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The Fight to Protect Vieques & Culebra

 



The Fight to Protect Vieques & Culebra

by Marisa de la Villa

Imagine young children playing outside at recess and adults forced to go about their daily routines as automatic weapons were heard going off in the nearest town plazas [1].



Vieques Island, Puerto Rico (Jun. 26, 2000) -- The guided missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) fires her aft MK 45 5-inch/54 caliber lightweight gun mount during training held in the Puerto Rico operating area. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Shane McCoy. 


This was just an average occurrence in Vieques, Puerto Rico. Not too many years ago, the rallying cry rang out: ¡Que se vaya la marina! The Puerto Rican people were clear in their message—“we want the U.S. Navy out!” Boricuas would chant this loudly, hoping the U.S. military would stop the bombing of Vieques and Culebra, two municipalities in the Puerto Rican archipelago. Many people are aware of the 1999 protests on Vieques island, where the accidental death of David Sanes Rodríguez provoked and rekindled public denunciation of Naval presence in Vieques. However, many years before that, in 1971, a series of demonstrations against U.S. military involvement in the coasts of Culebra were taking place [2].

Luis Rivera Pagán, along with twelve other Puerto Ricans, took part in a set of peaceful protests across the coast of Culebra, targeting the specific areas where Naval bombing was occurring. U.S. soldiers violently arrested the protesters, taking them to San Juan in helicopters, and sending them to trial, where they were sentenced to three months in federal prison. After his release, Rivera Pagán was investigated by the FBI, where all of his information, as well as the information of the twelve other protesters, was filed into what is known as a carpeta. Because of his involvement in these protests, the government continuously spied on him, taking note of wherever he went, all he did, his family records, political affiliation, and bank accounts, among many other personal things [3]. 

Long before its establishment as “the Commonwealth” in 1952, Puerto Rico had been set under a military regime, where the U.S. Navy established bases in San Juan and Culebra. After officially becoming a part of the U.S., the army returned, and re-established its military headquarters in Culebra. Over the span of WWII, the U.S. Navy was using the island as a key base of operations, mainly to have more cover and defense over the Caribbean, as a way to protect the Panama Canal, and as a training and bombing range [4]. In 1941, President Roosevelt had ordered the airspace existing above Culebra to be used exclusively by the U.S. military– this included a radius of water, specifically targeting 1,700 acres of the island, meaning the navy had full control over one-third of Culebra’s land, and all of its coastline. This land was used as a bombing range, with little to no care for the island’s civilian population. Culebra was constantly used for intensive practice by the military, mostly serving as the target for naval gunnery and missiles. Because of this constant firing on the island, and because of the shooting range’s close proximity to residential sectors, there were multiple misfires and stray shots that found themselves landing on residents’ private homes as well as in public beaches that were quite popular spots [5]. The U.S. kept control over it even after WWII, and throughout the Cold War, displacing the local population and paving the way for future health and environmental issues that still haunt Puerto Rico today. So, in 1971, thirteen brave Puerto Ricans took it upon themselves to protest against this blatant disregard for both the Puerto Rican citizens living on Culebra, and the island itself. The United States military  gave up its occupation of Culebra in 1975, but remained in Vieques [6].

Almost 30 years after these protests, in 1999, people began to make some noise on the coasts of Vieques island. Between 1941 to 1943, the U.S. military took control over 75% of the island. 21,000 acres of Vieques were used as storage bases for hundreds of explosives and military weapons, such as bazookas, tanks, and ships, and as a practice range, where jets, tanks, and helicopters were used to test out firing capabilities, weapons testing, and land maneuvers [7]. The island is only 33,000 acres of land. That means its residents were forced into the middle of the island, only being able to inhabit 12,000 acres of something that was originally free in its totality, surrounded by consistent bombings [8]. 

 

From 1983 to 1998, the U.S. navy dropped approximately 17,783 tons of bombs on Vieques [9]. This led to severe pollution of the environment, as well as health complications for the Viequense civilians.  A grand majority of the contamination in Vieques came from this constant military activity. The soil of these bombing zones was contaminated with heavy metals, cyanide, arsenic, depleted uranium and radioactive materials, among other toxic things, which all lead to health complications among the local population, such as cancer, heart disease, and breathing and nervous system disorders [10]. 

 

Eventually, on April 19, 1999, the accidental death of David Sanes Rodríguez was the last straw– the biggest protest the island had seen against the U.S. military was underway. A Navy jet had mistakenly dropped a 500 pound bomb on a military observation post, a mile away from the intended target range, killing the thirty-five-year-old Vieques resident and on-duty guard [11]. This tragedy inspired the protests that would rise all over the island of Puerto Rico. On February 21, 2000, thousands of Boricuas gathered in the expressway Las Americas in Hato Rey to protest and march against the military invasion of the United States in Vieques. Ruben Berríos, president of the PIP (Puerto Rican Independence Party), as well as José Aponte, the mayor of Carolina from the PPD (Popular Democratic Party), and senator Norma Burgos from the PNP (New Progressive Party), though each wanting different things for the island (independence, remainder as the commonwealth, and statehood), rallied together to protect Vieques, and were incarcerated for doing so. Despite the many arrests, these protests eventually led to the permanent shutdown of Vieques’ Naval Base after over 60 years of operation in 2003 [12].





Notes:

  1. Pantojas-García, Emilio. Review of The Puerto Rican Paradox: Colonialism Revisited, by Christina Duffy Burnett, Burke Marshall, Mario Murillo, Katherine T. McCaffrey, Amílcar Antonio Barreto, María E. Pérez y González, and Jorge Duany. Latin American Research Review 40, no. 3 (2005): 163–76.
  2. Luis Rivera Pagán, Interview.
  3. Ibid
  4. Picó, Fernando. “Historia General de Puerto Rico (4a Ed.).” Digitalia. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.digitaliapublishing.com/a/28728/historia-general-de-puerto-rico--4a-ed.-. 
  5. Christina Duffy Burnett et al., The Puerto Rican paradox: Colonialism revisited, accessed December 10, 2024, http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/essays/18791076/puerto-rican-paradox-colonialism-revisited.
  6. “Research Guides: A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States: 1999: Vieques Island Protests,” 1999: Vieques Island Protests - A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States - Research Guides at Library of Congress, accessed December 10, 2024, https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/vieques-island-protests.
  7. Berman Santana, Deborah. Resisting toxic militarism: Vieques versus the U.S. Navy - document - gale academic onefile. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA93211946&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10431578&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon~a359d107&aty=open-web-entry. 
  8. Ibid
  9. “Research Guides: A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States: 1999: Vieques Island Protests,” 1999: Vieques Island Protests - A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States - Research Guides at Library of Congress, accessed December 10, 2024, https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/vieques-island-protests.
  10. Berman Santana, Deborah. Resisting toxic militarism: Vieques versus the U.S. Navy - document - gale academic onefile. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA93211946&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10431578&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon~a359d107&aty=open-web-entry. 
  11.  The Associated Press, “Navy Attributes Fatal Bombing to Mistakes (Published 1999),” The New York Times, August 3, 1999, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/03/us/navy-attributes-fatal-bombing-to-mistakes.html.
  12. “Research Guides: A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States: 1999: Vieques Island Protests,” 1999: Vieques Island Protests - A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States - Research Guides at Library of Congress, accessed December 10, 2024, https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/vieques-island-protests.

 

Works Cited:

 

Associated Press. “Navy Attributes Fatal Bombing to Mistakes (Published 1999).” The New York Times, August 3, 1999. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/03/us/navy-attributes-fatal-bombing-to-mistakes.html. 

Berman Santana, Deborah. Resisting toxic militarism: Vieques versus the U.S. Navy - document - gale academic onefile. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA93211946&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10431578&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon~a359d107&aty=open-web-entry. 

Luis Rivera Pagán, interview and text message communication, November 2024.

Pantojas-García, Emilio. Review of The Puerto Rican Paradox: Colonialism Revisited, by Christina Duffy Burnett, Burke Marshall, Mario Murillo, Katherine T. McCaffrey, Amílcar Antonio Barreto, María E. Pérez y González, and Jorge Duany. Latin American Research Review 40, no. 3 (2005): 163–76.

Picó, Fernando. “Historia General de Puerto Rico (4a Ed.).” Digitalia. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.digitaliapublishing.com/a/28728/historia-general-de-puerto-rico--4a-ed.-. 

“Research Guides: A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States: 1999: Vieques Island Protests.” 1999: Vieques Island Protests - A Latinx Resource Guide: Civil Rights Cases and Events in the United States - Research Guides at Library of Congress. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/vieques-island-protests.


transcripción en español


The Fight to Protect Vieques & Culebra （保护别克斯岛和库莱布拉岛的之战）

年幼的孩子们正在户外课间玩耍，而大人们被迫在自动火器的枪声中继续他们的日常生活——那些枪声正从最近的城镇广场传来。


这在波多黎各的别克斯岛（Vieques）只是寻常之事。就在几年前，波多黎各人民的集会口号响彻云霄：“我们要美国海军撤出！”波多黎各人高声呼喊，希望美军停止轰炸波多黎各群岛的两个城市别克斯岛和库莱布拉岛。许多人都知道1999年在别克斯岛发生的抗议活动，大卫·萨内斯·罗德里格斯的意外身亡再次激起了公众对海军在别克斯岛驻扎的谴责。然而，在那之前的很多年，也就是1971年，就发生了一系列反对美军介入库莱布拉海岸的示威活动。


路易斯·里维拉·帕甘（Luis Rivera Pagán）与其他十二名波多黎各人一起，在库莱布拉海岸参加了一系列和平抗议活动，抗议活动针对的是海军轰炸的特定区域。美军士兵暴力逮捕了这些抗议者，并用直升机将他们送往圣胡安，并对他们进行审判，最终他们被判处三个月的联邦监禁。里维拉·帕甘获释后，接受了联邦调查局（FBI）的调查，他以及其他十二名抗议者的所有信息都被归档到所谓的“地毯式”档案中。由于他参与了这些抗议活动，政府持续监视他，记录他的行踪、行为、家庭记录、政治立场、银行账户以及许多其他个人信息。


早在1952年波多黎各正式成为“联邦”之前，它就处于军事统治之下，美国海军在圣胡安和库莱布拉岛设立了基地。正式成为美国一部分后，美国军队返回波多黎各，并在库莱布拉岛重建了军事总部。二战期间，美国海军将该岛作为重要的作战基地，主要是为了在加勒比海地区提供更多掩护和防御，保护巴拿马运河，并作为训练和轰炸靶场。1941年，罗斯福总统下令将库莱布拉岛上空的空域专供美军使用——这包括一片半径1700英亩的水域，具体目标是该岛1700英亩的土地，这意味着海军完全控制了库莱布拉岛三分之一的土地及其全部海岸线。这片土地被用作轰炸目标，几乎不关心岛上的平民。库莱布拉岛经常被美军用作密集训练，主要用作海军炮火和导弹的靶场。由于岛上持续不断的炮火，以及射击场靠近居民区，导致多次出现哑火和流弹，子弹不仅落在居民的私人住宅，还落入了颇受欢迎的公共海滩。即使在二战结束后以及整个冷战期间，美国仍然控制着这里，迫使当地居民流离失所，并为未来困扰波多黎各的健康和环境问题埋下了伏笔。因此，1971年，十三名勇敢的波多黎各人自发抗议这种公然漠视居住在库莱布拉岛的波多黎各公民以及该岛本身的行为。美军于1975年放弃对库莱布拉岛的占领，但仍驻扎在别克斯岛。


抗议活动爆发近30年后，也就是1999年，人们开始在别克斯岛的海岸上发出抗议。1941年至1943年间，美军控制了该岛75%的领土。别克斯岛2.1万英亩的土地被用作数百种炸药和军事武器（如火箭筒、坦克和舰船）的储存基地，以及用作训练场，喷气式飞机、坦克和直升机在那里测试射击能力、进行武器测试和地面机动。该岛面积仅为3.3万英亩。这意味着岛上居民被迫迁往岛屿中部，只能居住在原本完全自由的1.2万英亩土地上，周围却不断遭到轰炸。


从1983年到1998年，美国海军在别克斯岛投下了约17783吨炸弹。这导致了严重的环境污染，也给别克斯岛的居民带来了健康问题。别克斯岛的大部分污染都源于持续不断的军事活动。这些轰炸区的土壤受到了重金属、氰化物、砷、贫铀和放射性物质以及其他有毒物质的污染，这些物质都导致了当地居民的健康问题，例如癌症、心脏病以及呼吸和神经系统疾病。


最终，1999年4月19日，大卫·萨内斯·罗德里格斯的意外身亡成为了压垮骆驼的最后一根稻草——岛上规模最大的反美军抗议活动正在进行。一架海军战机误将一枚500磅重的炸弹投向了距离预定目标一英里远的一个军事观察哨，炸死了这位35岁的别克斯岛居民兼值班警卫。这场悲剧引发了波多黎各全岛的抗议活动。2000年2月21日，数千名波多黎各人聚集在哈托雷的拉斯美洲高速公路上，抗议并游行抗议美国对别克斯岛的军事入侵。波多黎各独立党（PIP）主席鲁本·贝里奥斯（Ruben Berríos）、人民民主党（PPD）卡罗莱纳市市长何塞·阿蓬特（José Aponte）以及新进步党（PNP）参议员诺玛·布尔戈斯（Norma Burgos）虽然各自对该岛的诉求（独立、保留联邦制以及成为州）不尽相同，却团结起来保卫别克斯岛，并因此被捕入狱。尽管许多人被捕，但这些抗议活动最终导致运行了60多年的别克斯海军基地于2003年永久关闭。

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