Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s (oct 29, 1950 – mar 1, 1954)

Description:

A series of coordinated armed protests for the independence of Puerto Rico led by the president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Don Pedro Albizu Campos, against the United States Government rule on the island.

The revolts failed because of the overwhelming force used by the U.S. military, the Puerto Rican National Guard (the 296th Regiment, a component of the United States National Guard), the FBI, the CIA, and the Puerto Rican Insular Police, all of whom were aligned against the Nationalists. Dozens of Nationalists were killed and wounded, and hundreds of others were arrested and held in prison. The US also bombed the towns of Jayuya and Utuado. Critics have said that there was not sufficient coverage of the suppression of the uprisings. According to an anonymous and undated article in the New York Latino Journal in the early 2000s, it was described at the time in the mainland press as an "incident between Puerto Ricans."

Of the 28 dead, 16 were Nationalists, 7 were police officers, 1 a National Guardsman, and 4 were uninvolved civilians. Of the 49 wounded, 23 were police officers, 6 were National guardsmen, 9 were Nationalists, and 11 were uninvolved civilians.

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