Llegan mexicanos a trabajar en fincas de la Isla ante falta de mano de
obra 3/24/2021 Metro Puerto Rico: "Ante la escasez de mano de obra
para trabajar en el sector agrícola de Puerto Rico, un grupo de mexicanos
llegaron a la Isla para llenar este vacío. Así lo informó el Consulado
General de México en Puerto Rico, quien en una publicación en sus redes
sociales celebraron la llegada de estos quienes “estarán cultivando los
alimentos que irán a la mesa de miles de puertorriqueños”."
The Scholar Who Chronicled the Afro-Latino Experience 3/20/2021 New
Yorker: "Miriam Jiménez Román envisioned and celebrated a field of study
long disregarded by many in the academy… For years in Latin America, the
myth of “racial democracy” inhibited necessary debates around race. The
notion that the peoples of the Americas were mixed concealed a preference
for whiteness and a worship of European ancestry. Jiménez Román saw those
biases play out in the United States as well. “Latin@s have been allocated
an ambiguous racial middle ground that invisibilizes those too dark to
conform to the mestizo ideal, while simultaneously distancing them from
other communities of color, particularly African Americans,” she writes,
in an essay published in 2010."
10 mujeres negras que cambiaron la historia de Puerto Rico 2/18/2021 Pulso
Estudiantil: "La mujer negra puertorriqueña ha sido protagonista en
diversas luchas sociales por la equidad, y pioneras de algunos aspectos en
el campo laboral. En este mes de la historia negra, conmemoramos el legado
de diez mujeres negras boricuas, muchas veces invisibilizadas en la
documentación, que cambiaron el rumbo de la historia para las futuras
generaciones."
Nace primer Programa de Afrodescendencia y Racialidad 2/7/2021 El
Nuevo Dia: "La escritora y profesora Mayra Santos-Febres es la
coordinadora de esta nueva propuesta académica que estrena en agosto en el
Recinto de Río Piedras de la Universidad de Puerto Rico."
Race and Racism in
Puerto Rico and the Caribbean 7/30/2020 Center for Latin American
Studies University of Florida: "Join us for a discussion on how race and
racism affect the daily lives of Black and Afrodescendants in the
Caribbean and how the Black Lives Matter movement has made an impact in
the region. The event seeks to provide a context for racial discrimination
and racist practices in the Caribbean, highlighting ongoing struggles and
challenges as well as spaces for activism."
People Are Using #AquíNoExisteElRacismoPero to Get Real About Racist
Experiences in Puerto Rico & Beyond 6/16/2020 Remezcla: "These are
just a few of the publicly reported instances of racism. There are many
more—most of which never get any press. Black people in Puerto Rico—which
also includes many Dominicans—are tired of the timeworn argument that
African heritage precludes a person from racism. Over the past few weeks,
many have shared personal stories of racism using
#AquíNoExisteElRacismoPero (racism doesn’t exist here, but)—a hashtag that
directly addresses that falsehood."
Revista étnica se convierte en plataforma para combatir el racismo en
Puerto Rico 11/12/2019 CNN: "¿Racismo en la isla del encanto? A
Gloriann Sacha Antonetty el orgullo por sus raíces negras la motiva a
luchar contra la discriminación. Se convirtió en activista y escritora
hasta lanzar una revista étnica en Puerto Rico que utiliza como plataforma
para combatir la desigualdad, la discriminación y el racismo del cual ella
ha sido víctima desde pequeña."
This Afro-Latina Started a Magazine in Puerto Rico to Celebrate Black
Beauty 9/20/2019 Oprah: "The erasure and devaluation of Afro-Latinos
in the media was so harsh that Antonetty-Lebrón’s father—a Black Puerto
Rican himself—would often search high and low for copies of magazines like
Essence and Ebony to bring home from his trips to New York. When he
arrived with the gifts, his daughter would flip through the pages with
excitement, soaking in the images of women who looked like her. And on TV,
she'd turn to MTV, eager to catch a glimpse of Janet Jackson confidently
sporting braids. She was so enamored with Jackson's look, in fact, that
she even asked her mother to stop the painful and damaging process of hot
combing her hair so that she, too, could wear natural styles."
Will Hurricane Maria Defeat Donald Trump? 9/20/2019 Real Clear
Politics: "September 20 is the anniversary of the storm and is thought by
many to be legally the last day victims may file suit to recover damages.
In recent weeks, some government agencies and municipalities have done so.
Those who didn't sue may believe insurers, who told them FEMA will pay for
damages above their insurance settlement. According to the federal
Stafford Act, FEMA absolutely cannot do so. This mistake may bankrupt
dozens of municipalities. The Democrats know this and plan to blame the
president, especially in Florida."
Colectivo Ilé estrena programa radial Negras 6/28/2019 Escuela de
Comunicacion: "El Colectivo Ilé, una entidad de educación antirracista sin
fines de lucro, se une a la oferta informativa y cultural de Cadena Radio
Universidad de Puerto Rico (WRTU) con el estreno del programa NEGRAS. A
partir del 5 de julio, los viernes de 3:00 a 4:00 de la tarde, irá al aire
el programa radial NEGRAS, un nuevo espacio para visibilizar proyectos
antirracistas y educar, de forma crítica e informada, sobre la negritud y
la racialización en Puerto Rico. NEGRAS ofrece contenidos culturales y
saberes de mujeres Afrodescendientes que fomentan una identidad racial
saludable para todes."
Colectivo Ilé respalda iniciativas comunitarias 2/11/2019 Todas,
PR: "El evento Junte Nacional de Mujerxs marcó el sábado el cierre de la
serie Calderos de Ideas de la organización sin fines de lucro Colectivo
Ilé, que trabaja contra el racismo y el sexismo, y a favor de la
descolonización. Pero, a su vez, representó el inicio de planes de acción
para proyectos comunitarios. La iniciativa de los Calderos de Ideas surgió
de la necesidad de un encuentro de desahogo y sanación tras el huracán
María, que pasó por la isla en septiembre de 2017. Sin embargo, después de
que las personas soltaban ese dolor que les encogía el corazón, las
participantes comenzaron a imaginarse un país distinto al que enfrentaban
en esos días postemporal."
The Hidden Narrative of Racial Inequity in Puerto Rico 9/4/2018 NPQ: "Though
it is a fertile land and has a highly educated population and a vibrant,
resourceful culture, Puerto Rico is poorer than Mississippi, the poorest
US state. Loíza, the blackest municipality in Puerto Rico, is the poorest
on the island. A newly forming nonprofit, Caribbean Cultural Corridor, a
network of local economies for local Black art, seeks to challenge
anti-black narratives on the island, starting in Loíza."
This Culture, Once Believed Extinct, Is Flourishing 8/23/2018 Smithsonian: "On
view at the museum’s George Gustav Heye Center in New York City, the show
explores the legacy of the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean (known as
the Taíno people) and how this Native culture, which stems from the
Arawak-speaking people of Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Haiti and the
Dominican Republic, has persevered and grown in influence—despite a
mistaken belief that it is extinct."
Bomba: The Enduring Anthem of Puerto Rico 7/7/2018 NYT: "At the
recent Festival del Apio in Barranquitas, Mr. Abrante acknowledged bomba’s
heritage by closing La Tribu’s set with a salute to two of San Juan’s
oldest bomba families: the Cepedas and the Ayalas."
Acuerdo entre Colectivo Ilé y Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico
potencia proyectos de equidad racial en las comunidades 5/3/2018 Fundacion
Comunitaria: "El acuerdo firmado por el presidente de la FCPR, el doctor
Nelson Colón, y la vicepresidenta senior, Mary Ann Gabino, convierte a la
Fundación en el patrocinador fiscal (fiscal sponsor) de Colectivo Ilé, lo
que le permitirá recibir donaciones que requieran la certificación 501c(3)
del gobierno federal. Con estas nuevas aportaciones filantrópicas, la
organización sin fines de lucro, que aboga por la equidad racial, podrá
colocar dinero semilla en cada uno de sus proyectos comunitarios. Estas
iniciativas se unen a la trayectoria iniciada por Colectivo Ilé en el 1992
cuando surgieron para fortalecer el trabajo antirracista y descolonizador
dentro y fuera de Puerto Rico, específicamente, en las esferas
comunitaria, académica, espiritual, psicológico-social, cultural,
económica y política."
How Trump favored Texas over Puerto Rico 3/27/2018 Politico: "Within
six days of Hurricane Harvey, U.S. Northern Command had deployed 73
helicopters over Houston, which are critical for saving victims and
delivering emergency supplies. It took at least three weeks after Maria
before it had more than 70 helicopters flying above Puerto Rico. Nine days
after the respective hurricanes, FEMA had approved $141.8 million in
individual assistance to Harvey victims, versus just $6.2 million for
Maria victims. During the first nine days after Harvey, FEMA provided 5.1
million meals, 4.5 million liters of water and over 20,000 tarps to
Houston; but in the same period, it delivered just 1.6 million meals, 2.8
million liters of water and roughly 5,000 tarps to Puerto Rico. Nine days
after Harvey, the federal government had 30,000 personnel in the Houston
region, compared with 10,000 at the same point after Maria."
The Shocking Numbers Behind the Trump Administration's Neglect of Puerto
Rico 3/27/2018 Alternet: "All you had to do to understand the Trump
administration’s different responses to Hurricane Harvey, which hit
Houston, Texas, late last summer and Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto
Rico, was read Donald Trump’s Twitter feed. Or listen to him talking. Or
time how long it took him to visit the disaster-struck areas."
Of Taíno Queens and the Legend of Yuiza 3/25/2018 Raices
Cultural: "Lind’s account speaks of the Taína cacique, Yuiza, a woman who
ruled her tribe of aboriginal people during the Spanish Conquest of
Borikén in the 16th century, in and around what was then the Cayrabon
River in the Jaymanio region and what is now the Rio Grande de Loíza.
Further research revealed that Yuiza supposedly married a mulatto
conquistador, Pedro Mejías and was condemned to death by the other
caciques in the area for having conjugal relations with the spaniard."
Latin Percussionist Albert Serrano Remembered By Family and Friends: In
Memoriam 3/19/2018 Billboard: "Serrano, whose parents hail from
Puerto Rico, was a Fania recording artist and worked on the Son Primero
album on the Montuno label with Rene Lopez and the late Dave Valentin,
said Lane, a veteran music entrepreneur. "Alberto was one of those guys
who could play music properly," says Felix Sanabria, another musician
friend who grew up in New York with Serrano. "He played Afro drums, the
tumbadora and the quinto. We were called the Quinto kids. At one point
Eddie Palmieri gave younger guys a chance to play and Alberto was one of
them.""
Inspired by the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords, Puerto Rican
Activists Launch Centro De Apoyo Mutuo 3/14/2018 Black Press
USA: "Centro De Apoyo Mutuo (CAM), which translates in English to the
“Center for Mutual Help,” is the brainchild of a group of Puerto Rican
activists, who have modeled their efforts on the service portion of the
Young Lords and the Black Panthers. While the groups were known for their
radical tactics—the Black Panthers encouraged Black Americans to police
their own neighborhoods carrying loaded firearms—they also introduced
numerous service efforts to aid Black and Puerto Rican communities, like
the free breakfast program that was eventually emulated in America’s
schools. The Panthers started the breakfast program first and the Young
Lords followed their lead."
Afro-Boricuas Everyone Should Know 2/26/2018 La Respuesta: "Black
Boricuas are the central drivers of La Respuesta, ever since its genesis
in 2013. This is unique compared to other Puerto Rican and Latinx
organizations, publications, and media initiatives, especially when it
comes to their leadership. They all need to step-it-up, because from mass
media to community organizing afrodescendientes are increasingly
intolerant of invisibility and tokenism."
The Puerto Rican Who Inspired The Collection of Black History 2/20/2018 Al
dia: "Schomburg proudly defined himself as an Afro-Puerto Rican, the son
of a black mother from St. Croix and a Puerto Rican father of German
ancestry. (In 1560 Puerto Rico had 15,000 Africans and only 500 whites.)
Schomburg was very active in the liberation movements in Puerto Rico and
Cuba – then colonies of Spain at the time he moved to NYC."
¿Los EE.UU. utilizaron radiaciones para asesinar a Pedro Albizu Campos? 11/10/2017 El
Diario de la Marina: "Recluido en la cárcel de La Princesa a finales de
1950, el líder nacionalista Pedro Albizu Campos fue víctima de un
prolongado linchamiento radiactivo con el propósito de torturarlo lenta y
deliberadamente, hasta ocasionarle la muerte; un hecho que fue más tarde
confirmado por la Secretaria del Departamento de Energía de Estados
Unidos, Hazel O’Leary, quien admitió que su gobierno, a través de la
‘Comisión de Energía Atómica’, había hecho experimentos con radiación
atómica con reos, mayormente de la raza negra, muchos de los cuales no
sabían que estaban siendo utilizados como conejillos de indias."
Puerto Rico's streets crawl with heavily armed, masked mercenaries bearing
no insignia or nametags 10/15/2017 Boing Boing: "Though Puerto Rican
law prohibits ownership and bearing of most long-guns and especially
semiautomatic weapons, the streets of the stricken US colony now throng
with mercenaries in tactical gear bearing such arms, their faces masked.
They wear no insignia or nametags and won't say who they work for, apart
from vague statements in broken Spanish: "We work with the government.
It’s a humanitarian mission, we’re helping Puerto Rico.""
FEMA: 'Not Our Job to Deliver Water and Food' to Puerto Ricans 10/12/2017 Alternet: "Apparently,
FEMA says it is the mayor’s job to distribute food and water. They are
just there to help people fill out paperwork. Forget the fact that about
half of the people in Puerto Rico have no access to clean water. Forget
the fact that it is now confirmed that people are dying from waterborne
diseases like leptospirosis because they lack potable water… If only FEMA
could help. Yeah, I know. That’s hard to swallow. Especially when FOX News
reported THIS about FEMA in Lakeland, FL responding to the crisis
following a recent hurricane that hit there LAKELAND (FOX 13) - People who
are worn out from Hurricane Irma are getting help in Polk County. On
Friday, FEMA starting handing out free food and water at 11 different
sites around the county, including Victory Church."
The Crisis in Puerto Rico Is a Racial Issue. Here’s Why 10/12/2017 The
Root: "So although it has become liberal sport to insist on how different
Trump is from everything and everyone else that preceded him, the
president’s response to the hurricane is consistent with American colonial
history. This is manifested in both the slowness and limited scale of
assistance during Hurricane Maria, and by the fact that when local leaders
criticized him for it, Trump defended himself by invoking century-old
racial stereotypes of Puerto Ricans as lazy and ingrates who “wanted
everything to be done for them.”"
Trump threat to abandon Puerto Rico recovery sparks a backlash 10/12/2017 WaPo: "On
the island, residents and elected officials responded to Trump’s Thursday
tweets with outrage and disbelief. Radio disc jockeys gasped as they read
aloud the presidential statements, while political leaders charged that he
lacked empathy and pleaded for help from fellow U.S. citizens on the
mainland."
Puerto Rico’s Health Care Is in Dire Condition, Three Weeks After Maria 10/10/2017 NYT: "On
its hurricane update website, the Puerto Rican government says that all 46
dialysis centers on the island have received assistance, and the
Department of Defense counts 43 centers as operational. The website does
not mention that the diesel fuel shortage is still so severe that many
patients whose blood is normally cleaned for 12 hours a week are now being
treated for only nine."
Leaked Memo Reveals White House Strategy to Duck Blame for Puerto Rico
Catastrophe 10/2/2017 Alternet: "A memo leaked on Sunday and
published by Axios.com reveals that President Donald Trump’s
administration is aggressively trying to shift the blame for its dismal
response to Hurricane Maria and to carry out “planned hits” against the
president’s critics."
Bill Moyers: Vulture Capitalists Circle Above Puerto Rico Prey 10/1/2017 Alternet: "I
really fear that there’s going to be a mass exodus from Puerto Rico —
basically what Aimé Césaire once described as genocide by substitution.
Puerto Ricans are going to leave and FEMA workers brought in from the US
are going to arrive. More wealthy investors are going to come and Puerto
Rico is no longer going to belong to Puerto Ricans. It will look more and
more like Hawaii. When we talk about rebuilding we have to think about why
rebuild an energy sector that is not based on renewable sources when you
can rebuild with solar power, for example."
'Something close to genocide': San Juan mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz begs for
more Puerto Rico relief 9/29/2017 Independent: "“I cannot fathom the
thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out logistics
for a small island,” San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín said during a press
conference. “I am asking the President of the United States to make sure
somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives,” she added,
warning that “if we don’t get the food and water into peoples' hands what
we are going to see is something close to a genocide”."
The Media Really Has Neglected Puerto Rico 9/28/2017 Fivethirtyeight: "Of
the cable news networks that covered Hurricane Maria, the BBC, a British
network, initially mentioned Hurricane Maria on air more than the U.S.
networks did. CNN seems to have aired more coverage of Maria than its
competitors in the U.S. did, and the data hints that the network may again
be ramping up its coverage."
La piel que escribo: conversando con mujeres escritoras afroboricuas 4/5/2017 Claridad: "Ante
un público atento, conversaban seis escritoras negras puertorriqueñas.
Todas coincidieron en que la negritud se escribe desde la propia piel
negra. Según la coordinadora y moderadora de la actividad, la doctora
Bárbara Abadia Rexach, la contribución que hacen esas seis mujeres – y
otras – a la literatura negrista de la actualidad es realzar la noción de
que la negritud se escribe desde las personas negras, desde el
apalabramiento de sus vivencias, y no desde la historia oficial del
poder."
Seminario “Paradojas de la racialidad en el Caribe: Cuba y Puerto Rico 3/9/2017 Afro
Puerto Rico: "La Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras,
Afrodescendencia Puerto Rico, Inc., el Instituto de Estudios del Caribe de
la UPR-RP y el Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe les
invitan a: “Paradojas de la racialidad en el Caribe: Cuba y Puerto Rico”.
16, 17 y 18 de marzo de 2017 Visita de la intelectual cubana: Zuleica
Romay Guerra, MSc"
María Reinat Pumarejo lleva 30 años combatiendo el racismo 1/2/2017 Primera
Hora: "María se topaba con el racismo en situaciones diarias. Por ejemplo,
si llamaba para ver si un apartamento estaba disponible, al escuchar su
acento latino le decían que no. Una vez hizo la prueba y le pidió a un
amigo estadounidense que llamara después de ella y a él sí le dijeron que
había disponibles. María hacía todo lo posible para que esas situaciones
no le afectaran emocionalmente, sin embargo se le hizo más difícil cuando
su hija, Saraibi, comenzó a ser víctima de racismo en la escuela. Eso la
motivó a crear Colectivo Ilé, organización antirracista dedicada a hacer
trabajo comunitario."
“Yo soy cangrejero” 11/27/2016 Calle Loiza: "En las fiestas no había
orquestas, tocaban los músicos de la comunidad. Los niños tomaban koolaid
con cóctel de frutas mientras los adultos bebían ron caña. Lester y sus
amigos de la infancia, actualmente, continúan asistiendo a fiestas juntos
y creando caminatas para sacar a la luz la “historia ocultada”. Ahora de
más grande, Lester continúa siendo rico, pero esta vez por su afición por
la historia. En su barrio, fundado por gente negra, el negro siempre vivió
orgulloso de su negritud y de sus ancestros de África. Lejos de esconderlo
y pretender ser de piel más clara, en el barrio cangrejero, el ser negro
era algo sagrado y mucho más el ser descendientes de africanos."
Difficult Dialogues: Dr. Agustin Lao-Montes 6/15/2016 Amhert
Media: "Dr. Amilcar Shabazz speaks with Dr. Agustin Lao-Montes, a
professor in the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies and
the Department of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Their topic is Visibility is Power: The United Nations Decennial on
Afrodescendants."
El asesinato de Carlos Muñiz Varela. Conversando con el gobernador de
Puerto Rico 6/4/2016 Progreso Semanal: "Alejandro García Padilla: Le
agradezco sus palabras, es algo en lo que no voy a descansar. Quiero
añadir al caso de Carlos Muñiz Varela el caso de Santiago Mari Pesquera,
otro joven independentista puertorriqueño que fue asesinado y que todo
parece indicar que fue asesinado en aquella misma época por la derecha de
mi país por ser independentista. Yo no soy independentista pero mientras
sea gobernador voy a hacer todo lo posible por esclarecerlo porque no es
aceptable que ese tipo de acciones sucedan en Puerto Rico y que queden
impunes."
¿Por qué sigue preso Oscar López Rivera? 2/6/2013 Noticel: "López
Rivera es un preso político que aboga por la independencia de Puerto Rico
y que ha permanecido 32 años en cárceles federales. Fue acusado de
conspiración sediciosa, un delito por el cual el gobierno de los Estados
Unidos impone sentencias máximas de 20 años, precisó la letrada. Esto, por
ser identificado como el líder de la Fuerza Armada de Liberación Nacional
(FALN), organización basada en Chicago a la cuál se responzabilizó por el
bombazo al Fraunces Tavern en Nueva York, hechos en los cuales murieron
cuatro hombres, entre otros incidentes. A López nunca se le acusó de
participar directamente en la planificación o ejecución del siniestro y
tanto él como los demás acusados se negaron a testificar durante el juicio
argumentando que eran prisioneros políticos y que no se someterían a la
jurisdicción de los tribunales estadounidenses."
Héctor Pesquera on the loose in Puerto Rico 3/29/2012 Machetera: "Puerto
Rico’s governor, Luis Fortuño, has officially named Héctor Pesquera, the
former head of the FBI in Miami and the mastermind of a conspiracy that
led to the arrest of five Cubans who’d infiltrated terrorist groups in
Florida, as the new Superintendent of the Puerto Rican police."
Political scientist rebuts myth of Puerto Rican natives’ extinction 12/2/2011 University
of Hawaii: "The myth of Boricua extinction results from history written
through colonial eyes, he explained. Castanha used ethnographical data,
turning to family histories gone “underground” and accounts gathered from
artisans, academics, activists, cultural practitioners, elders, campesino
farmers, curanderos (healers) and espiritistas (shamans). The book, which
draws on his research as a UH Manoa doctoral student in political science,
documents five centuries of remarkable resistance and cultural
continuity."
Forced Sterilization in Puerto Rico 10/23/2008 Faily Planning: "The
Puerto Rican government and the International Planned Parenthood
Federation ran a sterilization program with US government funding, and by
1968 the program had sterilized roughly one third of Puerto Rican women.
Numerous studies have shown that misinformation about the procedure caused
high rates or regret among sterilized women. Many women were unaware that
the procedure was permanent, due in part to the euphemism of “tying
tubes.” Additionally, many women had no alternative affordable
contraceptive methods, so they opted for sterilization."
Samuel Lind desde Puerto Rico 8/25/2008 Boricua Africanos: Interview
with Samuel Lind by Edmee Cappas, August of 2008 in Loiza, Puerto Rico
It's All About Vagueness - Puerto Rico, Obama and the Politics of Race 5/29/2008 CounterPunch: "Duany
writes that Puerto Ricans have developed an elaborate racist vocabulary to
refer to racially stereotyped characteristics. Kinky hair, for example, is
referred to as “bad” (“pelo malo”). Meanwhile racial prejudice is apparent
in folk humor, beauty contests, media portrayals, and political
leadership. “In all these areas,” Duany says, “whites are usually depicted
as more intelligent, attractive, refined, and capable than are blacks.”
All of which is not to say that racism in Puerto Rico works in the same
way as the United States. However, the island is hardly a “racial
democracy” as some of the island’s boosters have claimed. Indeed, many
Puerto Ricans deny their cultural heritage and physical characteristics
and buy into an ideology of “whitening” through intermarriage with light
skinned groups. Interestingly, a whopping 81% of Puerto Ricans called
themselves “white” on the 2000 U.S. census."
U.N. racism investigator to visit U.S. from Monday 5/16/2008 Reuters: "The
United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials,
as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6
visit. "The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on
issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday. His three-week visit, at
U.S. government invitation, will cover eight cities -- Washington D.C.,
New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan,
Puerto Rico."
Obama pledges self-determination to Puerto Rico – with independence as an
option 2/24/2008 SF Bay View: "Puerto Rico's status must be based on
the principle of self-determination. Puerto Rico has a proud history, an
extraordinary culture, its own traditions, customs and language, and a
distinct identity. As president, I will work closely with the Puerto Rican
government, its civil society and with Congress to create a genuine and
transparent process for self-determination that will be true to the best
traditions of democracy. As president, I will actively engage Congress and
the Puerto Rican people in promoting this deliberative, open and unbiased
process, that may include a constitutional convention or a plebiscite, and
my administration will adhere to a policy of strict neutrality on Puerto
Rican status matters. My administration will recognize all valid options
to resolve the question of Puerto Rico's status, including commonwealth,
statehood and independence. I strongly believe in equality before the law
for all American citizens. This principle extends fully to Puerto Ricans.
The American citizenship of Puerto Ricans is constitutionally guaranteed
for as long as the people of Puerto Rico choose to retain it. I reject the
assertion in reports submitted by a Presidential Task Force on Dec. 22,
2005, and Dec. 21, 2007, that sovereignty over Puerto Rico could be
unilaterally transferred by the United States to a foreign country, and
the U.S. citizenship of Puerto Ricans is not constitutionally guaranteed."
Puerto Rico sues US over killing of militant 3/24/2006 Reuters: "Puerto
Rico has sued top U.S. law enforcement officials for allegedly failing to
cooperate with a probe into the killing of a militant independence
activist in the U.S. Caribbean territory. The lawsuit was filed on
Thursday and names Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and FBI Director
Robert Mueller as defendants in the case along with Luis Fraticelli, the
FBI special agent in charge of the San Juan division."
Anti-FBI protest in Puerto Rico 2/26/2006 AP: "More than 1,000
demonstrators, chanting anti-FBI slogans and carrying Puerto Rican flags,
marched through the capital of this U.S. island territory on Sunday. Many
of the marchers favor independence for the island and accuse the FBI of
persecuting the movement and of letting Filiberto Ojeda Rios bleed to
death during a September FBI raid."
FBI says Puerto Rico sweep aimed at stopping domestic terror 2/11/2006 AFP: "Norberto
Cintron Fiallo, a human rights activist who was in charge of organizing
Ojeda Rios' funeral in September, told the daily El Nuevo Dia: "This was
an operation to crack down on the surge of pro-independence sentiment on
the island after the death of Filiberto Ojeda Rios." For Luis Abreu Elias,
a former defense attorney for Ojeda Rios, "it is absurd for them to say
they are investigating a terrorist plot. They are trying to turn public
opinion against the pro-independence forces," he told the daily."
"Hasta siempre Comandante..." 9/28/2005 IndyMedia Puerto Rico: "El 27
de septiembre de 2005 cientos de miles de puertorriqueños se lanzaron a
las calles del país a saludar la caravana fúnebre que escoltaba al
guerrillero boricua Filiberto Ojeda Ríos hasta el pueblo de Naguabo, su
última trinchera física." [con photos]
Assassination in Puerto Rico - The FBI Murders a Legend 9/26/2005 CounterPunch: "Filiberto,
she says, knew that the FBI was there to kill him and did not talk at any
time about surrendering himself. After all, that is what happened in Cerro
Maravilla, where the local police -acting allegedly in cohort with the
FBI- executed two unarmed independentistas, well after they had
surrendered to the authorities. The Attorney General for Puerto Rico has
already corroborated Elma's story. The FBI fired more than a hundred
rounds of bullets. Filiberto was able to respond only ten times. There was
no attempt to arrest him; they came to kill him with premeditation… From
1990 to 2005, Filiberto was running loose in Puerto Rico, outsmarting the
FBI on an Island that is smaller than the State of Connecticut and where
everybody, through means of gossip, can easily find out what the other
islanders are doing, even in their bed. So, the FBI knew for sure that
Filiberto was being protected by the community at large. The FBI had a
motive for their assassination. Filiberto Ojeda will be buried the
afternoon of September 27, 2005, as a hero in his hometown of Naguabo,
Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican Bar Association has announced that it will
conduct a full investigation -together with the Government of Puerto Rico-
to determine if the FBI murdered Ojeda."
Puerto Rico rebel dies in hideout 9/24/2005 BBC: "Early reports
suggesting the death of the Macheteros leader triggered protests in San
Juan, the capital of the Caribbean island. Some 500 people blocked the
city's main avenue to demonstrate against "Ojeda Rios' assassination".
"This was done on purpose... to try to humiliate us," Socialist Front
president Jorge Farinacci said. "It's to tell us 'You do not have the
right to independence'." "
100 Years of Terror - Cuba and Puerto Rico in the News 5/3/2003 CounterPunch: "The
fact that Vieques registers a 73 percent higher incidence of cancer than
Puerto Rico as a whole has environmentalists and health experts wondering
about the effects of so much bombingSespecially the use of depleted
uranium (DU), which is considered by many to be a factor in the Gulf War
Syndrome. "Depleted uranium burns on contact," says Helen Caldicott,
"creating tiny aerosolized particles less than fice microns in diameter,
small enough to be inhaled." These minute particles can travel "long
distances when airborne," Caldicott explains."
