The Nation - News from Jan. 13, 1987

Arrests are “very, very close” in the New Year’s Eve arson fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that killed 96 people and injured more than 140, Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon said. At a news conference in the governor’s mansion, Hernandez Colon was asked if that meant he expected arrests within days or some longer period, and he only repeated they were “very, very close.” The governor called the news conference to announce that he has asked the Legislature of the U.S. commonwealth to enact stricter building codes for high-rise hotels and apartment buildings.