Blackout in Puerto Rico - Archive

A former UBS insider is speaking out publicly about the bond frenzy that pushed Puerto Rico into default, and then landing it in bankruptcy just four months before Hurricane Maria.

In the course of investigating Blackout in Puerto Rico, reporters for FRONTLINE and NPR reached out to several banking giants that were involved in underwriting Puerto Rican bonds to ask them about their involvement in a $3.5 billion debt offering in 2014 -- the largest bond offering of its kind in U.S. history.

For years, the nation's largest banks made millions off Puerto Rican debt as the island approached financial ruin. Then, with its infrastructure crumbling, a Category 4 hurricane barreled in.

A new investigation from FRONTLINE and NPR into the response on Puerto Rico uncovers a government relief effort in chaos, struggling with key contracts, basic supplies and its own workforce.