Puerto Rican Political Prisoners

University at Albany, State University of New York Scholars Archive Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship Studies 2005 Puerto Rican Political Prisoners Pedro Caban University at Albany, State Univeristy of New York, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/lacs_fac_scholar Part of the Latin American Studies Commons Recommended Citation Caban, Pedro, "Puerto Rican Political Prisoners" (2005). Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship. 20. https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/lacs_fac_scholar/20 This Encyclopedia Entry is brought to you for free and open access by the Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies at Scholars Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholars Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. T 500 PUERTO RICAN NATIONALIST UPRISING members of hated minority groups, with the crime defined imprisonment. Collazo later explained, "It was not impor in a highly expansive manner to reduce or eliminate the tant if we did or did not reach President Truman. That problem of proof" (Lewis, p. 344 ). The Nationalist Insur was secondary. It was sufficient to create a scandal that rection and Pedro Albizu Campos remain symbols of defi focused world attention on the colonial case of Puerto ance to colonial domination among many Puerto Ricans. Rico. And the assault was a success" (Fernandez, p. 182). The second notable attack occurred on March 1, 1954, See also Albizu Campos, Pedro; Munoz Marin, Luis; when four members of the Nationalist Party shot at mem Puerto Rican Independence Movement; Puerto Rican bers of the U.S. House of Representatives. The attack was Revolutionary Organizations; Puerto Ricans; and led by Lolita Lebron, who shouted, "Viva Puerto Rico Puerto Rico, Colonialism in. Libre" before she and her associates Rafael Cancel Mi BIBLIOGRAPHY randa, Andres Figueroa Cordero, and Irving Flores Ro Acosta, Ivonne, comp. La palabra como de/ito: Los discursos por Ius driguez opened fire on the assembled congressmen. Five que condenaran a Pedro Albiz.u Campos, 1948-1950. Rio Piedras: Editorial Cultural, 1993. congressmen were wounded. Upon being arrested, Lolita Fernandez, Ronald, Serafin Mendez Mendez, and Gail Cueto. Puerto proclaimed, "I did not come to kill anyone, I came to die Rico Past and Present: An Encvclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Green for Puerto Rico!" The Nationalists, who did not resist ar wood, 1998. rest, were convicted of attempted murder and other "Government Proscribes 36 More Groups as Subversive, 23 of them crimes, and sentenced to death. President Truman com 'Communist"' New York Times, April 28, 1949, 6. muted the sentences to life imprisonment. Pedro Albizu Lewis, Gordon K Puerto Rico: Freedom and Power in the Caribbean. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1963. Campos, the Nationalist Party president, who had been "Puerto Rican Blasts Remaining Rebels" New York Times November pardoned for revolutionary activities in Puerto Rico, 1, 1950, 26. hailed the attack as an "act of heroism." Governor Munoz Seijo Bnmo, Mifii. La insurreccicin nacionalista en Puerto Rico, 1950. Marin revoked the pardon and Albizu remained incarcer Rio Piedras, P.R.: Editorial Edil, 1989. ated for another decade. United Press. "Pue1io Rico's Head Links Attack." New York Times No vember 2, 1950, 1. Commutations of Sentences in the 1970s Wagenheim, Kal, and Olga Jimenez de Wagenheim, eds. The Puerto Ri cans: A Documentarv Riston·. Maplewood: Waterfront Press, 1988. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter commuted the sentences PEDRO CABAN of Lolita Lebron, Irving Flores, and Rafael Cancel Mi randa after they had served twenty-five years in prison. Andres Figueroa Cordero was granted clemency posthu PUERTO RICAN POLITICAL PRISONERS. The mously. He had died of cancer in March 1978 after having history of Puerto Rico's independence movement in the been released from prison because of his terminal illness. second half of the twentieth century is marked by a virtual President Carter cited humane considerations for the state of war between the FBI and the Puerto Rican commutations and said that the prisoners had served an government on one side, and the Nationalist Party, the "unusually long time in prison" and that "no legitimate Macheteros, and the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberacion deterrent or correctional purpose" was served by their Nacional (FALN) on the other side. These Puerto Rican continued incarceration. Their release coincided with revolutionary groups employed violence against govern Fidel Castro's release of several American CIA agents ment, corporate, and military targets in a campaign to being held in Cuba on espionage charges. The Carter ad overthrow U.S. colonial rule of Puerto Rico. ministration denied that there were any connections. For years, the Puerto Rican community had urged clemency. Actions in the 1950s By 1977 a broad consensus existed among Puerto Ricans On November 1, 1950, two members of the Nationalist for the release of the jailed Nationalists. Four former gov Party of Puerto Rico attempted to assassinate President ernors of Puerto Rico joined with Robert Garcia, the only Harry Truman. Oscar Collazo and Grisello Torresola, Puerto Rican U.S. congressman, to urge the commuta both residents of New York, carried out the doomed at tions. FALN had also demanded the release of the prison tack on Blair House, where President Truman was resid ers. The governor of Puerto Rico, Carlos Romero Barcelo, ing. Torresola killed one of the police officers who stood virtually alone in opposing the pardons granted by guarded the residence, and two other officers were Carter, stating that it would encourage terrorism and un wounded in the exchange of gunfire. In turn, Torresola dermine public safety. was killed and Collazo was critically wounded, but recov ered. Collazo was sentenced to death for the attempted The FALN in the 1970s and 1980s murder, but one week before his scheduled execution in In 1974, FALN came to public attention as the latest 1952, President Tn1man commuted the sentence to life Puerto Rican clandestine revolutionary organization PUERTO RICAN POLITICAL PRISONERS 501 committed to armed revolutionary struggle. Between against humanity, like apartheid" (New York Times 1988). 1974 and 1980, FALN took responsibility for a series of Palmer was sentenced to sixty years. bombings against federal government and corporate buildings primarily in Chicago and New York. On Octo Activism to Free Political Prisoners ber 27, 1974, FALN took credit for detonating five bombs A number of organizations including The National Com in front of mid-town banks and the Federal Reserve Bank. mittee to Free Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and Prison In a communique, FALN demanded "freedom for all ers of War, Prolibertad, and Ofensiva '92 spearheaded a Puerto Rican political prisoners and immediate inde successful international campaign to gain the release of pendence for Puerto Rico." FALN is credited with sev the political prisoners. The movement generated support enty-two bombings and scores of incendiary attacks, by citing the punitive sentences and length of time the pris attempted bombings, and bomb threats. Five people were oners had been incarcerated, the abusive prison condi killed and eighty-three injured in these attacks, which tions, and violation of their human rights. Nilda Pimental, caused about $3.5 million in property damage. director of the Campaign to Free the Political Prisoners, Ten FALN members were captured in Evanston, Illinois, said, "When you see the sentences given to them there is no on April 6, 1980. The ten were convicted of the rarely in other way to explain it. They were made an example in voked charge of seditious conspiracy for plotting to oppose order to discourage others from engaging in anti-colonial the government through illegal means, automobile theft, work" (Fuentes, p. 2). In November 1993, supporters of and illegal use and possession of weapons. Lengthy prison Puerto Rican political prisoners submitted a formal appli terms, ranging from 35 to 1OS years, were imposed on cation to the federal government requesting a presidential Elizam Escobar, Alfredo Mendez, Ricardo Jimenez, Car pardon and a grant of unconditional release of the prison men Valentin, Carlos Alberto Torres, Luis Rosa, Dylcia ers. Public opinion in support of a presidential pardon in Pagan, Adolfo Matos, Alicia Rodriguez, and Ida Luz Ro tensified. By the late 1990s, the movement had garnered driguez. The FALN member Oscar Lopez Rivera was ar international support. The Fellowship of Reconciliation, rested in 1981 and sentenced to fifty-five years for seditious composed of eleven Nobel laureates, members of Con conspiracy. Three other FALN members-Alejandrina Tor gress, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, leaders of all three res, Edwin Cortes, and Alberto Rodriguez-were arrested Puerto Rican political parties, and former president Jimmy in 1983 and sentenced on October 5, 1985, to a federal pen Carter, called on the Clinton administration to grant the itentiary for thiry-five years for seditious conspiracy. None prisoners unconditional release. The massive protests was ever charged with an act of violence that caused against navy bombing of Vieques were linked to the politi harmed to a person

Load more