Puerto Rico’s October Revolution

Until recently, the independence movement in Puerto Rico was an irritant to the US for over a century that just wouldn’t go away. Their seemingly ingrate cries of “freedom”, “equality”, and “sovereignty” have been patiently, and quietly dealt with in the US Congress since 1898. And it got hairy at times. In fact, it got so bad with the Puerto Rican rebel fighters wayback in 1950, the US had to order aerial bombardments and ground assaults with heavy artillery, throughout the island.

For those who follow Latin American history, there are specific moments of great social and political upheaval that their impact reverberates throughout the Americas.  We may quickly think of the Cuban Revolution, the overthrow of the elected Allende government in Chile, the American invasion of the Dominican Republic, Panama, Nicaragua, and other such important developments that continue to shape the modern histories of those respective countries.  Easily forgotten are moments that are forcibly erased from the annals of history — moments which the powerful wish to redact and bury in order to deny the brutality of the system they maintain. 

These moments abound in the modern history of Puerto Rico — some examples include the mass repression and assassinations of members in the independence movement by the US forces and colonial-aligned factions; the manipulation of the local economy via tax incentives and import/export control; the forced migration of hundreds of thousands of Puerto Rican workers in an effort to lower not just unemployment rates on the island, but overall population, bringing the exodus to wartime levels unseen anywhere else in the world; the sterilization of over 30% of Puerto Rican women without their consent or knowledge during US eugenics experiments; and the fury with which Puerto Rican Nationalists responded in 1950 when faced with the efforts of the United States to lie to the United Nations, when presenting the new ‘Commonwealth‘ system of government on the island, essentially a rebranding of colonial rule with a few insular appeasing upgrades, but no voting representation in the government that ruled over the Puerto Rican subjects. Everything and everyone in the archipelago comes 2nd to US interests, the dictionary definition of colony.

This is what Puerto Ricans had to look forward to in the late 1940s, as the Puerto Rican flag, and mere talk of the independence movement was outlawed. Imagine that. It was indeed a tumultuous time in the political history of Puerto Rico.  The presence of the FBI was being felt on the island; the local Police and National Guard forces had declared war on the pro-independence Nationalists and these, in turn, had declared war on the United States and its representatives. Nationalists had been brutally murdered by local police, Federal undercover agents, and hired assassins. In turn, the Nationalists responded by targeting the local American police chief.  The President of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Harvard-educated lawyer and chemist Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, was returning to Puerto Rico in 1947 after a ten-year stint in American prisons and probation time served here in New York City.  He had been convicted, along with other leaders of the Nationalist Party, following the incident that resulted in the death of police chief Riggs in 1936.

Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos gave a speech in Lares, September 23, 1950, about a month before the October uprising. The speech, “Everybody Is Quiet But The Nationalist Party,” can be read here.

Continuing his efforts to organize the people towards the emancipation of the island, Albizu traveled around the different municipalities making speeches in favor of independence, an act that defied existing laws prohibiting speeches supporting independence.  He declared: “It is not easy to give a speech while we have our mother laying in bed and an assassin waiting to take her life.  Such is the present situation of our country, of our Puerto Rico; the assassin is the power of the United States of North America…Our blood boils and patience beats at our hearts and tells me that patience must end, that it must disappear, and that the day of Lares must be the day of Lares, that is, the day of the Puerto Rican revolution.“

Albizu Campos refused to recognize the legitimacy of the United States’ presence in Puerto Rico.  “…Within international rights Puerto Rico was a sovereign nation on the date in which the Treaty of Paris was drawn up, and Spain could neither give away Puerto Rico nor could the [US] annex it, nor the entire world disown it.  This sovereignty is irrevocable and when the United States, through its cannons, forced the Spanish plenipotentiaries to sign the so-called cession of Puerto Rico it was committing a typical North American stick-up.  And this co-action against the Spanish had no part of the Spanish American war, it was never a belligerent against the US or anyone else, and here the US has been at war for 52 years against the Puerto Rican nation, and have never acquired the right of anything there, nor is there any legal government there, and this is uncontestable. One would have to knock to pieces all the international rights of the world, all political rights, to validate the invasion of the US in Puerto Rico and the present military occupation of our national territory.”
 
Having been met with brutal repression against his movement, Albizu decided that open revolution was the only method with which to respond.  Upon his return to Puerto Rico in 1947, he declared: “I come to tell you all that it is time for a decision to be made.  The hour has come to resolve this and that hour cannot wait.”  Striking the tone of confrontation, Albizu declared“It is up to us to confront this despotism“.
 
At that time, Congress was discussing and planning the creation of the Commonwealth in Puerto Rico (in Spanish, it was given an entirely different name: Estado Libre Asociado, which meant that the colony could also use the, “Free Associated State” branding), with which they would declare that Puerto Rico was no longer a colony of the United States, with which they would declare that Puerto Ricans were given a voice in their destiny, with which they would declare that Puerto Ricans had self-government and their own constitution. Annoying United Nations colonial issues could be swept under the rug. The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and most other independence supporters, however, rejected this repackaging process, claiming that it did not change the colonial relationship between the two countries.  They claimed that the US was pulling the wool over the eyes of the international community.

The Nationalists knew that inscriptions and registrations for the upcoming vote on the Constitution and Commonwealth would be taking place late that year, around November 1950.  They felt that a constitution that had to be amended, redacted, and approved by Congress and the president of the US was not a true exercise of self-government or of a free people determining their own future.  They saw the continued control of the United States over Puerto Rico being perpetuated for years to come.  Something had to be done and international attention had to be called to the situation.

Nationalists began preparations for an island-wide revolution slated for November 1950.  However, police raids and sweeps forced them to expedite the date of the uprising. From October 27th through November 10, 1950, hundreds of Nationalists and independence rebels rose up in arms across Puerto Rico — Ponce, Peñuelas, Utuado, Arecibo, Jayuya, San Juan, Naranjito, Mayaguez, and Washington, D.C.  With unexpected police raids the morning of October 27th, Albizu gave the order for a nationwide uprising to take place on October 30th.

In the town of Peñuelas, the nationalists exchanged fire with the police who came to raid their meeting house.  In Arecibo, they attacked the local police precinct and tried to make their way to the agreed upon meeting point of Utuado, where other contingents were attacking federal installations as well.  

A TIME FOR WAR
As battles intensified throughout the Puerto Rico main island, and more locals volunteered to fight alongside the Nationalists and independence rebels, the US military stepped up their ground operations.


FROM PAJU TO PONCE
Heavy artillery in the form of Howitzer cannons and M4 Sherman tanks locked their sights on the rebellion. Ironically, and simultaneously, it was the same hardware Puerto Ricans were fighting with in the US Army during the Korean War, under the command of the same person ordering the death of their brothers and sisters back home.

In the town of Jayuya, Blanca Canales led the group of nationalists into town as the group attacked federal installations, battled local police and raised the flag of Puerto Rico (which was illegal to own or display in those days) over the town.  She read the proclamation officially declaring the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. It was a moment reminiscent of the Grito de Lares of 1868, when Puerto Ricans rose up against Spanish rule and declared independence.

The National Guard and local police were called out to respond to the uprising. A squadron of about ten Republic P-47 fighter-bomber aircraft were scrambled out of Ramey Air Force Base and shot and bombarded the towns of Jayuya and Utuado indiscriminately, destroying 70% of the town of Jayuya and even riddling school buildings with bullet holes. Each of the P-47s were armed with eight .50 caliber machine guns, four on each wing, and carried 500-pound bombs. People were shot in the streets by police, federal agents, and National Guardsmen as they walked about or attempted to get away.  Families were warned to stay indoors with their doors open lest they risk being attacked by the armed forces and their planes.  Witnesses describe the scene as filled with chaos and terror once the Guard and the attacking airplanes arrived.

In Utuado, local policemen assassinated several Nationalists who had surrendered and were unarmed.  The men were being walked to the local precinct but instead were turned into a side street, and as they held up their pants with one hand (their belts were taken away) and held up the other hand in surrender, they were riddled with bullets and left to die in the street.

As battles intensified, and more locals volunteered to fight the Nationalists and independence rebels, the US military ratcheted their ground operations. Heavy artillery in the form of Howitzer cannons and M4 Sherman tanks locked their sights on the Puerto Rican rebellian.

WE JUST BOMBED THE PUERTO RICANS!
A squadron of Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers (similar to those in the image from the 104th Fighter Squadron from the Maryland Air National Guard) dropped 500-pound bombs on the native people in the towns and in the jungles. They would then do multiple passes, strafing the survivors with .50 caliber machine guns. In the early 1950s, this was happening in a few places around the world. But only in Puerto Rico was it happening to US citizens.

In San Juan, a nationalist commando unit attempted to assassinate the governor, Luis Muñoz Marin, who had all but declared his own war on the Nationalist Party and who took credit for the creation and institution of the Commonwealth system. They were unsuccessful in their goal but made it through the main gate and into the main entrance area of the governor’s mansion.

Although October 30th is used to commemorate the uprising, and it was the day of the most intense fighting, the war had started days before, and Nationalists and rebel forces in Naranjito and Mayagüez continued to wage a guerrilla struggle. They went on to fight against local and National Guard forces until November 10th, when they came down from the mountains and surrendered after the threat of continued bombardment of the island.

WE HAVE YOU, AND THE WHOLE ISLAND, SURROUNDED!
Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Two military platoons with 50 caliber machine guns vs a 44 year old lady. National Guard surrounding the Jayuya home of Blanca Canales, alleged leader of the Nationalist Party in that area.


WE GOT HER!
Blanca Canales was taken into custody by the National Guard, then later transferred to the local police for better optics, since a platoon of soldiers manhandling one woman would not be a good look — unlike this image with the cigar, shotgun, and police officers.

President Truman was asked about the occurrences in Puerto Rico and he dryly stated that it was an internal matter among Puerto Ricans. The next day, November 1st, Griselio Torresola Roura and Oscar Collazo attempted to assassinate President Truman. Their mission was to refute the notion of this as an internal matter in Puerto Rico and call international attention to the case of Puerto Rico’s continued colonization. They wanted to officially let the world know that there were Puerto Ricans not willing to accept colonialism as a way of life and wanted to show the world that the federal government of the US was responsible.

A BROTHER IN ALL THE WARS
The 296th Infantry Regiment of the Puerto Rico National Guard occupy the town of Jayuya under orders from President Truman. The town was mostly destroyed by US artillery and aerial bombardment. Martial law was declared throughout the entire island. With the media blackout, people in the US and around the world were mostly unaware of the Puerto Rico uprising and subsequent retaliation by US armed forces. This silent civil war, although short-lived, had many casualties and consequences in US/ Puerto Rico relations for years to come. During this period, the U.S. Army was still segregated by race, and units like the 296th and the regular Army’s 65th Infantry Regiment (deployed to Korea around the same time) were designated as “Puerto Rican” units. Of course, the higher-ranking officers and specialists were mostly “continental” (US mainland white).

Under the law at the time, the U.S. President was mandated to take direct charge in all matters concerning Puerto Rico, and the Governor was required to consult with the White House. However, President Truman and the U.S. government intentionally distanced themselves from the events, treating the armed conflict as an “incident between Puerto Ricans” rather than a full-fledged insurrection against the United States, in order to avoid international scrutiny and potential United Nations intervention on the issue of Puerto Rican independence.

Governor Luis Muñoz Marín declared martial law and imposed a news blackout, restricting press access to Jayuya for 72 hours. But aerial bombardment in a small Caribbean island rarely goes unnoticed. The U.S. Office of War Information (still active post-WWII) coordinated with Puerto Rican authorities to control narratives, including an almost complete news blackout in the US. This is why this history is seldom known by Puerto Ricans. Most documents about the aerial component weren’t declassified until the 1990s under the JFK Records Act. And the specific P-47 deployment records only became fully accessible in 2015 through NARA (National Archives).

Despite the media blackout abroad, locally, El Imparcial covered portions of the war and aftermath. The extent of what they were allowed to print vs. what was redacted, removed, and off limits, is still in question.

BROOKLYN IN THE HOUSE
The faces of Olga Isabel Viscal Garriga all said one thing: “F**k you, you, you, and you.” Viscal Garriga was a public orator and political activist. Born in Brooklyn, New York, she moved to Puerto Rico, where she was a student leader and spokesperson of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party’s branch in Rio Piedras. Viscal Garriga was arrested while participating in a demonstration in Old San Juan that turned deadly when the police and other authorities opened fire on the student demonstrators, one of whom was killed. Viscal Garriga was detained on November 2, along with Carmen María Pérez Roque and Ruth Mary Reynolds (The American/Puerto Rican Nationalist) and held in the La Princesa jail. During her trial in the federal court in Old San Juan, she was uncooperative with the U.S. government prosecution, giving up nothing and no one. She refused to recognize the authority of the U.S. over Puerto Rico. She was sentenced to eight years in prison for contempt of court, and released after serving five.

Four years later, on March 1, 1954, the infamous attack on Congress by Puerto Rican Nationalists took place for the same reason — to denounce the continued colonization of Puerto Rico, to reject the lies presented at the UN by the US, including reporting that Puerto Rico was no longer a colony because they were now a Commonwealth, and to demand the attention of the world on their cause.

It would not be the last violent exchange. For decades, the Fuerzas Armadas por la Liberación Nacional (FALN), the Ejército Popular Boricua — Los Macheteros, and others would continue a clandestine armed revolt against US colonial rule in Puerto Rico.

Luis Fraticelli, head of the FBI Office in Puerto Rico in the early 2000s, publicly expressed frustration at how many Puerto Ricans express admiration for Nationalist heroes like Lolita Lebron and Rafael Cancel Miranda as well as how people express respect for Los Macheteros, when in his opinion, those folks are nothing but people convicted of criminal acts and do not deserve admiration.  It was Fraticelli who made the apprehension of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, the Responsible Comandante of the Macheteros, his number one priority. [Ojeda Ríos was assassinated on September 23rd, 2005 by dozens of Federal agents who surrounded his house in Hormigueros and opened fire.]  

Today, everyone sees what the Nationalists saw in 1950.  The Commonwealth system was a farce to both, the independence movement and the pro-statehood faction. To others, it is an arrangement that may have worked for some time, and got us this far, but has now run its course. The votes in 1950-1952 were not, as Congress admits today, an exercise in self-determination.  Even the United Nations now votes every year calling for Puerto Rico’s self-determination.
 
At the time, the Nationalist Uprising of 1950 served as a call to arms, a cry for international help, and a declaration of our natural rights.  Puerto Rican heroes will continue to be born and bred to struggle for our Nation until the dawn of emancipation rises over the glorious hills of Jayuya, Naranjito, and Mayagüez – only then will our spirits rest and rejoice.  Until then, we offer our respect and admiration to those who sacrificed it all to reject the violence of colonialism: the martyrs and freedom fighters of 1950 who will forever be immortalized in the long history of the Puerto Rican resistance movement.

_{[Originally published October 24th, 2006 in the New York Latino Journal by Juan Antonio Ocasio Rivera. It has been edited, and image copy added, for content]}