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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Rodriguez Criticizes PDP LeadershipThousands At Vieques Jail RallyGovernor Rejects Castro's SupportFidel Sparks ControversyDe Castro: Vieques Is A Political IssueCubans Protest ViequesCalderon Won’t Talk To BushP.R.: Navy Violated LawAguilar To Energy Department***** Rodriguez Criticizes PDP Leadership May 29, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Former Senate President Charlie Rodriguez criticized the legislative leadership for ignoring the Memorial Day celebration and the Puerto Rican soldiers who have died in battle. Rodriguez organized a ceremony at the Veterans' Monument in front of the Capitol with the help of the U.S. Veterans Association after finding out that the Legislature hadn't arranged any official activity. Speaking of the sacrifice made by more than a thousand Puerto Rican soldiers who lost their lives in combat, Rodriguez sustained that "my heart is filled with indignation by seeing these combat heroes abandoned by the official authorities." ***** Thousands At Vieques Jail Protest May 29, 2001 SAN JUAN - About 10,000 people rallied outside a federal prison on Monday to protest sentences meted out to those charged with trespassing on U.S. Navy land during demonstrations against bombing exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques . The rally outside the Metropolitan Correction Facility in the San Juan suburb of Guaynabo was organized by religious leaders to show support for more than 40 prisoners serving time there for civil disobedience in Vieques . U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, a Democrat from New York, told the crowd that the bombing on the U.S. Caribbean territory was a problem for the whole nation, not just for Vieques . "And when we win, it will not just be good for the people of Vieques ...It will make the United States of America a stronger democracy which respects the rights of all its citizens," Rangel said. ***** Governor Rejects Fidel Castro's Support For Vieques May 28, 2001 BAYAMON (AP) - Gov. Sila Calderon emphatically rejected the support that Cuban President Fidel Castro gave to the Vieques issue and the claim to oust the U.S. Navy from the island municipality. Calderon said her rejection is based on the fact that Vieques is a human rights cause, and Castro does not have the morals to speak on that matter. "I rejected it [his support] because the Vieques cause is firmly based on the principles of liberty and democracy, and Castro's regime is a communist dictatorship," the governor said. ***** Fidel Castro's Support For Vieques Still Sparks Controversy By Proviana Colon Diaz May 28, 2001 Cuban President Fidel Castro's support for the Vieques cause continued to spark controversy Monday as island political leaders and even members of U.S. Congress expressed their opposition or support for the communist leader's statements. On Saturday, a photo of Castro with Puerto Rican Independence Party Sen. Fernando Martin was displayed on the front pages of most of the island's newspapers as they greeted each other during a massive demonstration in support for Vieques at Havana's Revolution Square. Martin was surprised by the controversy caused by the meeting, especially when support for the Vieques issue has come from many different sectors, including the Republican Party. "Support for Vieques comes from New York Gov. George Pataki and The New York Times to the Cuban republic, and no one should refuse the support of Pataki just because he is a Republican," Martin said. ***** De Castro: Cuban Protest Proves Vieques Is A Political Issue May 28, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - According to Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Rep. Jorge De Castro Font, the presence of Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Executive President Sen. Fernando Martin at a pro Vieques rally in Cuba is the best proof that the Vieques issue is about politics and not about human rights. De Castro Font said the concentration held Saturday in Cuba proved that the "independentistas" use the issue of the military exercises on Vieques as a means to bring political independence for Puerto Rico. The legislator asked his party and Gov. Sila Calderon not to support the cause of Vieques because it has allegedly become a strategy to separate Puerto Rico from the U.S. ***** Cubans Protest US Military Presence May 26, 2001 HAVANA (AP) -- President Fidel Castro joined thousands of Cubans on Saturday morning in a protest of U.S. military exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. ``We are willing to die at their side,'' Cuban student leader Ernesto Fernandez said of Puerto Ricans who are demanding that the U.S. Navy abandon its use of the island. Participants in the government-organized rally cheered speakers and waved tiny Cuban flags outside the U.S. Interests Section -- the American mission in Cuba. ``The struggle over Vieques has become decisive in the liberty of Puerto Rico,'' Fernando Martin, a leader of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, told protesters. ***** Calderon Will Not Talk To Bush About Vieques, Only To Defense Dept. By Proviana Colon Diaz May 26, 2001 Gov. Sila Calderon said Friday that she does not have to discuss the issue of Vieques with President George W. Bush because now the matter has to be solved by her administration and the Department of Defense. "This is not between me and Bush. This is between the Department of Defense and the government of Puerto Rico. My calling is not to Bush but to the Department of Defense," Calderon said. The governor acknowledged that conversations with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have been halted, since her administration filed a lawsuit in Washington D.C. against the Navy for violating her recently signed noise control law. Still, Calderon hoped the "dialogue" would begin anew soon. "It is obvious that following the announcement of the bombing, the conversations were totally lacerated, and I took the alternative I had in my hands - to got to court, and I will stay there," Calderon said. ***** Puerto Rico: Navy Violated Law May 25, 2001 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Puerto Rico's government said Friday that the Navy violated federal law by lobbying members of Congress on the controversial subject of Navy maneuvers on the island of Vieques. In its latest effort to stop the maneuvers, Puerto Rico said it has requested documents that it said can prove the Navy broke the law. The Navy denied that it had paid for the men's trip or encouraged them to speak to Congressional representatives. The law prohibits employees of federal agencies from lobbying members of Congress but allows for paid advertisements on controversial subjects such as Vieques -- something both the Puerto Rican government and the Navy have done. The men, Luis Sanchez, Michael Rivera and Ralph Perez, traveled to Washington in March. Sanchez, a civilian security guard for the Navy, told the AP the trip was his idea and he paid for his portion. Calls to Perez and Rivera were not immediately returned. ***** Puerto Rican Designated To Post In Energy Department May 25, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - President George W. Bush designated Puerto Rican Alfonso Aguilar Sartori as the Hispanic spokesman in the U.S. Department of Energy, according to Republican Party President in Puerto Rico Luis A. Ferre. Aguilar Sartori directed the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Office in Washington and for some time was also press secretary for former Gov. Pedro Rossello. Aguilar is a University of Puerto Rico law graduate. "In the past months, we have worked directly with White House personnel and have witnessed that Bush is designating more and more Hispanics in his administration," said Ferre in a press release. "Aguilar and others will help promote the message of inclusion and opportunities," said Cesar Cabrera, spokesman for the Bush campaign in Puerto Rico. "The president seeks to unite ties in the Hispanic communities in the United States."
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