8. vieques

VIEQUES - US Navy Military & Environmental Crimes Against Humanity

Start here:
Vieques: una batalla inconclusa (2016) - Documentary Film By Juan C. Dávila (gratis en español)
Vieques: una batalla inconclusa (An Endless Battle) By Juan C. Dávila (Vimeo fee)

I'm providing some links on Vieques Island, part of the PR archipelago. This is not intended as a thorough presentation. It must be mentioned as one of the most significant moments not just in the history of Puerto Rico's resistance, but in worldwide resistance to military occupation.

The US Navy once occupied 2/3 of Vieques island

In the 1940's, the US Navy began its occupation of Culebra and Vieques. This is in addition to the numerous land expropriations that occurred throughout the main island of Puerto Rico for the military bases Ramey (Aguadilla) and Roosevelt Roads (Ceiba), for example. The Navy occupied 2/3 of the island of Vieques, leaving residents the use of only a middle strip of the island. For more than 6 decades, residents had to put up with military testing including live ammunition testing, and the use of chemicals such as Agent Orange and napalm. The Department of Defense/Navy had intended to evict the entire native population, but even the local colonial government of Puerto Rico was unwilling to go along with this plan.
In 1999, Vieques was being used for NATO exercises and depleted uranium was "accidentally" dropped on the island on February 19,1999. NATO used depleted uranium in Kosovo Yugoslavia bombing which began in March 1999. The NATO bombings in Kosovo were done without UN authorization. Depleted Uranium was also used by US in Iraq. 
The death of David Sanes Rodríguez on April 19, 1999 was the straw that broke the camel's back. The US Navy was successfully booted out of Vieques in the early 2000's, after massive protests and civil disobedience, on the island and on the mainland. Despite promises of cleanup. the environmental damage and the Superfund site left behind remain. The Navy was booted out of neighbor island Culebra, also part of the PR archipelago, in 1975, after years of protests.
Puerto Ricans force United States Navy out of Vieques Island, 1999-2003 (great summary)
"In response to widespread protest, President Clinton created two committees to report on the Navy's impact in Vieques. Based on the results of these studies, Clinton offered up to $90 million as economic incentive to allow indefinite use of the island for military purposes. A referendum was to be held that would give residents the option between financial support and the removal of the U.S. Navy within three years. Actionists rejected this offer and continued to demand immediate withdrawal. An informal referendum in July 2001 showed that 70% of the population wanted the Navy to leave immediately. President Bush reversed Clinton's attempts to negotiate with Vieques and stated that the Navy would halt military exercises in February and leave the island by May 2003. The closure of both military bases on Vieques was met with an island-wide celebration and support rally. The land was given to the Department of the Interior for the purpose of building a wildlife refuge. Some debate has continued over the high cost of clean up as well as the issues of control and ownership of the former military sites."
Puerto Ricans expel United States Navy from Culebra Island, 1970-1974
Puerto Ricans protest United States Navy presence on Vieques Island, 1977-1983
Una Batalla Histórica Por Gerardo E. Alvarado León (En español. You may get an error, but page should redirect to a clunky page, but it has lots of original interviews with activists.)
Zaida Torres habla sobre la lucha contra la Marina en Vieques
Primos de David Sanes hablan sobre la Marina
Dámaso Serrano habla sobre los terrenos de Vieques
Robert Rabin reflexiona sobre la salida de la Marina
Norma Torres recuerda a su primo David Sanes
Tito Kayak narra su lucha contra la Marina en Vieques
Marcha por la paz de Vieques
Disturbios el día de la salida de la Marina de Vieques
María Velázquez, viuda de Carmelo Félix Matta
María Velázquez canta sobre la lucha viequense
Velda González describe su experiencia en Vieques
Juanita Gabino narra el episodio de cáncer que enfrentó
El activista Nilo Adams habla sobre su episodio de cáncer
José Emilio Adams habla sobre la lucha de su hija Milivy contra el cáncer
Canción Para Vieques
Carlos Prieto Ventura habla sobre la lucha viequense
Victor Emeric compara el antes y después de la Marina en Vieques
Zaida Torres habla sobre los problemas de salud en Vieques
Sgto. Dennis Román habla sobre la seguridad en Vieques
Dámaso Serrano describe la situación actual de Vieques
Ricardo Bouyett habla de la situación actual en Vieques
Pedro Pierluisi habla sobre los planes futuros para Vieques
Alcalde de Vieques habla de la situación actual de la isla
History of the Navy in Vieques
NATO begins exercise off Vieques island
Deseret News, October 17, 2000
One-Stop Shopping For NAVYFACTS: A Response to the Navy’s Vieques Website
By Juan Giusti-Cordero, August 17, 2000 (Unfortunately, many of the pages to the Navy links appear to have been scrubbed, if anyone has any idea how to find in the Internet Archive send me a message on Twitter @chimeraelf.)
“(T)he Navy urged military contractors and foreign countries to rent its land and sea weapons ranges in and around Vieques”
"ONE-STOP SHOPPING"
YIELDS HIGH RETURN ON INVESTMENT
“Business was brisk in the 1990s: the Navy was making $80 million a year off renting Vieques to NATO allies for, in effect, one-stop shooting.[6] The website was so "fact-filled" that it outraged Puerto Rican public opinion and was one of the  compelling revelations in the weeks after David Sanes' death. The website's omissions, too, were revealing: it nowhere mentioned that Vieques is inhabited, with a substantial civilian population.”
Puerto Ricans March Against U.S. Pact — Religious Leaders Oppose Navy Plans For Vieques Training By John Marino, Washington Post, February 22, 2000
Superfund Site: Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Area Vieques, PR
Unauthorized Use of Depleted Uranium (DU) on Vieques Naval Range, Puerto Rico (February 19, 1999)

David Sanes Rodríguez - civilian employee of US Navy killed by errant bombs.
Funeral Held for David Sanes Rodriguez in Vieques
Democracy Now, April 23, 1999 The jets and aircraft carrier were training for an assignment in the Adriatic Sea to relieve forces fighting in Kosovo.
Navy Attributes Fatal Bombing To Mistakes
By The Associated Press Aug. 3, 1999
Impact of Toxic Waste in Vieques, Puerto Rico and in the Philippines
1999 U.S. Document Warned of Depleted Uranium in Kosovo By Marlise Simons, NYT, Jan. 9, 2001
"Only American planes fired such uranium-tipped weapons during the 11-week Kosovo air campaign, using some 30,000.
Uranium is one of the heaviest metals, which makes it effective in piercing targets like tanks or concrete. A byproduct of enriched uranium, the depleted form is only mildly radioactive, but when it pulverizes in an explosion or fire, its dust is considered potentially hazardous if ingested or inhaled."

http://ccnr.org

Depleted Uranium in Vieques
Physicians for Social Responsibility Issues Brief on Depleted Uranium
Puerto Rico Wants Uranium Probe
By Lilliam Irizarry, Associated Press, Jan. 11, 2001
"Puerto Rico's government plans to ask the European Union to include a U.S. Navy bombing range on Vieques island in its investigation of the effects of depleted uranium, a senator announced Thursday.
The announcement comes with a debate raging in Europe that depleted uranium, a slightly radioactive heavy metal used in armor-piercing ammunition, could cause cancer. Such weapons were used by NATO-backed forces during fighting in the Balkans.
NATO has maintained that there is no scientific evidence that exposure to weapons containing depleted uranium posed a significant health risk.
A EU study into health risks is to be completed by February.
The Navy has admitted firing 263 depleted uranium-tipped bullets, of which it recovered 57, on the training range on Vieques. But the Navy said it was an accident, noting that it's against federal law to use those armaments on such exercises."
Vieques Residents Alarmed by Depleted Uranium Reports
By Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero, Inter Press Service, January 30, 2001
"Vieques residents have followed with great concern the controversy raging in Europe over the use of DU in the 1999 NATO war against Yugoslavia. They remember very well the US Navy's statements to the effect that most ships and aeroplanes that were used in that war were tested in Vieques.
According to a study carried out by the Puerto Rico Health Department, the cancer rate in Vieques is 26.9 percent above Puerto Rico's average. The study, which covered the years 1990-94, says nothing about the possible causes of this unusually high cancer rate. But the Navy's opponents are certain that military activities on the island, including target practice with DU munitions, are to blame.
Doctor Rafael Rivera-Castaño, who lives in Vieques, believes that the PR Health Department cancer study's data are already somewhat dated, and that the current cancer rate in Vieques is even higher. ''I estimate that the cancer rate here is now 52 percent over the Puerto Rico average,'' he said in an interview."
The Poisoning of Puerto Rico The U.S. Navy left Vieques, but for many, the cancer remains 
By Jacob Wheeler May 3, 2010
U.S. court dismisses Puerto Ricans' suit over arms testing
A U.S. appeals court in Boston ruled that the federal government has immunity from any lawsuit over its actions
By Terry Baynes February 14, 2012
Vieques lawsuit, dismissed - The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston dismissed the case February 17, 2012
As maintained by the federal government, the Court of Appeals determined that Congress granted “sovereign immunity” to the U.S. Navy, and thus, it can’t hold it accountable for health problems allegedly caused by military exercises on Vieques Island.
Unexploded bombs litter waters of Vieques, Puerto Rico, a decade after the U.S. Navy ceased target practice 
By Juan Gonzalez, New York Daily News, May 1, 2013
Ten Years After Ousting US Navy, Vieques Confronts Contamination
By Maritza Stanchich, Ph.D.
GOP Senator Calls for Reopening U.S. Military Base on Puerto Rico’s Vieques Island (James Inhofe is a rabid foe of Puerto Rico) 
Democracy Now, April 15, 2016
Puerto Rico’s Invisible Health Crisis The island of Vieques has some of the highest sickness rates in the Caribbean. Is the U.S. Navy responsible?
By Valeria Pelet, Sept. 3, 2016
In Guam, the Gravest Threat Isn’t North Korea — It’s the United States (Similar treatment of Guam as Vieques) The United States is using this Pacific colony as its own private firing range.
By Leilani Ganser, August 3, 2017
"(Guam) drawing inspiration from activists on Puerto Rico—which, like Guam, is a U.S. imperial acquisition from the Spanish-American war whose strategic location has subjected it to exploitation from the U.S. military." 
Depleted Uranium Haunts Kosovo and Iraq
By Scott Peterson, Middle East Research and Information Project
“US soldiers partly ascribe Gulf war syndrome to DU exposure.
…
A confidential preliminary UN report leaked in May 1999, as the bombing continued, did not mince words: "This type of ammunition is nuclear waste, and its use is very dangerous and harmful," it said.”
Special Report: Puerto Ricans in Vieques Cope with Devastation & Fear Toxic Contamination from Maria
Democracy Now, Oct 6, 2017
The Puerto Rican Island the US Military Destroyed Has Been Forgotten After Hurricane Maria 
By Sarah Emerson Oct 20 2017
Ep. 243 “Guahan, Vieques (Puerto Rico), and Hawai’i: Island Relationalities and Feminist Demilitarization Movements”
Faked cleanup at Hunters Point Shipyard much worse than Navy estimates
90 to 97 percent of cleanup at two sites is questionable—“biggest case of eco-fraud in U.S. history” By Chris Roberts, Curbed SF, Apr 10, 2018
(Subcontractor Tetra Tech was caught submitting faked soil samples, that how much the Navy and the EPA can be trusted in cleaning up its toxic messes.)
Vieques, Puerto Rico: From Devastation to Conservation and Back Again
By Javier Arbona
Conference on U.S. military bases discusses spring antiwar actions
January 24, 2018
(Other countries rising up against US military bases is its worst nightmare, and why ultimately, Puerto Rico must be punished for standing up against the Navy.)