Hundreds of people demonstrated this Sunday in front of the Muñiz Air Base to reject U.S. Army maneuvers in Puerto Rico and the possible reactivation of former military installations on the island, amid growing tensions in the Caribbean with Venezuela.
The protest was called by the organization Mothers Against War, whose members chanted slogans such as “Puerto Rico without militia, we want justice” and “Military exercises harm lives and the seas”Messages were also painted on the ground with chalk, including “Yankees out” and “Murderous Trump”.
Criticism of the deployment
Sonia Santiago, spokesperson for the organization, denounced Puerto Rico as "an occupied nation" by the United States and that the new military maneuvers respond to a geopolitical interest in Venezuela. "Now, from our great Caribbean and Latin American nation, the U.S. wants to invade Venezuela. That sounds to me like what happened in Iraq," she warned.
Santiago, the mother of an Iraq War veteran, added that Washington uses the fight against drug trafficking as an "excuse" to justify militarization and seeking access to Venezuelan oil resources.
Military exercises and deployment
The operations include amphibious landings and training flights, along with the announcement that the United States will deploy ten F-35 fighter jets to an air base in Puerto Rico.
The protesters recalled that the Navy used Vieques and Culebra as firing ranges until 2003, leaving the cleanup of unexploded ordnance on those islands still pending.
Opposing positions
Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González publicly supported the military operation, stating that Nicolás Maduro's regime and drug cartels have "flooded our communities with dangerous drugs, fueling violent crime on our streets." She said she had received notification and cooperation agreements to facilitate the use of military installations in Roosevelt Roads and Aguadilla.
In contrast, the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) demanded the immediate cancellation of any plans to "remilitarize" the island and submitted a resolution to the Legislature urging President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress to halt such actions.
Historical background
Puerto Rico has maintained the status of a US Commonwealth since 1952, with autonomy in some internal affairs but no control over defense, borders, or foreign policy. This situation, coupled with the memory of Vieques and Culebra, fuels opposition to a new phase of militarization on the archipelago.
For more stories like this, follow More Latin.
Sources:
English 
Spanish