By Carlos “Carlito” Rovira

On July 25, 1978, the colonizing Puerto Rico Police assassinated two young pro-independence activists. This brutal and blatant murder, known as the Cerro Maravilla murders, exposed for the world to see the violence used by U.S. imperialism to keep Puerto Rico in chains to this day.

The controversy and the cover-up that followed were like none other in Puerto Rico’s political history. It involved government officials at the highest level, top police brass as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Justice Department. The case was indisputably identical to what COINTELPRO did to members of the Black Panther Party and other entities of the U.S. left during that same period.

Arnaldo Darío Rosado, 24, and Carlos Soto Arriví, 18, had been involved in pro-independence groups before. Inspired by the heroes of independence who championed the liberation of the homeland from U.S. rule by any means necessary, they joined the Armed Revolutionary Movement (MRA). The MRA had no experience in such matters, it never carried out any military actions in the past.

A police agent named Alejandro González Malavé, infiltrated the group. He recruited Darío and Soto to set fire to a communications tower on the mountain named Cerro Maravilla. Supposedly, the act was to protest the imprisonment of Puerto Rican Nationalists Lolita Lebron, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Irving Flores, Andres Figueroa Cordero, and Oscar Collazo.

By 1978, the freedom of these political prisoners was a campaign of paramount importance, both to the pro-independence movement in Puerto Rico and to human rights advocates around the world. In fact, it was a frequently mentioned issue in news outlets and United Nations Organization discussions.

It was a clever ploy by the Puerto Rico Police. First and foremost, July 25th is the date of the 1898 U.S. military invasion. And because Arnaldo and Carlos were highly devoted to the cause for Puerto Rico’s independence but were too inexperienced to detect how they were being lured into a trap, it was easy for the police to lead them to their deaths.

COLONIAL POLICE MURDER ARNALDO & CARLOS

On the evening of July 25, 1978, the three forced taxi driver Julio Ortiz Molina to drive them to the communications tower at the top of the mountain in Cerro Maravilla.

Once the vehicle arrived at the location, heavily armed police opened fire on the cab. Darío and Soto shouted, “Don’t shoot, we surrender,” according to well-documented testimony. The two were dragged out of the car, savagely beaten then forced to kneel. They were then shot dead, execution style.

The cops who testified during the investigation disclosed that several hours before the murders, officers assigned to the sting operation were ordered by Col. Angel Perez Casillas, commander of the Intelligence Division, that, “These terrorists should not come down (from the mountain) alive.”

Eyewitness accounts confirmed what many in the independence movement had all along asserted. The assassination of the two independence activists was a political statement on the part of the Puerto Rico Police.

Then Governor of Puerto Rico, Carlos Romero Barcelo, of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, immediately hailed the cops as heroes. Pretentious investigations were conducted by the colonial government, as well as by the FBI and the Justice Department, but only to assist in a systematic cover-up motivated by the already existing colonial setting in Puerto Rico.

In the aftermath of the killings, every agency involved in the investigation was quick to exonerate the killer cops and demonize the two victims, and for clear-cut and well-defined reasons. The Puerto Rico Police exists as the principal enforcer of U.S. colonial policy.

Historically, every repressive act involved the complicity of the Puerto Rico Police. It has served as the pit bull of U.S. agencies, most especially the FBI, dating back to the attacks on Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, the Nationalist Party and the brutal Rio Piedras and the Ponce Massacres.

This specially trained armed attachment of U.S. colonialism is perhaps one of the most sophisticated apparatuses of law enforcement in all 50 states and occupied territories. It is defined by colonial law as a “quasi-military” organization which is granted assistance by the National Guard, in everything involved to the work of a “civilian” police force.

TYRANTS ARE NOT INVINCIBLE.

Regardless of differences in political beliefs, widespread indignation to these murders came from all sectors of the population. A momentum grew to such a degree of pressure that it caused a political crisis for the U.S. colonizers in Puerto Rico.

On April 29, 1986, the undercover cop Alejandro González Malavé was assassinated in front of his mother’s house in Bayamón. He was shot three times by an armed Boricua group identifying itself as the “Volunteer Organization for the Revolution.” Puerto Ricans everywhere applauded the death of this police scoundrel and viewed his killing as well-deserved justice.

The FBI considered this group “one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations in the United States.” On December 3, 1979, the V.O.R. claimed responsibility for an attack on a U.S. Navy bus in Puerto Rico in which two Navy personnel were killed and 10 injured, and the destruction of 6 jet fighters at the Muniz Air National Guard base near San Juan on January 12, 1981.

In the end, eight police officers were convicted and given prison sentences, ranging from 6 to 30 years. But these prison sentences were merely a concession made by the colonial court to ease the mounting outcry for justice. The greatest concern Washington officials always have is the potential for mass rebellion.

Protest demonstrations occurred everywhere in Puerto Rico and the diaspora, demanding justice for Arnaldo and Carlos. News of the details surrounding this case reached global attention and pointed to the inhumanity of the U.S. presence and domination in Puerto Rico.

The Cerro Maravilla murders was not the first-time brave men and women were killed for advocating independence for their beloved homeland. Nor will the threat be gone of future incidents like Cerro Maravilla in 1978, as long as U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico prevails. The armed agencies of U.S. colonialism are the real terrorists.

No matter where, when or how the decisive battles for Puerto Rican national liberation may ensue, it will certainly contribute to the global defeat of U.S. imperialism. The murders of Arnaldo Darío Rosado and Carlos Soto Arriví shall serve as added reason to condemn and bring about the demise of this corrupt and vile system.

Arnaldo Darío Rosado & Carlos Soto Arriví – PRESENTE!

QUE VIVA PUERTO RICO LIBRE!

Para la versión en español: https://carlitoboricua.blog/?p=6986&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=6990

By Carlos “Carlito” Rovira

On December 22, 1895, Puerto Ricans affiliated with the Cuban Revolutionary Party, approved a proposed design of the Puerto Rican Flag at a secret meeting held at the Chimney Corner Hall in New York City. At the helm of this effort were the prominent Manuel Besosa, Antonio Velez Alvarado and Juan de Mata Terreforte, an exiled veteran of the 1868 Grito De Lares uprising. Among the other 59 attendees was also the renown literary and archivist of Black history Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.

From the early 1800’s, New York City served as a safe haven for both Cuban and Puerto Rican revolutionaries seeking refuge from Spain’s repressive agencies. Cuba and Puerto Rico were Spain’s remaining colonies, after a series of successful revolutions in Latin America. Madrid wanted to preserve its colonizer status for as long as possible. Its no wonder why New York became the birthplace for both the Cuban and Puerto Rican flags.

The Puerto Rican patriots chose to invert the colors of the Cuban Flag, following the traditions of the “Two Wings of the Same Bird” – which originated from a poetic metaphor written by the legendary female literary Lola Rodriguez De Tio. This metaphorical expression was later used in musical rendition by Cuban revolutionary leader, Jose Marti. Freedom fighters from both countries collaborated for centuries in a mutual struggle against Spanish tyranny.

It is believed by many that the idea of inverting the colors of the Cuban flag originated from Lola Rodriguez De Tio. And understandably so, Lola collaborated closely with Cuban revolutionaries in exile when she lived in New York City.

To Puerto Ricans, like all oppressed people striving to build nationhood, the flag represents many things. It is the one representation that compels us to express our aspirations and deepest sentiments connected to history, culture and heritage.

Twenty-seven years prior of the Chimney Corner Hall meeting, the legendary Dr. Ramon Emeterio Betances and other revolutionary leaders of the 1868 El Grito De Lares uprising saw the necessity of creating such a symbol for the newly established nation in struggle. The leadership of that movement understood quite well the role spirituality plays in a fierce battle for liberation.

In collaboration with Betances, Mariana Bracetti Cuevas, who was also a professional stitcher, created the first Puerto Rican flag. She put together a banner comprising of two red and two turquoise blue boxes, divided by a white cross (similar to the Dominican flag) with a white star on the upper left. The design was partly a tribute to the Dominican people for allowing Boricua revolutionaries to have a base of operations in their country, and because Betances’ father was also Dominican.

In the years following the courageous attempt by Lares insurrectionists, the independence movement continued to exist clandestinely, due to unfavorable circumstances. The Lares martyrs and their supporters were systematically imprisoned, tortured and brutally killed by the Spanish authorities. Puerto Rico was under the most repressive situation, compelling the movement to retreat.

Many who survived the onslaught fled to New York while others went to Cuba joining their comrades fighting to liberate their homeland. Among these brave Puerto Rican patriots was Juan Ruiz Rivera, who would earn the rank of general in the Cuban Liberation Army.

Despite the difficult conditions, the anti-colonial movement in Puerto Rico gradually regained momentum. Moreover, it was these harsh circumstances that motivated the meeting at Chimney Corner Hall and the creation of the current Puerto Rican flag.

On March 24, 1897, the present-day flag of Puerto Rico was flown for the first time at the municipality of Yauco, in an uprising known as “Intentona de Yauco” (Attempt of Yauco). It was the last act of resistance against Spanish colonialism.

Since the Intentona de Yauco, the Puerto Rican Flag has served to inspire the anti-colonial movement in Puerto Rico as well as in the diaspora. It has been tradition for the flag to be an inspiration in the battle for freedom and justice, such as during the rise of the Young Lords.

In two dramatic events, Puerto Ricans took center stage in world news with the national flag highlighted in occupations of the Statue of Liberty. In 1977 they occupied the monument to demand the release of political prisoners Lolita Lebron, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Irvin Flores, Andres Figueroa Cordero and Oscar Collazo. And again, in the year 2000 to demand an end to the U.S. Navy’s bombing practice on the Puerto Rican Island of Vieques.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017 coupled with the continued enforcement of U.S. colonial policy, made the flag a symbol of hope. Nationalism became a critical force that provided moral strength in the ongoing resistance.

In fact, Mother Nature’s destructive forces can never compare with the attitudes and corruption of U.S. government officials. With their policy of neglect U.S. officials contributed to the loss of 4,645 Puerto Rican lives — death tolls the Trump administration blatantly disputed and trivialized. The criminality of the Jones Act combined with the dangerously ineffective FEMA administrators, showed us (and the World) the genocidal policies of both past and present U.S. Presidents — regardless of political party affiliation.

Criminalization of the Puerto Rican Flag

Adding insult to injury, after the U.S. militarily invaded and colonized Puerto Rico in 1898, use of the flag was discouraged and stigmatized as something evil by U.S. officials. But it was during the imposition of Law 53 of 1948, better known as the Gag Law, (in Spanish: Ley de La Mordaza), anyone caught displaying or possessing the Puerto Rican flag was immediately arrested by the colonial authorities. The infraction was punishable by up to 10 years in prison. This vicious law aimed to quell mass support for independence but was also used to persecute Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos and the Nationalist Party.

Without warrants, homes, schools, businesses and houses of worship were randomly searched by colonial police looking for the “contraband flag”. Thanks to the nationalist fighting spirit of the Puerto Rican masses the U.S. rulers were compelled to eliminate this law.

In 1957, Law 53 of 1948, was repealed as well as the ban on the Puerto Rican flag. A development that came about as a result of militant people’s struggle. However, the original turquoise blue on the flag was replaced by the same dark blue as in the U.S. Flag. This was an attempt by the U.S. colonizers to psychologically cause a false sense of assimilation between Puerto Ricans and the foreign oppressors.

When we wave the Puerto Rican Flag in annual events, let’s not do it in vain and end up taking this honor for granted. Those who continue to colonize us want to ensure our national symbols be no more than a passing fad. The Puerto Rican Flag came about with sacrifices made by those who fought and died for the freedom of our people.

That is why we celebrate the Puerto Rican Flag and salute the memory of our ancestors who fought gallantly for a noble cause. Despite everything the U.S. has done to us through racism and attempts to destroy our identity as a people, Boricuas continue to say with pride QUE BONITA BANDERA!

QUE VIVA PUERTO RICO LIBRE!

By Carlos “Carlito” Rovira

In the days following the massive devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017, news reports emphasized the “American citizenship” of Puerto Ricans. But why were Puerto Ricans suddenly projected as American citizens when, traditionally, this was not the case?

The same media outlets discovered that most people in the U.S. did not know that Puerto Ricans hold U.S. citizenship. For many North Americans—who often suspect that people who speak Spanish and come from a territory in Latin America are “illegal”—the concept of Puerto Ricans as “citizens” must be baffling indeed. The contradictions of that relationship have been vividly captured in the savagely unequal deployment of relief to other hurricane devastated areas, like Puerto Rico.

We now see a return of this “cultural shock” when it was announced that Puerto Rican/Latino music superstar Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny would be the highlight at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime. It became even more of a surprise when it was made clear that the Boricua mega entertainer would sing his tunes exclusively in Spanish.

Far-right, MAGA racists went into a feverish mode of hatred which motivated them to launch a campaign to condemn the National Football League’s decision to have the world-famous singer take the stage in the traditional entertainment show. The far-right pursued arguing that Bad Bunny is not an “all American,” etc.

What is needed to clear up the confusion is a discussion of the origins of Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States and the peculiarities of Puerto Rican “citizenship.” Unfortunately, the underlying reason for the different responses—the colonial relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rico—has not been clearly understood.

Puerto Rico was one of four countries colonized by the U.S. in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War of 1898. In 1917, then U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones–Shafroth Act. Commonly known today as the “Jones Act” it imposed a second-class version of citizenship on Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico.

The U.S. government expressed its imperial arrogance by ignoring the unanimous opposition to the law by the Legislative Assembly, a long-existing political body in Puerto Rico, including outspoken figures like Luis Muñoz Rivera and Jose De Diego. But because Puerto Ricans were under a foreign military occupation, U.S. citizenship was not up for negotiation but blatantly imposed on March 2, 1917.

The law identified the people of the island as “statutory citizens,” a new concept never before applied to anyone, anywhere, which means that certain rights and benefits of citizenship do not apply. Puerto Ricans residing on the island are denied the right to vote in Federal elections and the ability to declare bankruptcy, among other rights and benefits.

The double standard in the supposed “American citizenship” for Puerto Ricans was fueled by the same racist logic of the not-so-hidden second-class citizenship status this country maintains for Indigenous and African American people. Only in the case the Puerto Rican second-class status was actually spelled out in the Jones Act itself, instead of just existing de-facto.

The U.S. rulers concocted a way of disguising the fact that they had conquered and colonized a distinct nation, in a separate territory, with a separate economy and a distinct history, culture, language and national identity. In short, the Jones Act allowed U.S. rulers to disguise their colonizing intent and undermine the existence and identity of another people.

At first many Puerto Ricans believed that “U.S. citizenship” would benefit them. But they soon discovered the opposite.

Statutory Citizenship and World War I

On April 6, 1917, barely a month after the imposition of “U.S. citizenship” on Puerto Ricans, the U.S. declared war on Germany. This was a war like none that came before. It engulfed all the industrialized capitalist countries of the world. Their aim was the seizure of each other’s colonial possessions in order to obtain new commercial markets, new sources of raw materials and the labor of already conquered people which the victorious imperialist powers could then exploit for profits.

It was a struggle of global proportions facilitated by the most ruthless capitalists of the various imperialist countries. U.S. rulers did not want to be left out of the expected lucrative feeding frenzy, and so they sought ways to persuade the broader U.S. public to support corporate America’s desires to join one side in the conflict.

By November 1917, just 8 months after the imposition of citizenship, the military draft was applied to Puerto Rico. This came after government and military officials realized that Puerto Ricans were reluctant to voluntarily join the U.S. Armed Forces. About 20,000 young men were taken and sent to various U.S. military bases and installations around the world.

Many of these soldiers died or were maimed as a result of highly lethal chemical weapons used in this war. But the death toll among these soldiers is still unknown because U.S. military officials kept no records of Puerto Rican battle casualties. This was the case with the now dissolved 65th Infantry Division, also known as the Borinqueneers.

It was of no concern to the warmongers in Washington that these Puerto Rican men did not have the slightest clue what the war was about in the first place. If we consider the chronology of events, it becomes clear that the Jones–Schafroth Act, which imposed “U.S. citizenship,” was simply designed to use young Boricuas as cannon fodder.

2nd Class “Citizenship” and Life in Puerto Rico

Today it has become indisputably clear that all of the facets of the Jones Act, especially its economic component, are designed to destroy the Puerto Rican nation—as Puerto Rican Nationalist leader Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos predicted.

Giant U.S. corporations are now the sole beneficiaries of the imposed American “citizenship” in Puerto Rico. While it is true that Puerto Rico receives limited benefits from the colonial relationship it has also been historically subjected to a range of laws that benefit only the billionaires of Wall Street, and this is the primary effect.

Not only are these avaricious capitalist enterprises exempt from paying taxes to Puerto Rico, they also extract from the country an annual average of $30 billion in profits. For an island with a population less than 4 million this is one of the highest rates of colonial exploitation per capita in the world.

And President Barrack Obama’s austerity measure known as the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA), which had aimed to forcibly collect an imposed $73 billion dollar hedge fund debt by shutting down public schools, libraries, hospitals, and other public services, as well as reducing the minimum wage, revealed what the aims of U.S. colonizers have always been, since the military invasion of 1898.

Such draconian measures, combined with the fact that Puerto Ricans residing in the United States constitute the second poorest nationality (Native Americans are the poorest), makes “American citizenship” for Puerto Ricans meaningless.

When Donald Trump came to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria it was not to assess the damage caused to property and human life. Despite his stupid behavior of throwing paper towels at a Puerto Rican audience and offending them with false claims of how much money Puerto Rico was “costing the federal treasury,” etc., he was consistent by expounding the traditional racist views of U.S. colonialism.

Trump was insidiously reminding Puerto Ricans, in his own crude and malicious style, how worthless “U.S. Citizenship” really is for Puerto Ricans. But in actuality Trump was honestly expressing the disposition of U.S. colonial policy in Puerto Rico, under every Democratic and Republican president.

Another blatant and well-hidden example of the hypocrisy in U.S. citizenship for Puerto Ricans was in an April 2022 Supreme Court decision. The high court ruled that people residing in Puerto Rico and other “territories” are not eligible for Supplemental Security Income, a program that provides desperately needed benefits for low-income residents who are older than 65, blind and disabled. Colonialism is blunt and will remind us of its inhumanity, among other things.

Citizenship, in the truest meaning of the word can only come about when the Puerto Rican people achieve freedom to exercise their human rights, that is, to exercise the right to independence and self-determination, and free from the domination of U.S. Colonialism. The U.S. rulers shall then be brought before justice and forced to provide Puerto Ricans with the Reparations due to them.

QUE VIVA PUERTO RICO LIBRE!

Para la versión en español: https://carlitoboricua.blog/p=6398&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=6414

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“Military intervention is the most brutal and abusive act that can be committed against a nation and a people. We demanded then, as we do today, the retreat of United States armed forces from Puerto Rico in order to embrace the liberty we held all too briefly in 1868.” –Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos

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By Carlos “Carlito” Rovira

On October 30, 1950, 75 years ago, an armed battle took place in the municipality of Jayuya which spread throughout Puerto Rico. It became known as the Jayuya Uprising. It is an event in Puerto Rico which bourgeois apologists for U.S. colonialism would prefer to dilute or completely erase from history.

Men and women determined to bring about an independent Puerto Rican republic carried out daring armed confrontations with U.S.-trained police and the National Guard. The fury that ensued was due to U.S. colonial policy, which began with the 1898 military invasion. Leading up to October 1950 the U.S. colonizers were putting in place a brutal plan to crush the independence movement and all expressions of anti-colonialism.

The colonization of Puerto Rico was motivated by capitalist economic interests of giant banks and corporations. Countries like Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Japan and the United States engaged in savage competition among themselves to obtain colonies. With the conquest of the Philippines, Guam, Cuba and Puerto Rico the U.S. became an imperialist power. U.S. rulers envisioned themselves controlling the world, especially Latin America where they had defined their intentions to make it their own in the 1823 Monroe Doctrine.

However, this historical trend did not go unchallenged. Millions of people resisted the savage onslaught by this system, especially after World War II and well into the 1960’s-70’s with the emergence of organized revolutionary nationalist movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

It was a momentous period in history with national liberation movements becoming an integral part of the global class struggle, which came to a head at the height of the so-called Cold War. At the political-military poles of this conflict were the United States on one side and the Soviet Union on the other.

Most notable in this historic turmoil were revolutions in Algeria (1954), Angola (1961), Bolivia (1952), Congo (1960), China (1949), Dominican Republic (1965), Egypt (1952), Iraq (1958), Vietnam (1945) and Cuba (1959), as well as the inspiring liberation movements of Palestine, South Africa and Northern Ireland. Imperialism did not foresee the resistance of its victims picking up arms in their quest for freedom. The Jayuya uprising occurred in the context of existing world circumstances.

The 1950 Nationalist Revolt

Under the leadership of Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico proclaimed the inalienable right of the Puerto Rican people to independence. These freedom fighters gained the respect of multiple sectors of the population.

The Nationalist Party also became known for advocating the right to use whatever means necessary to achieve liberation, including the use of armed force. This made them the primary target of colonialism’s repressive agencies that sought to destroy the independence movement.

When the political left in the United States was persecuted in the 1940-50’s, the result of an anti-communist witch-hunt spearheaded by the notorious Senator Joseph McCarthy, Puerto Ricans witnessed a harsher version of that despicable campaign. People in the U.S. hardly knew that Nationalists were systematically imprisoned and murdered.

Laws were created to justify killing Nationalists in plain view. The cause for independence was criminalized outright. Such was the nature of Law 53 of 1948, better known as the Gag Law, (Spanish: Ley de La Mordaza); it banned the Nationalist Party, prohibited possession and display of the Puerto Rican flag, outlawed public gatherings, prohibited criticism of the U.S. presence and mention of independence in literature, musical renditions and in all mass media. This vicious law aimed to destroy the Puerto Rican people’s self-identity by instilling fear.

U.S. news media outlets only told the false narrative of Washington officials who projected the uprising as an “internal matter among Puerto Ricans.” But nothing can dismiss the cold facts pointing to the contrary: the supposed “Government of Puerto Rico” did not come into existence by the will of the people, it was installed by U.S. colonial decree. Federal law mandates the U.S. President to take direct charge of matters there in cases of emergency. In addition, the governor of Puerto Rico is required by law to report and take directions from the White House.

Early in October 1950, Nationalist Party intelligence operatives obtained information of a secret government plan to eliminate the independence movement. The tactics to be used in the planned onslaught involved attacking offices and homes of Nationalist Party members. With knowledge of the imminent attack Party leadership chose to uphold national dignity and their right to armed self-defense. They decided that it was best to take the initiative by landing the first blow.

THE JAYUYA UPRISING

On the morning of October 30, 1950, a young woman named Blanca Canales led an armed contingency of Nationalists towards Jayuya. Once they arrived in the city the patriots launched their attack on the police headquarters. The Nationalists then surrounded the despised facility and a gun battle ensued.

Civil and police officials were shocked by the unexpected tenacity of the freedom fighters. The police were ordered to surrender and come out of the building with their hands raised. As soon as the Nationalists gained control of the situation Blanca Canales proceeded to give the command to burn down the building.

Surrounded by a large gathering of residents, the brave patriots raised the outlawed Puerto Rican flag. With her weapon raised in the air Blanca Canales agitated the onlookers by shouting the historic solemn words of the Puerto Rican liberation struggle: “QUE VIVA PUERTO RICO LIBRE!” She defiantly declared the independence of Puerto Rico!

Violent clashes between police and nationalists also occurred in Utuado, Ponce, Mayagüez, Arecibo, Naranjito, Ciales, Peñuelas and other towns. In Arecibo a gun battle ensued at the site of the police station there in which several Nationalists were killed. Among the 12 patriots wounded was former political prisoner Carlos Feliciano.

In San Juan, colonial police and National Guard attacked the headquarters of the Nationalist Party. Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, Isabel Rosado and others undertook defending their office with arms at hands until they were overwhelmed in the gun battle by tear gas.

Campos was then sentenced to life imprisonment. But U.S. puppet Governor Luis Muños Marin conveniently granted Campos a pardon a few months before his death in 1965. Many pro-independence activists, including medical experts, maintain that Campos’ physical deterioration was due to torture with secret radiation experiments.

Military airplanes were deployed to bomb Jayuya and Utuado. in Jayuya 70 percent of the municipality was destroyed. The National Guard immediately pushed to suppress the uprising and regain control of the region. New repressive measures were imposed throughout the country, including martial law.

A news blackout kept the events of the rebellion out of mainstream outlets in order to avoid the condemnation of colonialism in the court of public opinion. To guarantee silencing voices of the emerging struggle U.S. officials intensified their efforts to twist the facts. When the news media asked about the rebellion President Harry Truman falsely described the conflict as being among Puerto Ricans.

On November 1, 1950, Nationalist Party members Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola went to the Blair House in Washington, D.C. to assassinate President Harry Truman. Their intended purpose was to counter Washington’s lies about the conflict before the world. Torresola was killed and Collazo was critically wounded in a shootout with Capital Police and Truman’s Secret Service bodyguards. But the brave act of the two martyrs did bring about exposure to what was occurring in Puerto Rico.

The meaning of the Nationalist Revolt

As Puerto Ricans rebelled with guns in hand, anti-colonial struggles in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America waged on. The Jayuya Uprising in Puerto Rico was part of that global resistance of oppressed and exploited people.

Although the Nationalist Party did not succeed to expel colonialism, a political victory was won, nevertheless. This chapter in Puerto Rican history proved that the colonizers would compel the people to rebel. It does not matter how great the repressive reach is it can never erase an oppressed people’s identity and revolutionary traditions.

The Jayuya Uprising did force U.S. rulers to change their administering form of domination. In 1952 the Governor of Puerto Rico was no longer a military high ranking official appointed by the U.S. President. Elections were introduced for the office of Governor, but only to disguise the colonizing nature of the U.S. presence. By 1957 Law 53 of 1948, (the Gag Law) was lifted. The removal of this notorious law also meant lifting a ban of the Puerto Rican flag.

If one were to examine the chronology of the atrocities committed by the U.S. in Puerto Rico, like the secret sterilization of women, the cancer epidemic caused by the U.S. Navy bombing destruction of Vieques, the thousands of deaths caused by neglect in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and other deliberate policies of genocide, points to why the 1950 revolt was justified.

For their own reasoning U.S. colonizers will also remember this event, as they recognize the potential threat Puerto Ricans pose once they rise up. And in that inevitable future moment the lessons gained from this experience shall prove decisive in fight for a free Puerto Rican republic.

QUE VIVA PUERTO RICO LIBRE!