"Individuals approached" the statue, located in a central square in San Juan, and "damaged it", according to a police report quoted by the local press.

The monument's pedestal was partially destroyed and the statue split into several pieces under the impact of its fall, according to photos posted on social media.

The mayor of the capital, Miguel Romero, denounced an "act of vandalism" to the local daily El Nuevo Dia, while minimizing the importance of the incident.

“Hopefully the sculpture will be back before the end of the day or early evening,” he added.

King Felipe VI is due to arrive in Puerto Rico in the evening to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the founding in 1521 of San Juan, whose ceremonies have been delayed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A former Spanish colony, the island became American territory at the end of the 19th century before acquiring a special status of "Associated Free State" in the 1950s.

The degradation of the statue of Juan Ponce de Leon comes in the context of a vast movement of denunciation in America of the presence in the public space of sculptures representing personalities linked to slavery, colonization or the oppression of minorities. .

Long presented as "the discoverer of America", Christopher Columbus is thus an increasingly contested figure in the United States, now associated by some with the abuses committed by Europeans against Amerindians.

The conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon is one of those explorers launched by the Spanish crown to conquer the New World in the 15th and 16th centuries, and whose territorial gains had decimated the indigenous peoples.

Known for having notably explored the peninsula which is now Florida, Ponce de Leon had received in 1508 the authorization to explore and colonize the island, then designated by its native peoples under the name of Boriken.

Puerto Rican authorities said Monday they are reviewing CCTV footage to try to identify those responsible.

The group Fuerzas libertarias de Boriken (Libertarian Forces of Boriken) claimed responsibility for the action, however, according to several local media.

"Faced with the supposed visit of the King of Spain, Felipe VI, to Puerto Rico, and the escalation of American invaders who are seizing our lands, we want to send a clear message: no kings, no invaders Americans," the group wrote in a press release.

The statue was cast in New York in 1882 from bronze from English guns seized during an English defeat of the Spanish in Puerto Rico in 1797.

© 2022 AFP