Puerto Rico's last political prisoner: is it time for Oscar López Rivera to walk free?

Among the cobblestone streets of Old San Juan stands a big chalkboard mural on a building on Calle de Tetuan. It spells out: “Mandela is still ashamed of you. Free Oscar.”

People in Puerto Rico, where a crippling debt crisis is currently unfolding, have much to say about political prisoner Oscar López Rivera. All over the city, young people are wearing “Free Oscar” T-shirts, and a few days before my arrival, activists hit the streets with makeshift signs, calling for his release.

Last May, while campaigning against Hillary Clinton in advance of Puerto Rico’s 5 June caucuses, Bernie Sanders addressed voters during a town hall in San Juan. He promised that as president, he would pardon Oscar López Rivera. Later, Sanders shared his message on Twitter: “Oscar López Rivera has served 34 years in prison for his commitment to Puerto Rico’s independence. I say to President Obama: let him out.”

However, although there’s a growing movement calling for López Rivera’s release, the US government has classified him as a terrorist.

Oscar López Rivera was an Independentista, a Puerto Rican Nationalist and member of FALN (Armed Forces of National Liberation), an organization whose members declared themselves combatants against the US colonization of Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico was invaded and subsequently seized by the US in 1898, and has since been denied the right to self-govern. While Puerto Ricans vote in the primary, serve in the US armed forces, are required to register for selective service and can be drafted to fight in US wars, Puerto Ricans living on the island are not allowed to vote in presidential elections and have no voting representatives in the US Senate or Congress.

FALN claimed responsibility for more than 120 bomb attacks on banks, military sites and government facilities across the US between 1974 and 1980, which led to the 1980 arrest of 11 men and women for seditious conspiracy. Although he was named a co-defendant in the case, Oscar López Rivera was not arrested until a year later, when he was picked up during a traffic stop, and also charged with seditious conspiracy, weapons possession and transporting stolen vehicles across state lines.

No evidence was ever found tying López Rivera to any of the bombings, and although he was not convicted of any violent crimes, he was sentenced to 55 years in federal prison. Later, an additional 15 years were added to his sentence for an alleged escape attempt. He is now the longest-incarcerated Puerto Rican political prisoner, currently serving 70 years, including 12 in solitary confinement, even though the UN has condemned solitary confinement in excess of 15 days as a violation of human rights.

However, to most Puerto Ricans and human rights advocates, López Rivera represents much more than just the sum of these charges. Because of his refusal to end his fight for Puerto Rico’s independence, even after almost 35 years in federal prison, he is often compared to Nelson Mandela, who was once also denounced as a “communist terrorist”. He is a decorated war veteran, having been awarded the Bronze Star medal during his service in the US army.

After his return from the Vietnam war, he worked as a civil rights activist and community organizer for various organizations in Chicago. Part of this work included the creation of community programs such as La Escuelita Puertorriqueña, which is now Dr Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican high school, an alternative school founded to address educational concerns among Puerto Ricans in Chicago’s public schools. He was also co-founder of the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center, which is still actively serving Puerto Rican and Latino communities in Chicago, providing educational and literacy programs, HIV and STD education and prevention programs.

In 1999, Bill Clinton offered all the FALN members, including López Rivera, conditional clemency in exchange for their release. López Rivera declined the offer.

There are many different theories surrounding his refusal, including that he would only accept clemency if the deal was offered to every single incarcerated Puerto Rican political prisoner, and that he would not renounce the use of violence to overthrow the US government, which was a requirement of the proposed deal. López Rivera himself has stated that he considers himself a colonial subject, a prisoner of war, and does not recognize the authority of the US in Puerto Rico.

After nearly 35 years of incarceration, López Rivera has gained massive support. As the movement calling for his release continues to grow, even Puerto Ricans living in the mainland are organizing marches and protests. During New York City’s Puerto Rican Day parade this year, thousands filled the streets with signs and posters; in Chicago, the Boricua Human Rights Network has mobilized a worldwide campaign, gaining support from world leaders and human rights activists alike.

Oscar López Rivera is now 72 years old. He has spent more than half his life in a US federal prison. His future is uncertain. This is why his supporters are not backing down, collecting signatures on a petition that asks Barack Obama to issue a presidential pardon that grants his immediate release.

When asked to comment on whether López Rivera would accept a new deal that commutes his sentence, his lawyer, Jan Susler, was clear: he is ready to come home. His family wants him home. He didn’t accept Clinton’s offer in 1999 because the deal included a condition that he serve an additional 10 years in prison, and because it meant that two of his co-defendants would be left behind.

“He refused to leave anyone behind,” Susler said. “He is a Vietnam veteran, and still strongly believes that you do not leave your friends behind. However, since [López Rivera] is the last Puerto Rican political prisoner, those conditions no longer apply.”

Jaquira Díaz
Activists, even Bernie Sanders, have called for release of longest-incarcerated Puerto Rican political prisoner, currently serving 70 years for terrorism
Puerto Rico's last political prisoner: is it time for Oscar López Rivera to walk free?