Sanders Campaign Press Release - Sanders Releases New Ad in Puerto Rico

LOS ANGELES - Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign on Thursday released a new Spanish-language television spot that will run in Puerto Rico ahead of the island's June 5 primary election.

"Only one candidate can stand up to vulture funds for Puerto Rico: Bernie Sanders. He opposes the insider deal," the narrator says. "Why? It could lead to slashed pensions, more unemployment, closed hospitals and school cuts."

During a visit to the island last week, Sanders spoke to more than 3,000 Puerto Ricans about his commitment to fight against the vulture funds on Wall Street who are trying to profit off the island's fiscal crisis. Earlier this week he expressed his strong opposition to a proposal in the House of Representatives that would create an undemocratic fiscal oversight board which would decide the fate of the Puerto Rican people without their input.

The senator also called for the the people of Puerto Rico to be allowed to take charge of their political future and for the U.S. to immediately redefine its legal relationship with the people of the island. He was the first candidate to describe the relationship between the federal government and San Juan as "colonial."

"The people of Puerto Rico must be empowered to determine their own destiny," Sanders says in the ad.

"He'll fight for Puerto Rico because he doesn't take Wall Street money and isn't part of the Washington status quo," the narrator says.