FBI Kills Fugitive Puerto Rican Nationalist Leader Filiberto Ojeda-Rios

Interview with Jorge Farinacci, Puerto Rican independence activist, conducted by Denise Manzari

Longtime Puerto Rican nationalist leader Filiberto Ojeda-Rios has been killed by the FBI. On the FBI's Most Wanted list, U.S. authorities labeled Ojeda-Rios a terrorist and sought his arrest since 1990, when he cut off his electronic ankle bracelet while awaiting trial for his involvement in the 1983 $7 million Wells Fargo truck heist in West Hartford, Conn.

When the FBI discovered where Ojeda-Rios was hiding with his wife Elma Beatriz Rosado, in the mountains of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, they began a three-day stakeout. Then on Friday, Sept. 23, at about 3 p.m., the FBI claims 72-year-old Ojeda-Rios suddenly opened the door of the farmhouse and began firing at them, injuring one of the agents in the stomach. They said they returned fire. According to an autopsy, Ojeda-Rios bled to death after being hit by a single bullet. His wife was detained but was later released. No one was allowed to enter the house until Saturday, almost a full day after Ojeda-Rios was shot.

According to Puerto Rican activists, the FBI has 125 arrest warrants on others allegedly connected to Los Macheteros, the pro-independence organization also known as the Boricua Popular Army, and cofounded by Ojeda-Rios. It also appears that the Sept. 23 raid was no coincidence, but deliberate on the part of the FBI, since that date commemorates the 1868 uprising against Spain and thus is the most sacred day to supporters of the Puerto Rican Independence movement.

Jorge Farinacci is an attorney and former co-defendant with Ojeda-Rios in the Wells Fargo trial. He spoke with Between The Lines' Denise Manzari about the impact the nationalist leader's death may have on the future of the Puerto Rican independence movement.

For more information, call ProLibertad at (718) 601-4751 or visit the website www.filibertoojeda.com

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