Macheteros: Anticolonial Struggle in Puerto Rico

The relationship between the colonizer and the colonized often breeds political violence. This idea holds true in Puerto Rico where independence has been a centuries-long fight. Since its inception as a Spanish colony, Puerto Rico has never known independence and this lack of self-determination for such a unique nation has created multiple waves of revolutionary violence against the various occupying forces. Through this paper, the violence committed by the Macheteros in Puerto Rico and the USA in pursuit of Puerto Rican self-determination will be examined. We will first examine the context and material conditions of Puerto Rico which led to the rise of the clandestine organization. From this point we will examine the actors within the movement and their ideologies. As well we will investigate the tactics used by the Macheteros and the evolution of violence throughout the movement. Ultimately this paper will show how these violent political actions have changed the archipelago and what remains consistent from the time of the Macheteros.

The Boricua Popular Army, better known as the Macheteros, is part of a long history of Puerto Ricans engaged in anti-colonial struggle. For centuries Spain held control of various territories in the Caribbean including Puerto Rico and Cuba. In the late 1800s, the unraveling of the Spanish empire in the Americas was beginning to settle as the final colonies sought to remove themselves from Spanish control. Various groups would form throughout the Caribbean to fight the occupying Spanish force. These independence movements would be supported by the United States which rallied for sovereignty but ultimately fought to rid the region of European influence and gain control of the profitable islands in the Caribbean. This American intervention would lead to the Spanish American war where the USA would quickly mobilize to neutralize the weakened Spanish forces. By the end of the war the anti-colonial groups who fought for independence, had found themselves in a new colonial relationship. With the fall of the Spanish in the Americas, the US would attempt to take control of Cuba and Puerto Rico and while Cuba was ultimately given independence, Puerto Rico would continue on as a territory of the USA. The annexation of Puerto Rico by the USA would become the key event which would set off the waves of political violence on the island from both the occupying US forces and from independence movements in Puerto Rico. For the contemporary Boricua Popular Army the catalyst for their formation would be the “Revolution of 1950”. The Revolution of 1950 was really a series of armed revolts and uprisings which started as protests against US occupation. These revolts were led by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party which was led by Pedro Albizu Campos. The Nationalist Party and its supporters felt the USA had taken advantage of Puerto Rico. They cited the testing of novel medicines on poor Puerto Ricans and the inequality between Puerto Ricans and American corporations which benefited from the labor on the island as the principal forces which catalyzed their movement. The revolts and armed struggles of the 1950s would not be successful but would go on to inspire the next generation of independistas or independence supporters.

Both the failure to realize independence during the 50s in conjunction with the declining state of the various parts of the archipelago, led the founders of the Macheteros to organize and mobilize Puerto Ricans for a renewed fight for independence. Filiberto Ojeda Ríos and Juan Enrique Segarra-Palmer were two principal actors in the foundation of the Macheteros. Filiberto Ojeda Ríos was originally part of the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña which was the predecessor of the Boricua Popular Army and operated in a very similar fashion but lacked the size and capabilities of the Boricua Popular Army (Ríos,2002). The Macheteros grew in size and prominence both on the island but perhaps more importantly in the various diaspora communities in the mainland USA. Many of the founding members, including Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, moved to the USA at a young age and were schooled in the mainland. The Macheteros were made up of various groups including students which were a significant part but also workers and members of independence parties who sought for a more radical solution for gaining independence.

Unlike the earlier independence movements seen in Puerto Rico, the Boricua Popular Army had a more defined ideological stance. While their ultimate goal was self-determination for the Puerto Rican people they were also defined by a Marxist element. These were the two principal elements of the Macheteros’ ideological stance. The Macheteros were both an anti-imperialist force committed to the sovereignty of Puerto Rico and a Marxist organization which blamed the neoliberal policies of the US government and US corporations for the underdevelopment of Puerto Rico (González-Cruz, 2008). The goal of the Macheteros was to target the various actors who perpetuate the occupation of Puerto Rico including corporations in order to support the cause for independence. The resources of the Boricua Popular Army were extremely limited and their tactics reflected this fact. Even the common name of the organization, Los Macheteros is a recognition of the popular and rural elements of the movement. Machetero or machete user is a historical term which was used to describe armed struggle of peasants who used the most common weapon in the campos which would be the machete. The greatest resource of the Boricua Popular Army were the various members spread across the island and the diaspora. These members were mostly young men who were radicalized by the conditions of their own lives or the lives of their communities. These men were willing to carry out dangerous and violent acts in pursuit of independence. The principal target of the Macheteros were the police and military forces which occupied Puerto Rico (Fernández, 1996). The group would also target US corporations which supported the occupation of Puerto Rico. This specific tactic of targeting representations of the US state would be known as coordinated armed propaganda. Through this method the cause of Puerto Rican independence would be developed through the specific targeting of the various symbols of US occupation of the island.

In the beginning the Boricua Popular Army was initially dedicated to violent revolt but overtime their tactics would change to fight the struggle of independence in the realm of propaganda and political discourse. One of the key attacks carried out by the group was the bombing of the Muñiz Air National Guard Base in San Juan. Around 40-50 million dollars worth of military equipment would be destroyed in this attack. The military and police force in Puerto Rico was seen as the greatest enemy of the independence cause. To the Macheteros, the US military bases in Puerto Rico were symbols of the occupation of the island and were used to maintain control of the island and to make Puerto Rico the base of operations for the exploitation of Latinos across the region. Attacks against US security personnel including military forces, police forces, and intelligence agents were carried out at various times and would often be retalitions for other offenses against the movement. Another key action carried out by the Macheteros was the taking of Wells Fargo in West Hartford, Connecticut. The Macheteros along with the help of various local Puerto Ricans including Víctor Manuel Gerena Ortíz who lived in the USA would work to take 7$ million for the cause of Puerto Rican independence (Fernández, 1987). These large public actions of the Boricua Popular Army would eventually be replaced by a more moderate approach in the later decades of the movement. By the mid 1990s the organization had gone through a restructuring due to arrests of leaders and from this point the organization began to focus on the promotion of the ideals of independence through the media. The Macheteros began to publish a quarterly article known as El Machete where the various political and material conditions of Puerto Rico would be discussed and brought to the attention of the Puerto Rican people.

Today the Macheteros still exist but operate generally as a peaceful organization. Many of the key members of the Macheteros are in prison or dead. Despite the loss of various leaders, the Macheteros continue their political struggle for independence and the improvement of the lives of Puerto Ricans but do so by criticizing the Puerto Rican government, specifically the various governors who have failed to improve the quality of life for the majority of Puerto Ricans. As well the organization has criticized the various US government policies which undermine the sovereignty of the archipelago. Since the decline of the Boricua Popular Army, Puerto Rico has seen various issues worsen the conditions of the archipelago including a debt crisis, sequential hurricanes which crippled the infrastructure, and a rise in acts of violence against women, spcifically transwomen (Dinzey-Flores, 2018). It is clear that the same material conditions which led to the formation of the Macheteros still exist and we have seen discontent in this continued decline through a number of protests held in the past two decades.

Political violence in Puerto Rico has been shown to be cyclical. On one side the anti-colonial forces will promote the use of armed struggle to bring about independence and on the other side the US will use violence to repress and control these movements. The military and police apparatuses which existed during the height of the Macheteros still exist and continue to use their presence to maintain a political and military presence in the archipelago. So long as the political and material conditions of Puerto Rico do not drastically improve there will be groups who oppose the occupation from the US government. These groups like previous groups will change their tactics for political change based on the conditions of the archipelago and the growing diaspora in the mainland USA. The Boricua Popular Army or the Macheteros are part of a long history of resistance and they will likely not be the last armed group which fights for independence. The historical, domestic, and international context which existed during the founding of the organization largely has stayed the same. The ideological and political goals of the movement still exist within the changed organization and various other pro-independence movements. With this said there is not a foreseeable future of violence like was seen in the 1950s or the political violence carried out by the Macheteros in the 1980s.