Ex-guv of Puerto Rico dubbed 'assassin'
Members of Comité Puerto Rico '98
picketed former Puerto Rican Gov. Romero Barceló at a
hotel in midtown Manhattan May 23. Barceló was in New
York to receive a "freedom" award from wealthy right-wing Cuban
and Puerto Rican forces.
Barceló was governor of Puerto Rico during the 1978
Cerro Maravilla incident-in which FBI and police on the island
murdered two youths, Edgardo Soto and Arnaldo Dario Rosado.
The youths had reached a radio antenna in Cerro Maravilla in
an attempt to send out a freedom message on July 25,
commemorating the date of the U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico.
With them was an undercover agent posing as an independence
supporter.
When the youths arrived at the site, at least 12 cops were
waiting in ambush. They opened fire and killed Soto and
Rosado.
Years later the truth of this criminal act surfaced and
shocked many on the island. Romero Barceló, along with
the FBI, covered up the facts of the case, insisting that the
youths were Cuban agents.
Romero Barceló's notorious reputation also stems from
his repressive measures against university students and
striking workers during his governorship, when many seeking
independence for Puerto Rico were jailed or killed.
-Carlos Rovira
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