While diaspora organizations formally petition the Pentagon to halt all military expansion on the island, activists in San Juan have taken to the streets to resist the surge of warships and advanced aircraft they see as part of a broader, coercive US foreign policy that they refuse to support thus challenging the military’s use of the island as a strategic forward base. They cited the historical precedent of the successful movement that forced the closure of the Navy base in Vieques after a civilian death in 1999, warning that the Puerto Rican people are prepared to act again if the current militarization continues. Now, as geopolitical calculations bring a renewed surge in military activity, the population is starkly divided, as some mainly from the statehood factions view it as vital for economic investment and regional security, while others condemn it as the reimposition of a militarized past, fearing the return of a painful era many believed was closed.
Author: Miguel Santos García
Published at: 2026-01-05 23:38:39
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