In response to the call for birthday greetings for political prisoner Simon Trinidad, The National Committee to Free Ricardo Palmera received a video message from freed Puerto Rican political prisoner, Oscar Lopez Rivera. Lopez Rivera unjustly spent 35 years in U.S. prison for fighting for the independence of his homeland. Below is the transcription of the video message:

“I want to take this moment to wish a Happy Birthday to comrade Simón Trinidad. He is one of the heroes of our countries. He is one of the heroes who is imprisoned because he wants to fight for the independence and sovereignty of Colombia and for a better, more just world. I know that he is imprisoned in very difficult conditions because I was imprisoned there as well. I know it all too well. But, I know that he will endure all those difficulties in a place like that. I also know that he will not allow and has not allowed the U.S. government to break his spirit.

“I believe this moment is the time to say: this comrade, a revolutionary, a man who has dedicated the majority of his life to fight for a better, more just world – that he must be free, completely free. With his freedom, Colombia can continue fighting for their country and a better world. That is something that all of us must do, and if we want it, we have to stop the interference of the U.S. government in our countries.”

Simón Trinidad is languishing in the Florence, Colorado Supermax prison after a bogus extradition to the United States in 2004, convicted on trumped-up charges, and sentenced to 60 years. The Colombian revolutionary and political prisoner of the U.S. empire will have his 70th birthday in solitary confinement in a federal Supermax prison.

Organizers are asking people to email their birthday greetings for Simón to simontrinidadlibre@gmail.com before his birthday on July 30. On his birthday, the group is calling for a Twitterstorm, in Spanish a Twitazo, that will then post the greetings on their Twitter account @SimonTrinidadLi and ask people to use this Tweet format:

#FreeSimonTrinidad @realDonaldTrump

#UnitedStates #RicardoPalmera #PeoplesStruggles #PoliticalPrisoners #PuertoRicanPrisoners #SimónTrinidad #OscarLopezRivera

Chicago, IL – Rasmea Odeh embraces former political prisoner, Oscar López Rivera, at a rally in Chicago, on May 18. López Rivera spent 35 years in a U.S. prison. He was unjustly imprisoned for fighting for the independence of Puerto Rico, his homeland. Like him, Rasmea Odeh is up against repression – deportation by the U.S. government for her activism for a free Palestine.

Odeh said to him, “Wherever I land, I will continue my fight for Palestinian independence, and I will continue to support the independence of Puerto Rico.” The crowd of about 1000 people, mainly Puerto Rican, thundered support for their national hero. López Rivera said in his remarks, “We never lost sight of our goal to decolonize Puerto Rico.” He also stated, “I have struggled all my life against colonialism. Colonialism is a crime against humanity. Colonized people have the right to struggle for their liberation by any means necessary.”

#ChicagoIL #PuertoRico #PoliticalPrisoners #PuertoRicanPrisoners #RasmeaOdeh #OscarLopezRivera

Chicago, IL – 10 de Septiembre Ricardo Jimenez fue el primer Independista que habló al publico atendiendo. Hubo mas de 300 personas. La bienvenida de los patriotas, quien lucharon valientmente contra la colonazación Estadounidense de Puerto Rico, duró desde las 6 hasta las 11:30 de la noche. Organizada primeramente por palabra de boca, fue impresionante que mas gente vinó durante la tarde para participar en este momento historico y alegre da la comunidad Puertoriqueña. La gente escuchó unas palabras conmovientes de Ricardo Jimenez, “La lucha para independencia sigue.” Despues durante la tarde tres otros Independistas liberados hablaron: Alejandrina Torres, Alberto Rodriguez, y Luis Rosa.

Debido a las condiciones severas de la libertad concedada por la Presidente Clinton, los patriotas no pueden estar en el mismo lugar ni comunicarse uno con otro. Muchos han criticado estas condiciónes ridiculas. Dos de los prisoneros politicos, Antonio Camacho-Negron y Oscar Lopez Rivera han refusado un libertad con esas condiciónes. Nunca les dieron un justo proceso de jucio. Bajo ley internacional, ellos como prisoneros de guerra debieron de ser juzgados en un proceso de Geneva. Hasta hoy, casi nunca es mencionado que Puerto Rico sigue ciendo una colonia de los Estados Unidos, por mas de cien años.

Nueve de los once Independistas liberados vivían en Chicago antes de ser capturados. Solamente dos, Alejandrina Torres y Alberto Rodriguez, van a quedarse en Chicago, los demas van a vivir en Puerto Rico. Luis Rosa, quien tenía 19 años cuando fue encarcelado, dijo que no podría vivir una vida normal si se quedara en Chicago. El Alcade Daley ha dicho que el se opone a la libertad de los Indepenistas y ha amenzado la utilización de la FBI vigilarlos. Estos activistas han sufrido demasiado adentro y afuera de la carcel a causo goberino Estadoudiense. Sin embargo mantienen su confianza en que un dia habrá justicia para su gente y que va a llegar el fin de la colonización.

¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!

#ChicagoIL #News #PuertoRico #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PuertoRicanPrisoners #PrisonerosPoliticos

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Demanding a halt to the repression of activists working for the independence of Puerto Rico, about 1000 people rallied at the Federal Courthouse here, Jan. 10. Protests took place in ten other cities including, Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles.

Three young Puerto Ricans, Tania Frontera, Christopher Torres and Julio Pabón, have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury in New York. Organizers of the protests say the government wants to obtain information about the Popular Boricua Army – Macheteros, including identifying a series of independence leaders affiliated with organizations that struggle for the decolonization and independence of Puerto Rico.

The grand jury, which was scheduled to convene in mid-January, has now been pushed back to February.

Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States. A large movement is working to end U.S. domination there to achieve independence.

#SanJuanPuertoRico #SanJuan #News #PuertoRico #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PuertoRicanPrisoners #PopularBoricuaArmyMacheteros #TaniaFrontera #ChristopherTorres #JulioPabón

Filiberto Ojeda Ríos was killed by the FBI on Sept. 23 – a Puerto Rican national holiday commemorating el Grito de Lares (the revolt against Spanish rule in 1868) – at the age of 72. The FBI agents surrounded Ojeda Ríos's home and fired from outside at both Filiberto and his wife Elma Beatriz Rosado, who survived the attack. She said in a press conference shortly after her husband's assassination, “Filiberto, my husband, fearing for my life, demanded that I leave. He shouted to the agents: 'Somebody is coming out, somebody is coming out!' When finally I left the house, they took me by force, ordered me to get on my knees and when I refused, they threw me to the floor, pinned me against the floor with their knees and handcuffed me with my hands behind my back.”

The massive FBI operation included 300 FBI agents who surrounded Ojeda Ríos's residence in Hormigueros. At least two helicopters hovered above, there were 30 vehicles on land and close to two dozen sharpshooters who were flown in from Virginia. More than 20 bullet casings were found inside the home, including some shell casings from fully automatic weapons. Ojeda Ríos was wounded by one bullet in the upper chest while wearing a bulletproof vest and camouflage gear.

The FBI agents denied him medical care. Puerto Rican police stood guard outside of his home to ensure that no citizens who were willing to provide first aid could reach him. The coroner speculated that Ojeda Ríos bled to death over several hours and could have lived had he been allowed the proper medical care. The FBI prevented everybody – including lawyers, doctors and the Puerto Rican district attorneys – from entering the home until 27 hours after the assassination. The Puerto Rican government was not informed about the incident until much later. Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, for instance, described the FBI's actions as improper and highly irregular, asking why his government was not informed.

Ojeda Ríos was the founder and leader of the Armed Revolutionary Independence Movement (MIRA), the first in what would soon become a number of Puerto Rican militant political groups. The MIRA was disbanded in the early 70's and Ríos was arrested. He skipped bail and formed the Armed Forces of National Liberation, which was shortly renamed to the Boricua Popular Army or Los Macheteros (the machete wielders). Ojeda Ríos was wanted by the FBI for allegedly stealing approximately $7 million from a Wells Fargo depot in Connecticut. This money was allegedly used in part to fund Puerto Rican independence movements and in part to aid low income Puerto Ricans. Three members of Los Macheteros, one of which was Ojeda Ríos, dressed up as the Three Magi and distributed Christmas gifts to the children in New York's Spanish Harlem. To the U.S. government, Ojeda Ríos was a terrorist, but to the people of Puerto Rico and beyond, he was a hero in the struggle for independence.

In 1898, Spain was forced to cede Puerto Rico (along with Cuba and the Philippines) to the United States after the outbreak of the Spanish-American war. Puerto Rico remains a colony of the United States to this day and is still struggling for independence.

The Puerto Rican Truth and Justice Commission called the killing a “political assassination” and went further to assert that, “with all of its [the FBI's] power and experience in capturing fugitives in order to take them alive, in the case of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, it acted as the executioner. Once more, it has hatched up a hidden agenda of beheading the revolutionary movement through physical elimination.” This is not the first time that the FBI has intervened against the independence movement of Puerto Rico. The FBI has also been linked to the murder of Santiago Mari Pesquera (son of independentista Juan Mari Brás), the bombings of January 11, 1975 in Mayagüez that took the lives of two Puerto Rican workers and many other incidents.

The FBI has once again demonstrated the state-sponsored terrorism that the United States wages against movements for freedom and independence. This action is part of the strategy by the United States to eliminate the leaderships of the progressive movements that are rising up against U.S. neo-liberal programs in Latin America and the Caribbean such as Plan Colombia and the criminal blockade against Cuba. Struggle and resistance will persevere in the face of the imperialist giant. The resistance of the island's people carries the hope of a truly free Puerto Rico.

#PuertoRico #Commentary #PuertoRicanPrisoners #OjedaRios #ArmedRevolutionaryIndependenceMovement #LosMacheteros #PuertoRicanTruthAndJusticeCommission

Chicago, IL – Ricardo Jimenez was the first newly freed Independista to speak to the 300 strong rally, welcoming home the patriots who were jailed for fighting against the U.S. colonization of Puerto Rico. Jimenez told the cheering crowd “the struggle for independence continues!”

The five and a half hour rally, organized mostly by word of mouth, was impressive, with more and more people showing up throughout the evening to participate in this historic and joyous moment in the Puerto Rican community.

Three other freed Independistas spoke to the rally; Alejandrina Torres, Alberto Rodriguez, and Luis Rosa.

Due to the repressive conditions of release imposed by President Clinton, the Independistas are not allowed to appear together, nor are they allowed to communicate with each other.

Two political prisoners, Antonio Camacho-Negron and Oscar Lopez-Rivera, refused the offer of clemency from President Clinton because of the harsh conditions tied to the release.

The Independistas were never given a fair trial to begin with. Under international law, they, as prisoners of war, should have been tried in a Geneva Court. Even today, the mainstream media never mentions that Puerto Rico, after more than a hundred years, remains a colony of the U.S.

Nine of the eleven freed Independistas lived in Chicago before being captured. Only two, Alejandrina Torres and Alberto Rodriguez plan on remaining in Chicago, the rest will live in Puerto Rico.

Luis Rosa, who was 19 years old when imprisoned, said that he would not be able to lead a normal life if he stayed in Chicago. Mayor Daley has stated his opposition to the Independistas' freedom and threatened to use the FBI to keep surveillance on them.

These activists have suffered tremendously inside and outside prison at the hands of the American government. Yet their faith is firm in one day seeing justice for their people and the end of colonialism – ¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!

#ChicagoIL #News #PoliticalPrisoners #PuertoRico #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #PuertoRicanPrisoners