Vieques was Saved by the Dead

Vieques was Saved by the Dead

1958

Ismael Guadalupe discusses the political and cultural battles that have given shape to the historical conflicts between the US Navy and the people of Vieques. He describes the small victories of the people of Vieques in spite of the many attempts of the US Navy to kick out Viequenses from their land. He mentions Plan Dracula, a project of the Kennedy and the Johnson administration to remove Vieques residents from the island. According to Guadalupe, if Viequenses still live in Vieques it is thanks to the dead, thanks to the bodies buried on the ground. He explains that the Department of Defense abandoned the idea of expelling Viequenses from the island after Puerto Rico's Governor Luis Muñoz Marín convinced the US Navy that removing Viequenses and their dead relatives from cemeteries would create a public outcry in the international community. Guadalupe also considers that cancer rates in Vieques are alarming and links the disease to the US Navy’s bombing activities.

video

Juan Carlos Rodríguez

Ismael Guadalupe