Filiberto Ojeda Ríos
Encyclopedia
Filiberto Ojeda Ríos was the commander-in-chief ("Responsable General") of the Boricua Popular Army
(Ejército Popular Boricua, a.k.a.
, Los Macheteros), a clandestine paramilitary
organization that considers United States rule over Puerto Rico to be oppressive colonization and advocates the latter's independence.
Ojeda Ríos was a fugitive from 1990 to 2005, wanted by the FBI for his role in the 1983 Wells Fargo depot robbery in West Hartford, Connecticut
as well as a bail bond default in September 1990. He was killed on 23 September 2005, a date that coincided with Los Macheteross venerable anniversary of a Puerto Rican pro-independence uprising known as El Grito de Lares, when members of the FBI, claiming an attempt to serve an arrest warrant on him, surrounded a house in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
, where Ojeda Rios was hiding. The FBI operation, still not entirely laid clear, was questioned by both local Puerto Rican authorities as well as international organizations.
The killing of Ojeda Ríos has been mourned by members of the Puerto Rican Independence movement and by Puerto Ricans in general, who have expressed their indignation through repeated protest
s. Members of the statehood movement and supporters of the Commonwealth have also joined in the criticism of the federal and local handling of the FBI's shooting incident. In late March 2006, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice
sued federal authorities, including FBI Director Robert Mueller
and US Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, seeking an injunction to force the federal government authorities to provide the Commonwealth government
with information related to the operation in which Ojeda Ríos died, as well as another one in which the FBI searched the homes of independence supporters affiliated with Los Macheteros. The lawsuit was dismissed in the summer of 2007. However, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Civil Rights Commission forged on with its own investigation of the incident. Their investigation has been ongoing for several years and a report was due out on December 31, 2009.
. Ojeda entered college when he was fifteen years old and was described as having an "engaging intelligence".
As a child he played the trumpet
and guitar
. He joined a renowned Salsa band from the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico
, "La Sonora Ponceña", performing on both instruments.
In 1961, he moved his family from Puerto Rico
to Cuba
and was recruited into the General Intelligence Directorate, the Cuban intelligence service.
In 1967 he founded and led the very first of Puerto Rico's new militant political groups, the Armed Revolutionary Independence Movement (Movimiento Independentista Revolucionario Armado). MIRA was disbanded by police in the early 1970s and Ríos was arrested. He subsequently skipped bail and moved to New York, where he cofounded the Armed Forces of National Liberation (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional) (FALN) with former MIRA members as a membership base. In 1976, Ojeda Ríos founded the Boricua Popular Army (Ejército Popular Boricua), also known as Los Macheteros (The Machete Wielders), named after the sugar cane harvesters, who use machetes to cut the canes.
Los Macheteros have been alleged to be either directly or indirectly responsible for numerous acts of terrorism and bombings in Puerto Rico and the mainland United States. The group has claimed responsibility for several incendiary and explosive incidents, including an explosion at Fraunces Tavern, a historical tavern located in New York City, which killed those inside the building and injured other bystanders. The group was involved in the killing of a Puerto Rican policeman who refused to surrender his car. The group was responsible for nearly 120 bombings in the United States between 1974 and 1983. Los Macheteros is described by U.S. law enforcement agencies as a terrorist organization. It is a political group based in Puerto Rico
with branches in the mainland United States and in other countries.
On September 12, 1983, Los Macheteros stole approximately US$7 million from a Wells Fargo
depot in West Hartford, Connecticut
. The money obtained from this operation was allegedly used to help fund the Puerto Rican independence movement, but there is ample evidence that a significant portion of the stolen funds—a minimum of $2–$3 million—was funnelled to Cuba through their embassy in Mexico City by one of the members of Los Macheteros.
In 1985, 19 members of Los Macheteros were indicted for offenses associated with the Wells Fargo heist. Ojeda Ríos was captured as part of an FBI operation that took place following two years of surveillance on the group. In the operation a group of twenty-four agents protected by bulletproof vests, entered the building where Ojeda Ríos had his residence. The agents received assistance from a group of snipers located on adjacent buildings and a helicopter. When Ojeda noticed the presence of the agents he fired a sub-machine gun at them and threatened to kill anyone that tried to reach the building's second floor. In the meanwhile Ojeda's wife Blanca Iris Serrano burned documents in the apartment's bathroom. When the agents tried to climb the ladder to reach the building's second floor Filiberto opened fire against them injuring one of them, at this moment one of the snipers disarmed him with a bullet giving the other agents enough time to arrest him.
Ojeda Ríos was released on bond after his attorneys successfully argued he had been denied a speedy trial, although the delay in bringing him to trial was largely the result of defense motions. On 23 September 1990, the anniversary of the Grito de Lares
, Ojeda Ríos cut off the electronic tag
that had been placed on his ankle as a condition of his release, and became a fugitive. Fourteen of the 19 defendants were convicted after trial; one was acquitted. Charges against another were dismissed. Three, including Ojeda and Victor Manuel Gerena
, were able to elude authorities. In July 1992, Ojeda Ríos was sentenced in absentia to 55 years in prison and fined $600,000 for his role in the Wells Fargo heist.
In 1998, Ojeda Ríos recorded a public statement where he accepted responsibility for an explosion on the construction site of a public project. In this statement he declared that the Macheteros were the authors of the incident, and that they accepted all responsibility for their actions. Ojeda expressed that they accepted responsibility for the explosion directly because in the past the police has supposedly created false evidence against the organization. On July 18, 1998, Ojeda Ríos admitted that the Macheteros planted bombs at several banks throughout the course of the 1998 Puerto Rican General Strike
. The interview was broadcast on WKAQ-AM, a local radio station. Reporters conducting the interview declared they were blindfolded and transported to Ojeda Ríos' hideout where the interview took place. Filiberto warned the United States Navy
that if the military practices on the island of Vieques
continued, the group would take action. This was made public on an interview with WIAC (AM)
on 7 December 1999. In the interview he declared that the Macheteros "were going to pay close attention to what happened in Vieques" and that the US government "knew they were serious".
On September 23, 2005, Ojeda Ríos was surrounded in his home in the outskirts of the town of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
, by members of the FBI's San Juan field office and shot fatally. The FBI recounted the incident in a press release. According to this document, the FBI was performing surveillance of the area driven by reports that Ojeda had been spotted in the home. The FBI determined its surveillance team had been detected, and decided to proceed with serving an arrest warrant against Ojeda. As the agents approached the home, Ojeda opened fire. One agent was wounded. Filiberto's wife says that the "FBI entered the house shooting with no warning." The FBI denies these accounts, stating Ojeda opened fire as agents approached. An investigation by the Office of the Inspector General
concluded that "this daylight assault was extremely dangerous and not the best option available to the FBI."
According to Ojeda's wife, Elma Beatriz Rosado Barbosa, as well as neighbor Héctor Reyes, it was the FBI agents who initiated the shooting at 3:00 pm. The Office of the Inspector General report determined that an FBI agent detonated a non-lethal "flash bang" grenade outside the house as a diversionary tactic when the FBI approached the house, before any gunfire began, and Rosado may have thought this explosion was gunfire initiated by the FBI. The FBI press release, however, claims that "as the FBI agents approached the front of the farm house at approximately 4:28 p.m., Ojeda-Rios opened the front door to the residence and opened fire on the FBI agents. In response to the gunfire from Ojeda-Rios, the FBI returned fire and established a defensive perimeter in order to contain the environment."
Rosado has alleged that Ojeda offered to turn himself in to journalist Jesús Dávila, but that his offer was rebuffed by the agents. The Office of the Inspector General report concluded that "although the FBI utilized a negotiator from its San Juan office during the standoff, the FBI did not comply with its own policies regarding the integration of negotiators into operations planning or the use of multiple negotiators."
The FBI did not enter the house until shortly after noon the next day, at which time the agents found Ojeda dead on the floor from a single bullet wound that had punctured his lung. A coroner's autopsy concluded that Ojeda bled to death over the course of several hours.
The FBI was criticized for failing to notify Commonwealth of Puerto Rico officials in advance of the Ojeda arrest operation. The OIG
report also found that the "FBI missed opportunities to provide accurate information to the public and to Commonwealth officials regarding the reasons for the delay in entering Ojeda's residence."
Politicians across party lines criticized the handling of this altercation. Among the aspects objected to are the very date of September 23. On this date in 1868, at the village of Lares
, a group of Puerto Rican revolutionaries launched a rebellion called the Grito de Lares
against the then-ruling Spanish colonial authorities. The anniversary of the uprising is commemorated every year by the independence movement. Ojeda Ríos was renowned for selecting anniversaries of the Grito de Lares to make statements to his followers from undisclosed hideouts.
Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
criticized the FBI assault as "improper" and "highly irregular" and demanded to know why his government was not informed of it. The FBI refused to release information beyond the official press release, citing security and agent privacy issues. The Puerto Rico Justice Department filed suit in federal court against the FBI and the US Attorney General, demanding information crucial to the Commonwealth's own investigation of the incident. The case was dismissed by the U.S Supreme Court.
Ojeda Rios funeral was attended by the highest authority of the Roman Catholic Church
in Puerto Rico, Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves
, ex-Governor Rafael Hernández Colón
, and numerous other dignitaries and personalities.
In the aftermath of his death, the United Nations
created a Draft Resolution urging a "probe of [the] pro-independence killing, human rights abuses", after "Petitioner after petitioner condemned the assassination of Mr. Ojeda Rios by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)".
Boricua Popular Army
The Boricua Popular/People's Army — or Ejército Popular Boricua in Spanish — is a clandestine organization based on the island of Puerto Rico, with cells in the United States. They campaign for and support the independence of Puerto Rico from what they characterize as United States colonial rule...
(Ejército Popular Boricua, a.k.a.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
, Los Macheteros), a clandestine paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
organization that considers United States rule over Puerto Rico to be oppressive colonization and advocates the latter's independence.
Ojeda Ríos was a fugitive from 1990 to 2005, wanted by the FBI for his role in the 1983 Wells Fargo depot robbery in West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford....
as well as a bail bond default in September 1990. He was killed on 23 September 2005, a date that coincided with Los Macheteross venerable anniversary of a Puerto Rican pro-independence uprising known as El Grito de Lares, when members of the FBI, claiming an attempt to serve an arrest warrant on him, surrounded a house in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Hormigueros is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the western region of the island, northeast of Cabo Rojo; northwest of San Germán; and south of Mayagüez. Hormigueros is spread over 5 wards and Hormigueros Pueblo...
, where Ojeda Rios was hiding. The FBI operation, still not entirely laid clear, was questioned by both local Puerto Rican authorities as well as international organizations.
The killing of Ojeda Ríos has been mourned by members of the Puerto Rican Independence movement and by Puerto Ricans in general, who have expressed their indignation through repeated protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
s. Members of the statehood movement and supporters of the Commonwealth have also joined in the criticism of the federal and local handling of the FBI's shooting incident. In late March 2006, the Puerto Rico Department of Justice
Puerto Rico Department of Justice
The Puerto Rico Department of Justice, headed by the Attorney General, has been in existence, in one form or another since Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony...
sued federal authorities, including FBI Director Robert Mueller
Robert Mueller
Robert Swan Mueller III is the 6th and current Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation .-Early life:...
and US Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, seeking an injunction to force the federal government authorities to provide the Commonwealth government
Government of Puerto Rico
The Government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government subject to U.S. jurisdiction and sovereignty. Its current powers are all delegated by the United States Congress and lack full protection under the United States Constitution...
with information related to the operation in which Ojeda Ríos died, as well as another one in which the FBI searched the homes of independence supporters affiliated with Los Macheteros. The lawsuit was dismissed in the summer of 2007. However, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Civil Rights Commission forged on with its own investigation of the incident. Their investigation has been ongoing for several years and a report was due out on December 31, 2009.
Biography
Ojeda Ríos was born on April 26, 1933 in Naguabo, Puerto RicoNagüabo, Puerto Rico
Naguabo is a municipality in Puerto Rico located in the east coast of the island, north of Humacao; south of Río Grande and Ceiba; and east of Las Piedras. Naguabo is spread over 8 wards and Naguabo Pueblo...
. Ojeda entered college when he was fifteen years old and was described as having an "engaging intelligence".
As a child he played the trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. He joined a renowned Salsa band from the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, "La Sonora Ponceña", performing on both instruments.
In 1961, he moved his family from Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and was recruited into the General Intelligence Directorate, the Cuban intelligence service.
In 1967 he founded and led the very first of Puerto Rico's new militant political groups, the Armed Revolutionary Independence Movement (Movimiento Independentista Revolucionario Armado). MIRA was disbanded by police in the early 1970s and Ríos was arrested. He subsequently skipped bail and moved to New York, where he cofounded the Armed Forces of National Liberation (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional) (FALN) with former MIRA members as a membership base. In 1976, Ojeda Ríos founded the Boricua Popular Army (Ejército Popular Boricua), also known as Los Macheteros (The Machete Wielders), named after the sugar cane harvesters, who use machetes to cut the canes.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
with branches in the mainland United States and in other countries.
On September 12, 1983, Los Macheteros stole approximately US$7 million from a Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
depot in West Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. The money obtained from this operation was allegedly used to help fund the Puerto Rican independence movement, but there is ample evidence that a significant portion of the stolen funds—a minimum of $2–$3 million—was funnelled to Cuba through their embassy in Mexico City by one of the members of Los Macheteros.
In 1985, 19 members of Los Macheteros were indicted for offenses associated with the Wells Fargo heist. Ojeda Ríos was captured as part of an FBI operation that took place following two years of surveillance on the group. In the operation a group of twenty-four agents protected by bulletproof vests, entered the building where Ojeda Ríos had his residence. The agents received assistance from a group of snipers located on adjacent buildings and a helicopter. When Ojeda noticed the presence of the agents he fired a sub-machine gun at them and threatened to kill anyone that tried to reach the building's second floor. In the meanwhile Ojeda's wife Blanca Iris Serrano burned documents in the apartment's bathroom. When the agents tried to climb the ladder to reach the building's second floor Filiberto opened fire against them injuring one of them, at this moment one of the snipers disarmed him with a bullet giving the other agents enough time to arrest him.
Ojeda Ríos was released on bond after his attorneys successfully argued he had been denied a speedy trial, although the delay in bringing him to trial was largely the result of defense motions. On 23 September 1990, the anniversary of the Grito de Lares
Grito de Lares
El Grito de Lares —also referred as the Lares uprising, the Lares revolt, Lares rebellion or even Lares Revolution—was the first major revolt against Spanish rule and call for independence in Puerto Rico...
, Ojeda Ríos cut off the electronic tag
Electronic tagging
Electronic tagging is a form of non-surreptitious surveillance consisting of an electronic device attached to a person or vehicle, especially certain criminals, allowing their whereabouts to be monitored. In general, devices locate themselves using GPS and report their position back to a control...
that had been placed on his ankle as a condition of his release, and became a fugitive. Fourteen of the 19 defendants were convicted after trial; one was acquitted. Charges against another were dismissed. Three, including Ojeda and Victor Manuel Gerena
Victor Manuel Gerena
Víctor Manuel Gerena is an American fugitive wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the armed robbery, in connection with the Los Macheteros group, of a Wells Fargo armored car facility. On May 14, 1984, he became the 386th fugitive to be placed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted...
, were able to elude authorities. In July 1992, Ojeda Ríos was sentenced in absentia to 55 years in prison and fined $600,000 for his role in the Wells Fargo heist.
In 1998, Ojeda Ríos recorded a public statement where he accepted responsibility for an explosion on the construction site of a public project. In this statement he declared that the Macheteros were the authors of the incident, and that they accepted all responsibility for their actions. Ojeda expressed that they accepted responsibility for the explosion directly because in the past the police has supposedly created false evidence against the organization. On July 18, 1998, Ojeda Ríos admitted that the Macheteros planted bombs at several banks throughout the course of the 1998 Puerto Rican General Strike
1998 Puerto Rican general strike
The Puerto Rican general strike of 1998 began as a strike of Puerto Rico Telephone Company workers to protest a government privatization plan. Three weeks later, an estimated 500,000 people joined a two-day general strike, bringing commerce and travel in Puerto Rico to a standstill...
. The interview was broadcast on WKAQ-AM, a local radio station. Reporters conducting the interview declared they were blindfolded and transported to Ojeda Ríos' hideout where the interview took place. Filiberto warned the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
that if the military practices on the island of Vieques
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Vieques , in full Isla de Vieques, is an island–municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands...
continued, the group would take action. This was made public on an interview with WIAC (AM)
WIAC (AM)
WIAC is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to San Juan, Puerto Rico , it serves the Puerto Rico area...
on 7 December 1999. In the interview he declared that the Macheteros "were going to pay close attention to what happened in Vieques" and that the US government "knew they were serious".
Death
Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Hormigueros is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the western region of the island, northeast of Cabo Rojo; northwest of San Germán; and south of Mayagüez. Hormigueros is spread over 5 wards and Hormigueros Pueblo...
, by members of the FBI's San Juan field office and shot fatally. The FBI recounted the incident in a press release. According to this document, the FBI was performing surveillance of the area driven by reports that Ojeda had been spotted in the home. The FBI determined its surveillance team had been detected, and decided to proceed with serving an arrest warrant against Ojeda. As the agents approached the home, Ojeda opened fire. One agent was wounded. Filiberto's wife says that the "FBI entered the house shooting with no warning." The FBI denies these accounts, stating Ojeda opened fire as agents approached. An investigation by the Office of the Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General is an office that is part of Cabinet departments and independent agencies of the United States federal government as well as some state and local governments. Each office includes an Inspector General and employees charged with identifying, auditing, and...
concluded that "this daylight assault was extremely dangerous and not the best option available to the FBI."
According to Ojeda's wife, Elma Beatriz Rosado Barbosa, as well as neighbor Héctor Reyes, it was the FBI agents who initiated the shooting at 3:00 pm. The Office of the Inspector General report determined that an FBI agent detonated a non-lethal "flash bang" grenade outside the house as a diversionary tactic when the FBI approached the house, before any gunfire began, and Rosado may have thought this explosion was gunfire initiated by the FBI. The FBI press release, however, claims that "as the FBI agents approached the front of the farm house at approximately 4:28 p.m., Ojeda-Rios opened the front door to the residence and opened fire on the FBI agents. In response to the gunfire from Ojeda-Rios, the FBI returned fire and established a defensive perimeter in order to contain the environment."
Rosado has alleged that Ojeda offered to turn himself in to journalist Jesús Dávila, but that his offer was rebuffed by the agents. The Office of the Inspector General report concluded that "although the FBI utilized a negotiator from its San Juan office during the standoff, the FBI did not comply with its own policies regarding the integration of negotiators into operations planning or the use of multiple negotiators."
The FBI did not enter the house until shortly after noon the next day, at which time the agents found Ojeda dead on the floor from a single bullet wound that had punctured his lung. A coroner's autopsy concluded that Ojeda bled to death over the course of several hours.
The FBI was criticized for failing to notify Commonwealth of Puerto Rico officials in advance of the Ojeda arrest operation. The OIG
Office of the Inspector General
Office of the Inspector General is an office that is part of Cabinet departments and independent agencies of the United States federal government as well as some state and local governments. Each office includes an Inspector General and employees charged with identifying, auditing, and...
report also found that the "FBI missed opportunities to provide accurate information to the public and to Commonwealth officials regarding the reasons for the delay in entering Ojeda's residence."
Politicians across party lines criticized the handling of this altercation. Among the aspects objected to are the very date of September 23. On this date in 1868, at the village of Lares
Lares, Puerto Rico
Lares is a small mountain municipality of Puerto Rico's central-western area located north of Maricao and Yauco; south of Camuy, east of San Sebastián and Las Marias; and west of Hatillo, Utuado and Adjuntas. Lares is spread over 10 wards and Lares Pueblo...
, a group of Puerto Rican revolutionaries launched a rebellion called the Grito de Lares
Grito de Lares
El Grito de Lares —also referred as the Lares uprising, the Lares revolt, Lares rebellion or even Lares Revolution—was the first major revolt against Spanish rule and call for independence in Puerto Rico...
against the then-ruling Spanish colonial authorities. The anniversary of the uprising is commemorated every year by the independence movement. Ojeda Ríos was renowned for selecting anniversaries of the Grito de Lares to make statements to his followers from undisclosed hideouts.
Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the eighth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law,...
criticized the FBI assault as "improper" and "highly irregular" and demanded to know why his government was not informed of it. The FBI refused to release information beyond the official press release, citing security and agent privacy issues. The Puerto Rico Justice Department filed suit in federal court against the FBI and the US Attorney General, demanding information crucial to the Commonwealth's own investigation of the incident. The case was dismissed by the U.S Supreme Court.
Ojeda Rios funeral was attended by the highest authority of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in Puerto Rico, Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves
Roberto González Nieves
Roberto Octavio González Nieves, OFM is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Puerto Rico and the current Archbishop of San Juan.-Early life and education:...
, ex-Governor Rafael Hernández Colón
Rafael Hernández Colón
Rafael Hernández Colón is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the fourth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for three non-consecutive terms, from 1973 to 1977 and from 1985 to 1993. An experienced politician, Hernández holds the record for being the youngest Governor of Puerto Rico,...
, and numerous other dignitaries and personalities.
In the aftermath of his death, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
created a Draft Resolution urging a "probe of [the] pro-independence killing, human rights abuses", after "Petitioner after petitioner condemned the assassination of Mr. Ojeda Rios by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)".
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Boricua Popular ArmyBoricua Popular ArmyThe Boricua Popular/People's Army — or Ejército Popular Boricua in Spanish — is a clandestine organization based on the island of Puerto Rico, with cells in the United States. They campaign for and support the independence of Puerto Rico from what they characterize as United States colonial rule...
- White Eagle: the Wells Fargo depot robberyWhite Eagle: the Wells Fargo depot robberyWhite Eagle was the name given by Los Macheteros to its robbery of a Wells Fargo depot on 12 September 1983, a day coinciding with the birth date of Puerto Rican Nationalist Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos. The robbery took place in West Hartford, Connecticut, and netted over $7 million...