Vieques

"Mother Earth is not a resource
but, rather, the source of life itself."
Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th generation Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf
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CONTENTS
El Nuevo
Dia Interactivo
Local Fight To Reclaim Land Won't Stop When Bombs Do
Vieques Libre
Música Para Un Vieques Libre
Vieques: The
Struggle
Past, Present
Military Commercial
Center
For the Future of Vieques
Look to Hawaii
El
Despotismo De La Marina Yanqui En Puerto Rico
The
Despotism Of The Yankee Navy In Puerto Rico
Chronology
Brief
History Of Vieques
Simón Bolívar en Vieques - 1816
The Consequences Of
The U.S. Navy Occupation
UN Demonstration -
August 25, 2001
NYC Vieques Alliance March
October 21, 2000 Fotos
Todo Nueva York Con
Vieques Dia De Reyes 1999 Fotos
In Memoriam: Doña Adelfa Vera
Palfrente
Women Of Vieques
Visit To A Small Island
Independencia.Net (PIP)
Vieques Humane Society
American Friends Service Committee
Enchanted Isle - Fotos
Vieques Tourism - Fotos
Bioluminescent Bay - Fotos
Vieques Information Portal - Fotos
Vieques Island Photo Gallery - Fotos
The Eastern Islands - Fotos
Flamingo Travel Group - Fotos
Click Foto To Zoom In
Brief
History Of Vieques
by Wanda Bermúdez
The name Vieques, comes from the Taino word Bieque, small island. The little we know about the pre-Columbian inhabitants is derived from archaeological findings. The most important to date is the one at La Hueca where artifacts made in amethyst, agate, turquoise and jadeite were found. The most remarkable were shaped like South American condors. The Indians inhabiting the Island when Columbus arrived in 1493 were Tainos. Two
brother Caciques in Vieques, Cacimar and Yaureibo, lead separate revolts against the Spaniards. They were soon defeated and killed.
What was left of the Indian population was reduced to slavery and taken to Puerto
Rico.
Vieques Indian Condor
Once the Indians were expelled from the Island, a succession of attempted colonizations by the English, French and Danish failed. The Puerto Rico Spaniards drove them out every time. In some old English maps Vieques is named Crab Island. In between the attempted colonizations, the Island was used by pirates to re-supply their ships. There was abundant shellfish, fish, birds, and timber. The Spaniards finally decided to colonize Vieques during the first half of the 19th century. In 1843 the municipality was established and construction of the Fort was begun. The first governor was Don Teofilo Jaime Maria LeGuillou, a Frenchman. At the time Vieques was independent from Puerto Rico. During the second half of the 19th century, Vieques saw a great economic boom driven by the sugar industry. Black slaves were brought in from nearby British islands. Several Centrales (mills) were in operation. Their names were eventually adopted for the barrios: Playa Grande, Santa Maria, Puerto Real, Esperanza. By the time the USA took over the island in 1898, after the Hispanic American War, there were four big Centrales. Sugar milling made a few families rich while most of the population worked on the fields. The workers were very impoverished and worked under very harsh conditions. After the general strike of 1915, working conditions improved greatly.
U.S. Navy Arrives
When the Navy arrived in 1941, there were 10,362 inhabitants in Vieques and 8,000 tons of sugar were produced that year. The Navy expropriated two thirds of the total land, including most of the land used for farming. La Central Playa Grande did the last milling in 1942. During the first couple of years after the Navy arrived, there were plenty of jobs in Vieques in the construction of the bases. People came from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to work in Vieques. When construction was over the workers left. When the dust had settled, 3,000 of the 9,000 inhabitants of Vieques had been relocated to St. Croix. The rest were settled in the areas of Santa Maria and Monte Santo in Vieques. There was no sugar and no base construction left to do.
The government of Puerto Rico tried, between 1945 and the 1960's, to re-establish an agricultural economy in what was left of the civilian section of Vieques but failed. Between 1960 and 1970 the economy shifted from agriculture to manufacture, being the General Electric plant the most consistent source of employment. The plant was established in 1969 and is still in operation.
The population in Vieques has not changed much through the decades and still remains close to 10,000. Unemployment runs high. College bound kids seldom come back to live in Vieques but you can usually find them visiting the Island around summer. At the present time there is some development of the tourism industry. There are more small hotels and restaurants in Vieques than ever before. There is even a mega resort under construction. Many residents make a living out of renting their properties to tourists. This new industry has brought along a new influx of residents from the continental USA. Development of any kind will be limited as long as the Navy keeps control of two thirds of the total Island. Some people like it this way so that the natural beauty of some beaches in the military side is preserved. Other people protest the bombing of the beaches beyond tourist's reach, the consequences to the ecology and the health of the population, the destruction of archaeological sites, and
restricted access to the beautiful resources on the bases.
Bibliography:
Vieques En La Historia De Puerto Rico
By Dr. Juan Amedee Bonnet Benitez
Vieques: History Of A Small Island
By Elizabeth Langhorne
Vieques Antiguo Y Moderno
By J. Pastor Ruiz
Vieques: Five Centuries Of Struggle And Resistance / Cinco Siglos De Lucha De Un Pueblo Puertorriqueño
By Robert Rabin, Vieques Historical Archives
Vieques: An Ecology Under Siege / Vieques: Ecologia Asediada
By Robert Rabin
Vieques Historical Archives
Ni Una Bomba Mas! Vieques vs. U.S. Navy
Chronology
Copyright © 1999 ORLANDO SENTINEL
There
has been a history of conflict since the Navy first arrived on Vieques during
World War II. The island, a key strategic place in the United States' sphere of
influence in the Caribbean, has served as training grounds for air, amphibious
and ground assault maneuvers used by U.S. and foreign troops.
1924
U. S. Navy
launches its first military maneuvers in Vieques and Culebra.
1941
March
The Navy spends $35 million to build the base and training grounds in Vieques,
expropriating three-fourths of the 52-square-mile island, forcing about half the
population to move. The land taken by the Navy included the island's best
beaches and land used in Vieques' once-thriving sugar cane and agricultural
industry.
August
The US Navy begins the expropriation of 26,000 of the 33,000 acres of the island
of Vieques. After years of protests by workers in Vieques, the Department of the
Interior issues a memorandum describing a plan to move the island's entire
population to St. Croix so all of Vieques could be used as a military base.
1943
Work
for civilians in the construction of the base ends. Demonstrations in Vieques
due to the lack of work on the island.
1953
April 4th - Two Marines beat an old man, Mapepe Christian,
to death.
1959
February 8th - US Soldiers severely injured 19 people at a
birthday party.
1961
President Kennedy and the Department of Defense draw up a plan to eliminate the
municipality of Vieques so the entire island could be handed over to the Navy.
The plan was called off after protests, backed by the local government.
The Pentagon
proposes to relocate the people of Vieques to turn the island over to the armed
forces. This plan even included the removal of the corpses in the municipal
cemetery. This proposal was carried out.
1964
The US Navy
tries to take over the whole southern coast of Vieques, including the vicinities
of Esperanza and Puerto Real. The people of Vieques organize a militant campaign
to halt the process.
1970 - 1973
Anti-military movement erupts on neighboring Puerto Rican
Island of Culebra, culminating in the eviction of the US Navy from Culebra and
the transfer of bombing. Intensification of maneuvers in Vieques.
1971
Twelve people, including Puerto Rican Independence Party President Ruben
Berrios, are arrested after entering Navy grounds on the neighboring
island-municipality of Culebra in a act of civil disobedience aimed at getting
the Navy out of that island. Two were sentenced in federal court to six months
in jail, serving 31/2 months. Outrage over the arrests led to the Puerto Rico
government getting involved and getting the Navy to leave Culebra in 1975.
1977
Local leaders of the four political parties oppose
unanimously the aviation easement proposed by the Navy.
1978
On February 6th, Vieques fishermen protest the use of live
ammunitions in their fishing waters by taking over the waters where target
practice was about to begin. They were successful in stopping the maneuvers and
awakening the support of the entire Puerto Rican nation.
1979
21 people arrested by military police during an ecumenical
mass in a protest held at a beach in the military zone. One of them, Angel
Rodríguez Cristóbal, was found dead in his Tallahassee jail cell. His death was
never cleared.
1980
A congressional probe of the Navy's actions in Vieques concludes the Navy should
leave the island and seek another place for its bombing practices and military
exercises.
1983
Gov. Carlos Romero Barcelo settles a lawsuit and signs an agreement with the
Navy in exchange for pledges from the Navy to protect the environment and help
in the island's economic development.
1989
Organized land recovery of 800 acres of military land in
Monte Carmelo.
1992
Navy jets dropped 40,000 pounds of live explosives on
Vieques, including live Napalm.
1993
A Navy pilot flying an F/A-18 Hornet jet drops five 5500-pound bombs a mile away
from the Vieques town of Isabel Segunda, 10 miles off his target on the extreme
east of the island. Four exploded and the fifth was never found.
1994
Navy
proposes the installation of a ROTHR radar on Vieques, part of which would be
located on the western part of the island.
1995
Some 60,000 people march in San Juan protesting the Navy's plan to install a
radar transmitter in Vieques with a receptor in Lajas in the southwest of the
main island of Puerto Rico.
1996
Several bombs dropped near a group of fishermen in the
southern coast. One of the fishermen, René Hernández, was
hospitalized with serious injures.
1997
Four Dutch and Belgian warships dock in the public beach of Sun Bay on Mother's
Day. Dozens of fishermen drove them out after a two-hour struggle where the
sailors threw metal objects and sprayed pressure hoses on the small fishing
boats. Five
hundred people rally in Vieques against ROTHR, the largest
anti-military demonstration in twenty years. Fishermen confront warships on
Mother’s Day.
1999
February
The US Navy reports that 263 bullets
containing depleted uranium were fired by accident on the eastern part of the
island.
April
Two F-18 airplanes drop two 500 pound bombs outside
their target area, missing their target by three miles, killing David Sanes, a Vieques civilian, and injuring four
others.
April
A group of 15 boats visit the bombing site, named Mount
David, and place a large cross in memory of David Sanes. Afterwards, several
camps of civil disobedience are enclaved inside the US Navy zone, including
Mount David, Cayo Yayí, Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, Congreso
Nacional Hostosiano and Central Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores.
June
President Clinton orders Defense Secretary William Cohen
to "establish a panel to review the need for operations at Vieques and to
explore alternative sites or methods that would meet the Department's needs.
"
July
Around 50,000 march to Roosevelt Roads Base in Ceiba to
demand that the US Navy leaves Vieques.
July
The United Nations
Decolonization Committee encourages the government of the United States, in
accordance with the need to guarantee the Puerto Rican people their legitimate
right to self-determination and the protection of their human rights, to order
the halt of its armed forces military drills and maneuvers on
Vieques.
The
Consequences Of The U.S. Military Occupation
Vieques is one of
the 78 municipalities that make up the island of Puerto Rico. It is an
island situated east of Fajardo ( 90 minute ferry ride ). It is 21 miles
long by 4 miles wide; 33 thousand acres of land. The U.S. Navy controls
the east and west end of the island ( 27 thousand acres ) leaving only 6
thousand acres for the island's 10,000 inhabitants.
For forty years the Viequenses have been
living like prisoners of war, confined to the middle of their island,
surrounded by U.S. troops. They are submitted to all types of military
maneuvers and restrictions 200 days a year, including aerial bombings, target
practice, naval assaults, invasions from sea, land and air, all using live
ammunition.
Economy
Sixty percent ( 60% )
unemployment. The U.S. Navy employs less than 100 people.
Seventy-five
percent of the land is restricted for military use making it impossible to
attract tourism, hotels, factories and other commercial enterprises.
Farming and fishing are also restricted.
Health
The
entire island is contaminated. The amount of bombs, shells, etc. exploded
on the island is unimaginable. The incidence of cancer in Vieques is
higher than any other place in Puerto Rico. Medical Emergency Services on
the island are almost nonexistent.
Environment
Thousands of Coconut Palm groves have been destroyed by gunfire
and projectiles.
The east end of the island is almost totally destroyed by
the bombing. The air is contaminated and fishing has diminished.
When Navy ships are bombing, the entire island shakes and the noise is
unbearable. It affects the entire population.
Population
Thousands of Viequenses have abandoned their homes on the island
without hope of returning. With so little land available and so many
restrictions it is very difficult, almost impossible, for the population to
grow.
El
Despotismo De La Marina Yanqui En Puerto Rico
The Despotism Of The Yankee Navy
In Puerto Rico
(Scroll down for English version)
Escrito en el año 1945 por
Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos
En Vieques, isla del
archipielago Puertorriqueño, lleva a cabo el gobierno de los Estados
Unidos la vivisección de nuestra nación. La sociedad de Vieques va
muriendo, extinguiéndose ante el ataque frio, deliberado e intencionado
del gobierno de los Estados Unidos. ¿ Por qué los Estados Unidos han
escogido a Vieques para repetir a plena luz de la civilización
contemporánea el crimen de genocidio, o sea, la destrucción deliberada
fisica o cultural de una nacionalidad?
La explicación la encontramos en la vistas públicas que sobre el
proyecto Tydings llevó a cabo el Comité de Territorios y Asuntos
Insulares del Senado de los Estados Unidos, en el mes de marzo de 1945.
Ante ese comité compareció el Capitan G.D. Parks, de Flota de los
Estados Unidos, en nombre y representación del jefe de Operaciones
Navales. Pasamos a traducir del inglés la declaración de dicho oficial
Parks, segun consta en las páginas 29 y 30 del expediente publicado por
el propio Senado de los Estados Unidos.
Declaración del Capitan G.D. Parks, Flota de los Estados Unidos,
Despacho del Jefe de Operaciones Naval, Departamento de Marina:
El Capitan Parks, "Primero deseo declarar que la politica del
Departamento de Marina hacia el proyecto S 227 no ha sido analizada
todavia por el negociado de presupuestos. Por tanto, estoy expresando
los puntos de vista del Jefe de Operaciones Naval solamente. Nuestros
puntos de vista en este momento son los mismos que fueron expresados por
el Departamento de Marina en mayo de 1943 ante este Comité cuando se
celebraron vistas públicas sobre el proyecto del Senado S 952, del
Congreso 78.
El interés del Jefe de Operaciones Navales en este proyecto para
conceder la independencia a Puerto Rico, emana solamente del punto de
vista de seguridad nacional. Debido a su posición y tamaño, Puerto Rico
es de gran valor estratégico como punto de base de operaciones navales.
En los primeros días de la presente guerra, la Marina llevó a cabo la
expansión de sus tenencias
en Puerto Rico y construyó muchas facilidades nuevas. Cuando se logró
dominar el peligro submarino y bloquear la seguridad de la flota de
superficie alemana, se paró la construcción de muchos proyectos que
habían sido aprobados para esta zona. En tiempos de paz las facilidades
terminadas serán usadas para mantener y sostener la instrucción de la
fuerza designada
que se establecerá en el Caribe. En las futuras guerras, deseamos estar
en condiciones de extender esas facilidades navales en Puerto Rico lo
suficiente para proveer el apoyo necesario a una flota tan grande como
sea necesaria, que sirva de barrera al acercamiento de cualquier amenaza
que venga del sur o del este.
La cantidad de expansión deseada dependerá del tipo y tamaño de la
amenaza a la cual haya que confrontarse. La cantidad y tipo de
facilidades que la Marina pueda necesitar en Puerto Rico en el futuro NO
puede ser prevista por ahora.
Por esa razón el Jefe de Operaciones Navales SEOPONE a todo proyecto de
independencia para Puerto Rico que disponga solamente la retención de
reservas navales, militares y aéreas y la selección de nuevos lugares en
cualquier tiempo en el futuro, si son necesarios a la seguridad
nacional.
Los Estados Unidos tienen que ser los unicos jueces de sus propios
requisitos militares futuros en esta zona."
El Presidente del Comité: "Si, yo lo entiendo así, su preocupación es
esencialmente de defensa nacional."
El Capitán Parks: "Por completo, señor".
El Presidente: "Y en ningún sentido envuelve los méritos o desmeritos a
la independencia para Puerto Rico."
El Capitán Parks: "Asi es, señor."
El Presidente: "Por tanto, lo que usted quiere es, no sólo el derecho a
todas las bases navales y aéreas que usted pueda necesitar, sino
tambien, en caso de emergencia o guerra futura, el derecho en el
interés, tanto de Puerto Rico como de Estados Unidos, de adquirir tales
lugares adicionales que se puedan pára proteger adecuadamente a Puerto
Rico como a los Estados Unidos."
El Capitán Parks: "Asi es, señor."
El Presidente: "Y si eso se pone en el proyecto de ley, ¿Ud. No tendria
nada que decir a favor o en contra del mismo?"
El Capitán Parks: "Si, señor. Lo deseamos en la forma que nosotros
seamos los jueces de nuestras propias necesidades."
El Presidente: "Muchas gracias, Capitán."
El Capitán Parks, en representación de la Marina de los Estados Unidos
corrigió al Presidente del Comité cuando este quiso dar a entender que
la expansión de facilidades aéreas, navales y militares en Puerto Rico
en poder de los Estados Unidos, podría ser en beneficio tanto de Puerto
Rico como de los Estados Unidos. El Capitán Parks, con honradez
meridiana, repitió que "los Estados Unidos han de ser los únicos jueces
de sus futuras necesidades militares en esta zona".
Todo el territorio nacional de Puerto Rico ha sido declarado zona
estratégica por los Estados Unidos en la forma terminante y clara que ha
expresado el representante de la Marina de Guerra de los Estados Unidos.
Eso quiere decir, que si a juicio de los Estados Unidos hay que destruir
cualquier municipio de Puerto Rico y lanzar su población a las
viscisitudes del destierro forzoso, o si hay que desterrar a todos los
puertorriqueños por la fuerza, eliminando de nuestro territorio nacional
a nuestra nacionalidad, se hará siendo ellos en esta cuestión "el único
juez" y sin contar para nada con el derecho de la nación puertorriqueña.
Esta declaración de un despotismo tan brutal, parece no haber sido
estudiada en todas sus consecuencias e invitamos a todos los
puertorriqueños a estudiar esta declaración que hemos reproducido al pie
de la letra para que se apresten a defender su existencia fisica como
nación y como individuos.
Ya hernos visto las reservas militares, navales y aéreas en el mismo
centro de Puerto Rico: en Cayey, en Punta Borinquen, en San Juan,
Fajardo, Ensenada Honda, Culebras, Vieques y en otros puntos de Puerto
Rico.
En cualquier momento en que los Estados Unidos crean que es necesario
desterrar entera la población de San Juan, de Ponce, de Mayagüez, o de
cualquier otra ciudad de Puerto Rico o a todos los puertorriqueños de
todo el suelo nacional puertorriqueño, se creen con derecho a hacerlo. Y
esto no es una cuestión teórica, sino que aqui están ya establecidas
esas bases militares, navales y aéreas en todo el territorio nacional,
desde la Isla de Mona a Vieques y desde San Juan a Ponce, de norte a sur
y de este a oeste.
El gobierno que existirá en cada una de esas bases será el del negociado
correspondiente a los Estados Unidos. Si son aéreas caerán bajo la
jurisdicción del Secretario de Aviación; si son navales, del Secretario
de Marina; si militares, del Secretario de la Guerra, bajo la dirección
conjunta general del Secretario de Defensa de los Estados Unidos. Dentro
de esas zonas no podrá entrar nadie. Esta mutilación de la nacionalidad
puertorriqueña se está llevando a cabo fría, sistemáticamente, con miras
a exponernos a una total destrucción y a privarnos del ejercicio de
nuestro derecho en nuestro propio territorio nacional.
El senador Butler, del Congreso de los Estados Unidos, ha volado sobre
Vieques últimamente, con jefes navales y militares de Estados Unidos y
parece que, algo sobrecogido por el crimen que Estados Unidos está
perpretando en Vieques al destruir esa sociedad deliberadamente, tuvo
que
declarar que no sabía que era lo que iba a suceder en Vieques.
La población entera ha sido arrancada de sus hogares por la fuerza y
aglomerada sobre la ciudad de Isabel Segunda, donde tednrán asiento
transitorio. Los planes de los Estados Unidos son desterrar toda esa
población por la fuerza y traer allí personal militar, naval y aéreo que
pase por la fluoroscopía del servicio de espionaje de Estados Unidos. La
fuerza ocupante hoy de Vieques es yanqui, aunque hay allí personas
nacidas en Puerto Rico, pero no prestan confianza suficiente para lo que
se está tratando de hacer.
Culebra, Las Cabezas de Fajardo, Ensenada Honda y Vieques, constituyen
ya un círculo cerrado para los puertorriqueños bajo la ocupación directa
de la infantería de marina de los Estados Unidos, integrada por infantes
nacidos en Estados Unidos. El tránsito marítimo entre Ensenada Honda
(Puerto Rico) y Punta Arenas en Vieques, ha sido prohibido. Para que una
embarcación pueda pasar por allí, requiere un permiso especial. La
distancia entre Ensenada Honda y Punta Arenas, en Vieques, es la
distancia más corta entre Puerto Rico y Vieques. Pues nada, eso está
cerrada a todo movimiento marítimo y todo bajo un secreto terrible para
nosotros, los puertorriqueños. Y es en ese secreto donde está la
destrucción de Puerto Rico. El gobernador está cumpliendo con su deber
de norteamericano imperialista, de procónsul representante de su
gobierno, que es el de Estados Unidos, de llevar a cabo la demolición de
la sociedad de Vieques, e implícitamente, la destrucción de nuestra
nacionalidad.
The
Despotism Of The Yankee Navy In Puerto Rico
Written in 1945 by
Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos
In Vieques, island of the Puerto
Rican archipelago, the United States government is carrying out the
dismemberment of our nation. Vieques society is dying as it is being
exterminated in a cold-blooded, deliberate and calculated manner by the
government of the United States. Why has the United States chosen
Vieques to repeat for all contemporary civilization to see the crime of
genocide, that is to say, the deliberate physical or cultural
destruction of a nationality?
We can find the explanation in the public hearings on the Tydings Bill
that were carried out by the Committee for Management of the Territories
and Insular Affairs of the United States Senate, during the month of
March of 1945.
Captain G.D. Parks of the U.S. Fleet testified before this committee, on
behalf of and representing the Chief of U.S. Navy Operations. We proceed
now to translate from English the statements made by said official
Parks, as it appears in page 29 and 30 of the file published by the U.S.
Senate itself.
The Statement of Captain G.D. Parks, U.S. Fleet, Designee of the Chief
of Naval Operations, Department of the Navy.
Captain Parks: "First, I would like to say that the policy of the Navy
Department regarding Project S 227 has not been analyzed yet by the
Budget Office. Therefore, I am only expressing the point of view of the
Chief of Naval Operations. Our points of view at this moment are the
same as those expressed before this committee by the Department of the
Navy in May of 1943, when public
hearings were held about Senate Project S 952, of the 78th Congress.
The interest of the Chief of Naval Operations in this project to grant
independence to Puerto Rico, stems only from the point of view of
national security. Given its size and location, Puerto Rico is of great
strategic value as a base of Navy operations. In the first days of the
current war the Navy carried out expansion of its operations in Puerto
Rico and built many new facilities. When the submarine threat was
eliminated and we were able to breach the security of the German surface
fleet, construction on many of the projects which had been approved for
this zone, was stopped.
In times of peace those facilities which have been completed will be
used to maintain and support the training of the forces which have been
designated to be established in the Caribbean. In future wars, we want
to be ready to expand these naval facilities in Puerto Rico to the point
that is needed to provide necessary support to a fleet as large as is
needed, that will serve as a barrier to the approximation of any threat
that comes from the South or the East. The amount of expansion needed
will depend on the type and size of the threat that has to be
confronted. The number and kind of facilities that the Navy may need in
Puerto Rico in the future, CAN NOT be foreseen at this time.
For this reason the Chief of Naval Operations IS OPPOSED to any project
that calls for the independence of Puerto Rico that proposes only
maintaining naval, military or air reserves in Puerto Rico without, at
the same time, asserting the right to expansion of its naval, military,
and air facilities and the selection of new sites at any time in the
future, if these are
necessary for national security. The United States must be the only
judges of its own future military requirements in this zone."
The President of the Committee: "Yes, I understand that as such, your
concern is essentially that of the national defense."
Captain Parks: "Completely, Sir."
The President: "Therefore, what you want is, not only the right to all
the naval, military and air bases that you need, but also in the case of
an emergency of future war, the right in the interests of both Puerto
Rico and the United States, to acquire those additional sites/places
that you can in order to adequately protect Puerto Rico and the United
States."
Captain Parks: "Exactly, Sir."
The President: "And if this is put in this project of law, you would not
have anything to say in favor or against it?"
Captain Parks: "Yes, Sir. We want to see it in this project in a way
that we are the judges of our own needs."
The President: "Thank you very much Captain."
Captain Parks, as the representative of the U.S. Navy, corrected the
President of this Committee when he (the president) tried to put forth
the understanding that the expansion of naval, military and air
facilities in Puerto Rico under the control of the United States, could
be to
the benefit of both Puerto Rico and the United States. Captain Parks,
boldly repeated that "The United States will be the only judges of its
future military needs in this zone."
All of the Puerto Rican national territory has been declared a strategic
zone by the United States in the final and clear way that it was
expressed by the representative of the Navy of the United States. This
means, that if in the judgment of the United States any municipality of
Puerto Rico has to be destroyed and its population subjected to forced
relocation, or if
Puerto Ricans have to be forcibly removed from their land, eliminating
from our national territory our nationality, then it will be done, they
being on this matter "the only judge" and without taking into account at
all the rights of the Puerto Rican nation.
It seems that this declaration of such brutal despotism has not been
studied in all its ramifications and we invite all Puerto Ricans to
study this declaration which we have hear reproduced word for word so
that they begin to defend our physical existence as a nation and as
individuals.
We have already seen the military, naval and air reserves, in the very
heart of Puerto Rico: In Cayey, in Punta Borinquen, in San Juan,
Fajardo, Ensenada Honda, Culebras, Vieques and other parts of Puerto
Rico.
At any time that the United States believes that it is necessary to
remove the entire population of San Juan, of Ponce, of Mayaguez, or from
any other city of Puerto Rico or to remove all Puerto Ricans from all
Puerto Rican national soil, they believe they have every right to do so.
And this is not a theoretical question, but rather that they have
already established their military, naval and air bases here and in all
our national territory, from Isla Mona to Vieques and from San Juan to
Ponce, from the north to the south and from the east to the west.
The government that will exist in each of these bases will be that of
the corresponding entity of the United States. If they are air forces
they will fall under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Air Force,
if they are naval, of the Secretary of the Navy, if military, of the
Secretary of War, under the overall general command of the Secretary of
Defense of the United States. No one will be able to enter these areas.
This mutilation/dismemberment of the Puerto Rican nationality is being
carried out in a cold systematic way with the aim of subjecting us to
total destruction and to deprive us of the exercise of our rights in our
own national territory.
Senator Butler of the United States Congress, has flown over Vieques
recently with the naval and military chiefs of the United States and it
seems that he is somewhat taken aback by the crime that the United
States is perpetrating in Vieques by deliberately destroying the society
in Vieques, to the point that he had to state that he did not know what
would happen with Vieques.
The entire population (of Vieques) has been uprooted from their homes by
forced and corralled/rounded up in the City of Isabel Segunda, where
they will have temporary quarters. The plans of the United States are to
forcibly remove the entire population and replace it with military,
naval and airforce personnel that will filter the spy service of the
United States.
The occupying force that is today in Vieques is Yanqui, even though
there are people there born in Puerto Rico, but these do not have
sufficient trust for what is being tried to be done.
Culebra, Las Cabezas de Fajardo, Ensenada Honda and Vieques already
constitute a closed circle for Puerto Ricans under the direct occupation
of the infantry of the Navy of the United States. Maritime traffic
between Ensenada Honda (Puerto Rico) and Punta Arenas in Vieques, has
been
prohibited. In order for a ship to pass through there, a special permit
is required. The distance between Ensenada Honda and Punta Arenas, in
Vieques, is the shortest distance between Puerto Rico and Vieques.
The reality is that this area is closed off to all maritime movement and
to contain a terrible secret from all of us, the Puerto Ricans. And it
is in this secret where the destruction of Puerto Rico lies. The
governor is carrying out his duties as a North American imperialist, as
a proconsul representative of his government, the government of the
United States, carrying out the demolition of Vieques society, and
implicitly the destruction of our nationality.
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