THE IMPRISONMENT OF MEN AND WOMEN FIGHTING COLONIALISM, 1898 - 1958 1940 - 1950
The 1930's end with several Nationalists serving terms of imprisonment in the United States for violating the Law of Servicio Militar Obligatorio (SMO) -- the military draft. Beginning in the 1940ís, nearly a hundred are jailed. Unlike World War I, the sentences vary between 1 and 5 years. Draft violators are accused of not registering, not going for a physical exam, not answering the call of the draft, not carrying their draft card. They are also arrested for encouraging the violation of the draft law, as in the case of the Nationalist leaders Ramon Medina Ramirez and Julio de Santiago. Mariano Juan Ramon Martinez is the first Nationalist to be arrested. A total of 23 Nationalists are arrested in the first 2 years of the decade. Martinez is arrested twice for violating the SMO laws. On the second occasion, he is accused of not carrying his draft card. These men are also the first Nationalists to be sent to the state prison in Tallahassee, Florida. A few days after the first group depart for Tallahassee, a second group of Nationalists are arrested. Among them are members of the national committee of the Nationalist Party: Medina, Ramirez and Rafael Lopez Rosas. Lopezí five sons were also arrested for dodging the draft.		larger photo larger photo
		The number sentenced for draft-dodging rose to 20 and included other members of the Nationalist Party national committee: Julio de Santiago, Paulino Castro and Jose Rivera Sotomayor.
This year is characterized by the arrest and jailing of Nationalists who had already served prison terms. A total of 16 are imprisoned. Of these, 11 had been jailed before.
larger photo larger photo		Only 6 Nationalists are imprisoned. The same number as in 1945, the last year of World War II. In New York, there are four cases of arrests for violating the draft. Three cases involve members of the Nationalist Party: Amaury Ruiz, Roberto Acevedo and Cesar B. Torres Rodriguez. The fourth case is journalist Rafael Lopez Rosas who had been sentenced earlier in Puerto Rico. During this period 7 men are arrested for draft-dodging and threatening the life of Judge Cooper, the judge who sentenced Puerto Ricans to prison most. Although the 7 men were not Nationalists, they are sympathetic to the political movement or to Albizu Campos.
The SMO is only activated during times of war. A new law of obligatory military service is approved after WWII. Six Nationalist youths are arrested for violating this new draft law: Rafael Cancel Miranda, Ramon Medina Maisonave, Luis M. OíNeill, Reinaldo Trilla, Dario Berrios and Miguel Angel Ruiz Alicea. They are Nationalist Party cadets. Cancel and Medina Maisonave were sentenced to 2 years and 1 day. The others were sentenced to 1 year and a day for not registering. These 6 cases are the last in the 1940ís related to the SMO. In the following decade there were fewer cases of violators primarily because the Nationalist Party changed its strategy. The strategy had been to confront the imperialist system directly and go to jail. They began to use the tactic of evasion, avoiding arrest before turning themselves in. Irvin Flores, one of the Nationalists who attacked Congress in 1954, evaded police after the shooting, not allowing himself to be arrested until later. University Strike of 1948: Students of the University of Puerto Rico invite Albizu Campos to speak at the Recinto de Rio Piedras after his release from prison. He had been in prison in Atlanta for 10 years. The Rector Jaime Benitez is against the invitation. Student protests lead to violent police repression. Students are badly wounded in police attacks. The the following year, the strike and related incidents lead to the arrest and conviction of student leaders Jose M. Tejada, Juna Mari Bras, Pelegrin Garcia, Jorge Luis Landing and Jose Gil de Lamadrid. They are expelled from the UPR and jailed 2 months for causing disturbances on campus. Luis Munoz Marin is elected governor of Puerto Rico under the new Partido Popular Democratico. He is the first Puerto Rican to serve as governor of the island. October 30 The Nationalist Insurrection: A car with four Nationalists stops in front of the Fortaleza, the governorís mansion. The atempt to assassinate the governor is thwarted by guards, who with reinforcements, kill four of the five revolutionaries: Raimundo Diaz Pacheco, Domingo Hiraldo, Roberto Acevedo and Manuel Torres. Gregorio Hernandez is badly wounded. A group of Nationalists meet at the the home of Blanca Canales in Jayuya and attempt to take the town. They attack the police station, setting it and several other buildings on fire. Carlos Irizarry, the leader of the group, and one police officer Virgilio Camacho are killed. Several police officers are wounded. Elio Torresola becomes leader of the group and declares Jayuya libre y soberana. The revolutionaries go to Utuado, to the home of Nationalist leader Damian Torres where National Guard soldiers and airplanes attack them. Eleven Nationalists are killed and more than 20 are wounded.In Arecibo, Hipolito Mercado Diaz leads an attack on the police precinct. Four police officers and the Nationalist leader are killed.In Santurce, the National Guard and police attack a barber shopcalled El Boricua, where several revolutionaries were supposedly hiding. After three hours of crossfire, only one gravely wounded man Vicente Santiago, was found and shot dead. He alone had staved off the police and National Guard troops.		larger photo larger photo larger photo larger photo larger photo larger photo larger photo