Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Response
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s were a widespread call for independence against this colonial regime. It demanded the recognition of the 1898 Charter of Autonomy, and Puerto Rico's international sovereignty. It also repudiated the so-called Estado Libre Asociado (Free Associated State) designation of Puerto Rico - a designation widely recognized as a colonial farce.
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The revolts began on October 30, 1950, upon the orders of Nationalist leader Pedro Albizu Campos, with uprisings in various towns including Peñuelas, Mayagüez, Naranjito, Arecibo and Ponce. The most notable uprisings occurred in Utuado, Jayuya, and San Juan.
In Utuado, the insurgents were massacred. In Jayuya the "Free Republic of Puerto Rico" was declared, until the U.S. sent bomber planes, heavy artillery, and Army infantry troops to end the Republic. In San Juan, the Nationalists made an attempt against the Governor of Puerto Rico Luis Muñoz Marín, at his residence La Fortaleza.
The revolts resulted in many casualties: of the 28 dead, 16 were Nationalists, 7 were police officers, 1 a National Guardsman, and 4 were uninvolved civilians. Of the 49 wounded, of 23 were police officers, 6 were National guardsmen, 9 were Nationalists, and 11 were uninvolved civilians.
The revolts were not limited to Puerto Rico. They included a plot to assassinate the President of the United States Harry S. Truman. On November 1, 1950, two Nationalists attacked the Blair House in Washington, D.C., where Truman was staying while renovations were being made to the White House.
The last major attempt by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party to draw world attention to Puerto Rico's colonial situation occurred on March 1, 1954, when four Nationalists attacked the United States House of Representatives.
Read more about this topic: United States Capitol Shooting Incident (1954)
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