Serrano, Velázquez, Gutiérrez Send Letter
to FBI Seeking Answers in Ojeda Ríos Killing
 Carpetas confidenciales del FBI sobre los
independentistas
Comunicado de Prensa enviado a "PReb"
por el congresista Serrano
Informe sobre los nacionalistas; año de 1936
Decisión del FBI de actuar agresivamente
contra los independentistas en 1960
Documento del FBI espiando reunión del MPI
en el 1960
M.P.I.: Movimiento Pro Independencia de Puerto
Rico
 Reacción del rep. Serrano ante informe de
la Oficina del Procurador General de los
Estados Unidos sobre la muerte de Filiberto
Ojeda Ruiz
Congresistas ante abusos FBI en Puerto Rico
Serrano cuestiona Sec. del Homeland Security
ante incidentes en P.R.
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El FBI asesinó al líder Machetero, Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, el 23 de
septiembre del 2005, día de la conmemoración
del Grito de Lares. |
Washington, D.C. - Representatives José E.
Serrano, (D-NY); Nydia Velázquez (D-NY);
and Luis Gutiérrez, (D-IL) sent the following
letter to the FBI regarding the killing of
Filberto Ojeda Ríos.
September 26, 2005
The Honorable Robert S. Mueller, III
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigations
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, DC 20535
 ear Director Mueller:
We are writing to join our voices to those
from Puerto Rico, where in an unprecedented
manner the leaders of all political parties
and groups, government officials and religious
and civic leaders have universally condemned
the actions of the FBI in Puerto Rico on
September 23rd and 24th that resulted in
the death of Mr. Filiberto Ojeda Rios.
We demand that an independent investigation
be commenced immediately to determine if,
as suspected by many in Puerto Rico, FBI
agents used unwarranted excessive force,
acted with an arrogance of power in keeping
Puerto Rican constitutional and elected officials,
the press and the public in the dark about
their activities in the vicinity of the town
of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, and used extremely
poor judgment in the timing of the attempted
arrest. We request further, that if this
independent investigation determines that
violations of laws, rules or regulations
did in fact take place, those responsible
be brought to justice.
Several aspects of this incident stand out:
Lack of Coordination
The FBI acted in Puerto Rico in a manner
that can only be described as colonialist.
For example, the government of Puerto Rico
waited for many hours before there was any
official FBI confirmation of the death of
Mr. Ojeda. The governor of Puerto Rico said
his government frantically tried to obtain
information from the FBI, which was not forthcoming.
The first official statement of the FBI concerning
a situation that had the attention of all
of the people on the island, its government
and its media, came 17 hours after it was
first known that the FBI had initiated an
action against Mr. Ojeda.
In addition, we have been informed that the
FBI disregarded local law and authority and
disconnected electrical service to the whole
neighborhood where the house of Mr. Ojeda
Rios was located.
Excessive force
Mr. Ojeda was a fugitive who had an arrest
order against him. Clearly, Mr. Ojeda was
armed. On the other hand, he was 72 years
old, and was alone with his wife in their
house at the time of the FBI action. We are
astonished that more resources were not assigned
to this case to ensure a peaceful solution
and a live arrest of Mr. Ojeda. We have all
witnessed the arrests of armed individuals
in the past, but usually as the result of
the deployment of superior forces, negotiation,
and the use of time and patience. The people
of Puerto Rico, and those who respect constitutionally-protected
civil and human rights, demand and deserve
an explanation as to why in this case those
kinds of resources and methods were not used
to arrest Mr. Ojeda alive.
Death
It has been reported that Mr. Ojeda died
from loss of blood from a bullet wound received
during his armed confrontation with FBI agents.
Puerto Rican state's attorneys were at the
scene as of 6:00 p.m. on September 23rd.
They were not allowed access to Mr. Ojeda's
house. In fact, it is reported that no Puerto
Rican officials were allowed access there
until around 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September
24th.
Dr. Hector Pesquera arrived at the police-cordoned
area adjacent to Mr. Ojeda's house around
5:00 pm on Friday, September 23, and asked
to be allowed to enter the premises to offer
Mr. Ojeda medical attention. He was never
allowed to go in. The suspicion stands, as
voiced by many Puerto Rican leaders of all
political ideologies, that the FBI knew Mr.
Ojeda was wounded and allowed him to bleed
to death. Only an independent, impartial
investigation of the facts can determine
the truth of this matter.
Context
The FBI has formally acknowledged that "in
the past" it persecuted advocates for
the independence of Puerto Rico, as documented,
among many other sources, by more than 1.8
million pages of internal documents released
by the FBI itself. Clearly, the persecution
of any political group in Puerto Rico for
advocating a position regarding the ultimate
status of the island constitutes an undue
interference with the right of the people
of Puerto Rico to self-determination.
Given the above, why were the local authorities
in Puerto Rico never informed of the impending
action of the FBI against a recognized figure
in the pro-independence movement? Clearly,
the implications of such an action were just
too controversial not to have a minimum of
coordination with local elected and constitutional
authorities.
Timing
September 23rd is the date when Puerto Ricans
observe Grito de Lares, an insurrection against
Spanish colonialism and oppression that took
place in Puerto Rico in 1868. Most Puerto
Ricans and historians agree that that date
marks the international declaration of the
existence of the Puerto Rican nation.
Was the FBI aware that any action taken on
this particular day against a renowned leader
of a group that advocates for the independence
of Puerto Rico would be almost universally
interpreted as a provocation and an insult?
Whether the FBI was aware of this or not,
taking an aggressive action against a figure
such as Mr. Ojeda on that particular day
was ill advised.
"Arrest" of Mr. Ojeda's wife
On its press release of Saturday morning,
the FBI indicated that Mr. Ojeda's wife had
been "arrested" and was in a safe
location under custody of the FBI. However,
Mrs. Ojeda did not have access to legal counsel
until she was released from custody many
hours later. No charges were filed against
her. We believe this also merits an investigation.
We are aware that an FBI agent was severely
wounded during the raid. We pray for his
rapid and full recovery.
We believe that, as the FBI conducts its
important duty to protect the country from
criminal activity, it is critical that it
maintains a very rigorous respect and observance
for the rule of law and upholds the values
that we hold dear. In this situation, this
has been called into question. We believe
that only a prompt, impartial, and independent
investigation can determine the truth in
this matter.
Given the urgent circumstances related herein,
we would like to request a response from
you no later than close of business Thursday,
September 29.
Thank you for your attention to our concerns.
Sincerely,
José E. Serrano Luis V. Gutiérrez Nydia M.
Velázquez
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member
of Congress
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SERRANO DICE OPERATIVO FBI PODRÍA CAMBIAR
PERCEPCIONES DE PUERTORRIQUEÑOS SOBRE EE.UU.
Martes, 27 de septiembre de 2005
SAN JUAN (AP) - El congresista demócrata de origen puertorriqueño
José Serrano afirmó hoy que el operativo
en el que el Negociado Federal de Investigaciones
(FBI) disparó y mató al dirigente independentista
Filiberto Ojeda Ríos cambiará la forma en que los puertorriqueños
perciben al gobierno estadounidense.
Serrano, nacido en Mayagüez y quien está en
su noveno ciclo en el Congreso federal como
representante por Nueva York, dijo que las
expresiones de indignación por el operativo
no se limitan al sector independentista.
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"Eso ha tocado a mucha gente y es posible que
cambie la relación o la forma en que la gente
vea la relación de Estados Unidos con Puerto
Rico. Personas que no veían un gran problema
con la relación con Estados Unidos podrían
ahora ver esto como un acto de arrogancia
total de Estados Unidos para demostrar su
fuerza", dijo Serrano desde Washington
a Prensa Asociada. |
Congressman
José E. Serrano
(D-NY)
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Serrano sostuvo que sectores estadistas y
estadolibristas han expresado su descontento
con "la arrogancia" del FBI de
no informarle al gobierno local sobre el
operativo y de "quizás permitir que
el hombre se muriera".
nota: El líder Machetero, Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, fue asesinado a tiros
por el FBI el 23 de septiembre del 2005,
día de la conmemoración del Grito de Lares.
Estas magníficas publicaciones de la aclamada historiadora puertorriqueña
Dra. Silvestrini y otros investigadores ofrecen
a nuestros estudiantes la oportunidad de
recorrer esos períodos históricos a través
de recuentos breves y bien documentados.
Los textos se complementan con gran variedad
de mapas, gráficas y fotografías para hacer
más motivador y atractivo el estudio de la
historia de nuestro país.
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