History of the Jews in Puerto Rico Very few American Jews settled in Puerto Rico after it was ceded by Spain to the United States under the terms of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish–American War. The first large group of Jews to settle in Puerto Rico were refugees fleeing German–occupied Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. The second influx came in the 1950s, when thousands of Cuban Jews (most of Eastern-European descent) fled after Fidel Castro came to power. The majority immigrated to Miami, Florida, but a sizable portion chose to establish and integrate themselves on the neighboring island because of Puerto Rico's
Pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico Pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico The pharmaceutical industry in Puerto Rico encompasses more than half of all manufacturing done in Puerto Rico. As the island's most prominent industry, pharmaceutics generates more than 18,000 jobs, pays more than $3 billion USD in taxes, comprises about half of total exports, and has generated more than 25% of the island's GDP for the past four decades. Comparatively, Puerto Rico is the fifth largest area in the world for pharmaceutical manufacturing with more than 80 plants, including: Pharmaceutical companies originally came to Puerto Rico in the late 1960s and 1970s to take advantage of