Filiberto Ojeda Ríos

Date of Birth:	April 26, 1933
Place of Birth:	Naguabo, Puerto Rico
Date of Death:	September 23, 2005
Place of Death:	Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Remarks: Leader of the Macheteros Founder of FALN Founder of MIRA Former FBI's Most Wanted Fugitives

Filiberto Ojeda Ríos (April 26, 1933 – September 23, 2005) was the "commander in chief" ("Responsable General") of the Boricua Popular Army (Ejército Popular Boricua – Los Macheteros), a clandestine paramilitary organization, considered by United States law enforcement agencies to be a terrorist organization, based on the island of Puerto Rico, with branches in the mainland United States and in other countries. Los Macheteros is a political group which advocates sovereignty for Puerto Rico. The organization considers United States rule over Puerto Rico to be opppressive colonization.

For his last fifteen years, Ojeda Ríos was wanted as a fugitive by the FBI for his role in the 1983 Wells Fargo depot robbery in West Hartford, Connecticut, as well as a bail bond default in September 1990. Ojeda Ríos was killed on September 23, 2005 when members of the FBI attempted to serve an arrest warrant on him after surrounding the house in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico where he was hiding. The FBI operation has raised questions both inside and outside Puerto Rico. (See Death and FBI Operation below)

The killing of Ojeda Ríos has been mourned by members of the Puerto Rican Independence movement, who have expressed their indignation through repeated protests. [1] Members of the statehood movement and supporters of the Commonwealth have also joined in the criticism of the federal and local handling of this incident. In late March of 2006, the Puerto Rico Justice Department sued federal authorities, including FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, seeking an injunction to force the federal government authorities to provide the Commonwealth government with information related to the operation in which Ojeda Ríos died, as well as another one in which the FBI searched the homes of independence supporters affiliated with Los Macheteros.

Biography

Ojeda Ríos was born April 26, 1933 in Naguabo, Puerto Rico. An amateur musician, he played trumpet and guitar.

In 1961, he moved his family from Puerto Rico to Cuba and was recruited into the General Intelligence Directorate, the Cuban intelligence service.^{[citation needed]} A year later he returned to Puerto Rico, allegedly to spy on the United States military.

In 1967 he founded and led the very first of Puerto Rico's new militant political groups, the Armed Revolutionary Independence Movement (Movimiento Independentista Revolucionario Armado) (MIRA; the acronym spells the Spanish word for "look!"). MIRA was disbanded by police in the early 1970s and Ríos was arrested. He subsequently skipped bail and moved to New York, where he cofounded the Armed Forces of National Liberation (Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional) (FALN) with former MIRA members as a membership base.

In 1976, Ojeda Ríos founded the Boricua Popular Army (Ejercito Popular Boricua), also known as Los Macheteros (The Machete Wielders), named after the sugar cane harvesters, who use machetes to cut the canes.

Los Macheteros have been alleged to be either directly or indirectly responsible for numerous acts of terrorism and bombings in Puerto Rico and the mainland United States. In one incident, they claimed responsibility for an explosion at a popular eatery/nightclub which wounded several people. They also killed a Puerto Rican policeman who refused to surrender his service revolver^{[citation needed]} and shot 15 US Navy personnel in two attacks, killing three and wounding 12. They also placed explosives at several US and local government facilities, some of which detonated, some of which did not.

On September 12, 1983, Los Macheteros stole approximately $7 million from a Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut. The money obtained from this operation was allegedly used to help fund the Puerto Rican independence movement, but there is ample evidence that a significant portion of the stolen funds -- a minimum of $2-$3 million -- was funnelled to Cuba through their embassy in Mexico City by one of the members of Los Macheteros. Spanish - El robo de $7 millones de la Wells Fargo Automated Spanish -> English translation of article

In 1985, 19 members of Los Macheteros were indicted for offenses associated with the Wells Fargo heist. When Federal authorities attempted to arrest Ojeda, he fired on them and wounded an FBI agent. Ojeda Ríos was released on bond after his attorneys claimed he had been denied a speedy trial, although the delay in bringing him to trial was largely the result of defense motions. Ojeda cut off the electronic monitoring device that had been placed on his ankle as a condition of his release, and became a fugitive. Fourteen of the 19 defendants were convicted after trial; one was acquitted. Charges against another were dismissed. Three, including Ojeda and Victor Manuel Gerena, were able to elude authorities.

In July of 1992, Ojeda Ríos was sentenced in absentia to 55 years in prison and fined $600,000 for his role in the Wells Fargo heist.

Death

On September 23, 2005, Ojeda Ríos was surrounded in his hiding place, a modest home in the outskirts of the town of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, by members of the FBI's San Juan field office and shot fatally. The FBI has recounted the incident in a press release^[1]. According to this document, the FBI was performing surveillance of the area driven by reports that Ojeda had been spotted in the home. The FBI determined its surveillance team had been detected, and decided to proceed with serving an arrest warrant against Ojeda. As the agents approached the home, an exchange of gunfire ensued. One agent was wounded. A coroner's autopsy concluded that Ojeda bled to death over the course of several hours.

No clear evidence has emerged to prove who fired the first shots. According to Ojeda's wife, Elma Beatriz Rosada Barbosa, as well as neighbor Héctor Reyes, it was the FBI agents who initiated the shooting at 3:00 pm. The FBI press release, however, claims that "as the FBI agents approached the front of the farm house at approximately 4:28 p.m., Ojeda-Rios opened the front door to the residence and opened fire on the FBI agents . . . . In response to the gunfire from Ojeda-Rios, the FBI returned fire and established a defensive perimeter in order to contain the environment."

Rosada has alleged that Ojeda offered to turn himself in to journalist Jesús Dávila, but that his offer was rebuffed by the agents, who feared he would take the journalist as a hostage.^{[citation needed]}

The Commonwealth Police Superintendent, Pedro Toledo Dávila, confirmed through a local news radio station, WAPA Radio, that the former Most Wanted fugitive was dead. The Government of Puerto Rico also confirmed the news. However, the FBI did not confirm Ojeda's death until the next day, when it contacted the Governor of Puerto Rico to give the confirmation.

The circumstances of his death are still unclear and questions have been raised as to the intentions of the FBI agents during the operation. Members of the independence movement in Puerto Rico, which historically has commanded the allegiance of about three percent of the electorate, have called the operation a "political assassination". (2)

People from among all political parties in Puerto Rico have criticized the handling of this altercation. Among the aspects objected to are the very date of September 23. On this date in 1868, at the village of Lares, a group of Puerto Rican revolutionaries launched a rebellion against the then-ruling Spanish colonial authorities with a declaration, the Grito de Lares ("Cry of Lares"). Although the rebellion was quickly suppressed, the anniversary of the uprising is commemorated by Puerto Ricans and it has been chosen by the independence movement as a rallying point. Ojeda Ríos was renowned for picking anniversaries of the Grito de Lares to make statements to his followers from undisclosed hideouts.

The current Governor of Puerto Rico Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, has criticized the FBI assault as "improper" and "highly irregular" and has demanded to know why his government was not informed of it. The FBI has refused to release any information beyond the official press release, citing security and agent privacy issues and an ongoing internal investigation. Nevertheless, the Puerto Rico Justice Department has filed suit in federal court against the FBI and the US Attorney General, demanding information crucial to the Commonwealth's own investigation of the incident.

Governor Acevedo Vilá has also argued that Ojeda's death was bound to cause political turmoil on the island and has decried the refusal to allow the local news media to cover the operation. Nevertheless, he refused calls from pro-independence organizations to declare an official period of mourning.

Death Scene

The morning of the day after the gunshots were fired, federal agents once again approached the home. They found Filiberto Ojeda Ríos dead. The autopsy revealed a bullet had entered Ojeda's body below the right clavicle and exited through his lower back. The bullet lacerated one of his lungs but did not damage any arteries or major organs. The forensic investigators and his doctor, Héctor Pesquera, speculated that this was not the type of wound that would have killed Ojeda immediately. The evidence suggests, and the autopsy concluded, that he bled to death, and the nature of the wounds suggested the shots may have been fired by a sniper. At the time of death, Ojeda was wearing a bulletproof vest and wore camouflage pants and a camouflage hat.

Ojeda's body was found lying face down, just outside the door of the home. Forensic investigators found a pistol to his right, along with over 20 bullet casings strewn around the scene, including some AR-15 shells. The investigators observed two bullet holes with entry points outside the residence, next to the main entrance door. At the rear of the residence another bullet hole was found, apparently the exit point of one of the rounds.

Documents were discovered burning in a cement "fogón," a type of cooking fireplace. Local authorities were not allowed inside the residence until more than 27 hours after the beginning of the hostilities.

The FBI has stated they opened fire against Ojeda Ríos after one of their agents was shot. A perimeter was then established by the local police and no one but law enforcement officers was allowed to enter the area by land or air. A local news crew attempting to cross the perimeter in a helicopter was warned off.

During the operation to capture Ojeda, his wife was arrested and a federal agent received a wound to the stomach, said the FBI. Elma Beatriz Rosado, Ojeda's widow, was released from federal custody the afternoon of September 24. She said his last words when she left him alive were pa’lante siempre (forever onward).

Charges against him

Act of Domestic Terrorism
Aggravated Robbery (1985)
Aggravated Robbery of Federally Insured Bank Funds (1985)
Armed Robbery (1985)
Bond Default (1990)
Conspiracy to Interfere With Commerce By Robbery (1985)
Foreign And Interstate Transportation Of Stolen Money (1985)

References

^ http://sanjuan.fbi.gov/pressrel/2005/sj092405.htm official press release dated September 24, 2005

Bibliography

Federal Bureau of Investigation (2005). FBI Fugitive Profile: Filiberto Ojeda Rios. United States of America.
Edmund Mahony (1999). The Untold Tale Of Victor Gerena. The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut (USA).
Edmund Mahony (1999). Puerto Rican Independence: The Cuban Connection. The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut (USA).
Daniel James (1981). Puerto Rican Terrorists Also Threaten Reagan Assassination. Human Events. United States of America.

Recent News

External links

[1] ttp://sanjuan.fbi.gov/pressrel/2005/sj092405.htm official press release dated September 24, 2005

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