Puerto Rico 's governor says the island will default on its debt in January or May , adding that there is " no money to pay essential services and pay the creditors " . This comes a day after a provision that would have granted the island access to Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws was left off the US omnibus spending bill . The incorporated US territory is struggling to make payments on $ 72bn of debt , with $ 900 m due on 1 December , which includes $ 350 m that the Puerto Rican Government is constitutionally obligated to pay ; the island only narrowly managed to make a $ 350 m payment on 1 December . Some analysts fear that a major default will result in a free - for - all among creditors , as they file a series of lawsuits seeking to protect their claims to the island 's increasingly scarce resources . "We cannot predict the outcome of the complex litigation that would inevitably follow a disorderly default," he said. Furthermore , last week Puerto Rico 's electricity provider , PREPA , bought itself more time to get insurers on board with a debt restructuring as it runs out of cash , however , today the time is up and the island may have to default on its $ 8.2bn of debt if a deal is not reached
Puerto Rico 's governor says the island will default on its debt in January or May , adding that there is " no money to pay essential services and pay the creditors " . This comes a day after a provision that would have granted the island access to Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws was left off the US omnibus spending bill . The incorporated US territory is struggling to make payments on $ 72bn of debt , with $ 900 m due on 1 December , which includes $ 350 m that the Puerto Rican Government is constitutionally obligated to pay ; the island only narrowly managed to make a $ 350 m payment on 1 December . Some analysts fear that a major default will result in a free - for - all among creditors , as they file a series of lawsuits seeking to protect their claims to the island 's increasingly scarce resources . Furthermore , last week Puerto Rico 's electricity provider , PREPA , bought itself more time to get insurers on board with a debt restructuring as it runs out of cash , however , today the time is up and the island may have to default on its $ 8.2bn of debt if a deal is not reached