Ismael Guadalupe shows a letter from June 25, 1942 in which Celestina Pérez requested a piece of land to the US Navy, after being evicted from her home.
In 1941, the US Congress approved a series of laws authorizing the US Navy to establish a military facility in the island of Vieques, an island that is part of the archipelago of Puerto Rico. Between 1941 and 1950, the US Navy acquired 25,353 acres…
The US Navy attempted to expel all Viequenses from their land: "Project V-C, secretly pushed forth by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the White House during 1958-1964, was originally an attempt to expropriate the complete Puerto Rican islands of…
In 1963, María Velázquez moved to Vieques with her husband, Carmelo Félix Matta. In the coming decades, María and Carmelo would become the protagonists of various land rescues in Vieques that would challenge the US Navy control over Vieques's…
In 1964, various Viequense families began to build houses in the area known as "El Cerca'o de Pablito," a piece of land that was part of the the US Navy territory in Vieques. The area became known as Bravos de Boston, one of the first rescues of…
Viequenses attempted to rescue the area of "El Cerca'o de Coco" but the US Navy intervened and ended the land rescue. Years later Viequenses were successful in this land rescue and the area became known as Villa Borinquen.
In Feb. 26, 1976, a group of Viequenses rescued some federal land that was part of the US Navy territory in Vieques. The area became known as Villa Borinquen.
