Thousands at ‘El Grito de Lares’ rallies

On Sept. 23 thousands of independence supporters traveled to the cities of Lares and Hormigueros, to commemorate the historic uprising of 1868 against Spanish colonial rule, and to honor Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, leader of the Macheteros, who was assassinated by the FBI exactly one year ago.

Today’s activities were also dedicated to Jorge Farinacci García, leader of the Socialist Front, who died of cancer last month.

In Lares, two large rallies were held at the town square known as the Plaza de la Revolución (Revolution Square). The first event took place in the morning and was organized by the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) and the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico. The second activity was held in the afternoon and organized by the Hostos National Independence Movement (MINH).

After the rallies in Lares, a march and vigil was held in the town of Hormigueros, where Filiberto Ojeda Ríos lived with his spouse, Elma Beatriz Rosado. The Hormigueros activity was organized by Rompiendo los Perímetros (Breaking the Perimeters).

The week prior to Saturday’s demonstrations, Luis Fraticelli, the FBI head in Puerto Rico, announced that the Macheteros planned a terrorist attack for Sept. 23. Fratecelli is the agent who was also in charge of the operation leading to Ojeda Ríos’ death.

Responding to the FBI alert, the governor ordered that security be beefed-up at the National Guard headquarters and the federal court building among others. Throughout the week armed patrols of FBI agents intervened against pro-independence activists.

Carlos Torres, a Legal Aid attorney, was leaving his home in Bayamón for work when the FBI surrounded and stopped his car. Torres explained that the agents told him, “If you feel you’re being watched and followed it is because it is so ... and should any situation arise, we know your address.”

Torres is a member of the Coordinadora Nueva Escuela (New School Coordination), a group that educates about independence in poor communities. In the city of Mayagüez, FBI agents went to the work-place of Miguel Sánchez, a shoe maker and leader of the MINH.

Sánchez is one of the organizers of the Jornada Filiberto Ojeda Ríos (Campaign Filiberto Ojeda Ríos), which on the 23rd of every month organizes an event regarding Ojeda Ríos in different towns and cities throughout Puerto Rico.

The FBI also intervened at the homes of Norberto Cintrón Fiallo, Liliana Laboy and José Morales, whose homes had earlier been invaded by the FBI in February of 2005. Morales was told by FBI agents that “the next time we return it will not be in the same manner,” while Cintrón and Laboy refused the FBI entry into their homes. The FBI agents had no search warrants or court order justifying their actions.

Addressing the tumultuous crowd that filled Plaza de la Revolución square, Edwin Irizarry Mora of the PIP said, “If the FBI thought that by its intimidations they were going to stop this plaza from being filled to the maximum, they were mistaken because thousands of independentistas are here.”

Commenting on the domestic situation, Irizarry criticized the Popular Democratic Party and the New Progressive Party, saying, “While they take turns administering the government, all they do is work for the benefit of the big business interests and not for the masses. ... Independence and social justice are two parts of the same struggle.”

Irizarry further condemned the imposition of a seven percent sales tax to be implemented in October. The anticipation of the sales tax has already generated a 30 percent increase in the price of all commodities throughout Puerto Rico.

To the laughter of the audience, Rosa Meneses, president of the Nationalist Party and widow of Jorge Farinacci, opened her talk referring to George Bush, as had President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, “He is the devil.”

Referring to the FBI and U.S., she said, “These terrorists, this yankee imperialism wants to scare us, but they should know that this nation, our people, do not surrender. We are made of the same material as Filiberto Ojeda Ríos and Jorge Farinacci.”

During her talk a thunderous rain storm erupted, but the crowd remained, as Meneses poetically told them: “The skies have parted and the rain is falling. These are the tears of joy because we know that freedom and independence are closer.”

Also addressing the crowd was Adriana Farinaccci Vazques, who gave a moving talk about how much she had learned about the struggle for social justice from her uncle, Jorge Farinacci.

Additionally, the PIP presented Tito Farinacci with a placard honoring his father.

Rafael Cancel Miranda, who spent 25 years in U.S. prisons for having participated in an 1954 armed attack on the House of Representatives, made reference to the FBI Terror Alert of the previous week by saying, “I was going to greet you all as my fellow terrorists.”

During his presentation, Cancel Miranda gave the José Martí medal he had been awarded in Cuba to Elicer Lugo, who was involved in the 1950 nationalist uprising in Jayuya, and who in turn spent 10 years in jail.

Cancel Miranda ended his talk by saying: “We need the Macheteros. We need to work in every possible way, and if we have to distribute dynamite ... then damn it we will do it.”

After the rallies in Lares, many of the protesters went to join the march to Ojeda Ríos’ home in Hormigueros. Many participants wore T-shirts with the picture of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos and chanted slogans directed against the FBI. After singing the revolutionary national anthem, La Borinqueña, the youth burned the U.S. flag.

Present at the activity was the widow of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Elma Beatriz Rosado. Commenting on the week’s events, Héctor Pesquera, co-president of the MINH, told reporters: “The FBI is scared. They are terrified, because they very well know that as a result of their abuse, they deserve the harshest of reprisals.”