, the federal government will no longer be able to ignore the voice of the majority of the American citizens in Puerto Rico," Governor Ricardo Rossello said. Despite the vote, only Congress holds the power to change the island's political status.