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Vieques, Puerto Rico




Vieques, Puerto Rico is a beautiful but controversial island.

Studies show that Vieques was first inhabited by Native Americans who came
from South America about 1500 years before Christopher Columbus set foot in
Puerto Rico in 1493.

After a brief battle between local Indians and Spaniards, the Spaniards took
control of the island, turning the locals into their slaves.

In 1811, Don Salvador Melendez, then governor of Puerto Rico, sent military
commander Juan Rosello to begin what later became the take-over of Vieques
by the people of Puerto Rico.

In 1816, Vieques was visited by Sim—n Bol’var.

Teofilo Jose Jaime Maria Gillou, who is recognized as the founder of Vieques
as a town, arrived in 1823, marking a period of economic and social change
for the island of Vieques.

By the second part of the 19th century, Vieques received thousands of Black
immigrants who came to help with the sugar plantations. Some of them came as
slaves, and some came on their own to earn extra money. Most of them came
from the nearby islands of St. Thomas, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Croix and many
other Caribbean nations. Ever since, Black people have formed an important
and essential part of Vieques' society.

During the 1940s the United States military took away farms and territory
from locals, who in turn were forced to emigrate to mainland Puerto Rico and
to St. Croix to look for homes and jobs. After that, the United States
military used Vieques as testing grounds for bombs, missiles, and other weapons.

There have been some non-proven claims that these tests are the cause of
Vieques' high cancer rate. The World Socialist Website (WSWS), an opponent
of US military and foreign policy, reports that "Over a third of the
island's population of 9,000 are now suffering from a range of cancers and
other serious illnesses." WSWS links these cases of illness to the US
Navy's target practice on Vieques. The cancer rate is reportedly about 25%
higher on Vieques than on the main portion of Puerto Rico.

In March, 1999, Vieques native David Sanes was killed by a bomb dropped by a
military jet during bombing exercises. A a civilian employee of the Navy,
Sanes was on duty at a military Observation Point when two bombs fell 1*
miles (2* kilometres) away from their designated target; one of them fell 30
feet (10 metres) away from Sanes, killing him instantly. Ever since,
Puerto Ricans from all over mainland Puerto Rico as well as from the United
States travelled to Vieques to protest the bombings and testings, by
illegally introducing themselves on the bombing grounds and camping there.
People from all over Latin America joined the struggle. Many celebrities,
including the political leader Ruben Berrios, singers Danny Rivera and Ricky
Martin, boxer Felix Trinidad, Mexican actor Edward James Olmos and
Guatemala's Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu have protested. Pope John
Paul II said that he wanted peace for Vieques. And many hundreds of Puerto
Ricans served time in jail for illegally entering the bombing grounds.

In 1999, then-Governor Pedro Rosello began talks with the U.S. government to
try to look for a solution to the problem, and in 2001, Governor Sila Maria
Calderon signed a treaty with President George W. Bush that guaranteed the
military's leaving of the island in May of 2003.

Young Milivi Adams, a Vieques native who was a cancer patient, became the
protester's symbol child in their quest to liberate the island of the
bombings. On the morning of November 17, 2002, she passed away.

Vieques' small airport is the hub of Vieques Air Link, which flies to many
cities in mainland Puerto Rico from there. But no other airline companies
currently serve this airport.

In addition, the new Miss Puerto Rico is from Vieques.

On May 1, 2003, the military commenced their moving out of Vieques, in an
event that was covered by the international media. At 12:01 AM EST of that
day, a street party erupted all over Vieques, many of Vieques' citizens
celebrating the military's move out of the island.

Key Figures of the movement against the military in Vieques

   * David Sanes, whose death triggered the outrage of those citizens who
     want the military out of Vieques.
   * Tito Kayak, outspoken anti-military movement leader
   * Ismael Guadalupe, another anti-military movement leader
   * Milivi Adams
   * Ruben Berrios

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