Before dawn on May 4, some 300 US federal agents — backed by a large Marine presence offshore — began clearing protesters from the US Navy's bombing ranges on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques.
The agents removed 216 protesters from the 14 encampments that activists set up on the firing ranges last year in response to the death of civilian security guard David Sanes Rodriguez during a navy operation.
The protesters did not fight back, but many practised peaceful resistance, forcing the agents to carry them to the trucks used to transport them away from the beaches. The protesters were not arrested or charged, and were released after being transported to the Roosevelt Roads military base on Puerto Rico's main island.
While US attorney-general Janet Reno said the operation had gone "very, very smoothly" and news reports claimed the agents had acted with restraint and courtesy, demonstrators claim the agents changed their attitude as soon as they were out of range of the cameras. Demonstrators were hand-cuffed, not told where they were being taken and kept in crowded and hot conditions. Agents tried to force them to sign undertakings not to return to the island but all refused.
The US Navy hopes to resume the island's use as a training ground for combined air, sea and land manoeuvres within the next two weeks, albeit with dummy shells. Rodriguez was killed during just such a manoeuvre, by two 230-kilogram bombs dropped from jets training for the war against Serbia.
The demonstrators' removal is unlikely to make the issue go away. The island's 9300 inhabitants, mainly poor fisherfolk, have been resisting the US Navy's presence since 1940 and have vowed to continue their fight. The year-long protest action has encouraged many mainland Puerto Ricans to also take action.
As word of the navy's action spread, several thousand people gathered in protest in San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, shouting "Fuera Marina!" (Navy out!). There were protests outside other US military bases in the territory and at the University of Puerto Rico's main campus. Solidarity actions also occurred in New York.
Formally, Puerto Rico is a commonwealth in free association with the US; in reality, the territory is run as a semi-colony. While Puerto Ricans can serve in the US military, they cannot vote in US presidential elections and their government has little ability to stand up to US dictates.
[Compiled from reports in Weekly News Update on the Americas, 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY, 10012, USA; email <wnu@igc.org>.]