Gutierrez, Aldermen Push For Release Of Ex-faln Leader
... Roberto Maldonado (26 th) said his trip to Washington in support of Lopez is partly personal. The alderman said his late wife’s father was very close to Lopez. Lopez once held Maldonado’s wife when she was an infant, and his release was very important to her before she died. Lopez was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Chicago at age 14. He was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism during the Vietnam War. Lopez’ supporters argue he is a political prisoner, portraying him as the Puerto Rican Nelson Mandela. I think that’s stretching the truth, although I agree that 35 years certainly seems like adequate punishment at this point. If Obama commutes Lopez’ sentence in these waning days of his administration, it would be the second time a U. S. president has granted him executive clemency. In a highly controversial move in 2009, President Bill Clinton offered clemency to 14 jailed FALN members, but Lopez was among two who refused to accept it. The offer to Lopez, which would have ...
Some Big Names Got A Measure Of Mercy From President Obama
... 2:24. autoplay autoplay. Copy this code to your website or blog. Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence officer, may be the best known felon whose sentence was commuted Tuesday by President Obama, but there were several other big names who received a measure of mercy from the Commander-in-Chief — and a notable omission as well. Among others, Obama pardoned James "Hoss" Cartwright, who was facing a long prison sentence for talking to New York Times reporter David Sanger about the top secret Stuxnet program that infected Iran's nuclear program with a computer virus. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James Cartwright prepares to testify before the House Armed Services Committee about missile defense October 1, 2009 in Washington, D. C. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images. Sanger and other journalists pleaded for leniency for Cartwright, a retired four star Marine general who was vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2011, arguing that he was trying to talk the Times out of publishing the report — not leaking sensitive information. Cartwright later plead guilty to making false statements ...
Colonialism Is Puerto Rico's Biggest Problem
... to fight," he wrote, "we can eradicate colonialism and transform our beloved homeland into the Edenic garden it has the potential to be, and live as a free people without colonial chains.". Without independence, he said, Puerto Ricans will be unable to enjoy “a decent, safe, productive and healthy life,” and will be instead condemned to the poverty and oppression faced by many Indigenous peoples in the U. S. Despite the fact that he is the only remaining Puerto Rican independence activist jailed in the U. S. — fellow FALN member Carlos Torres, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy along with Lopez Rivera, was released in 2010 — he credited his willingness to confront injustice as giving him the strength to survive behind bars. "The impulse to confront everything that comes my way has ...
Puerto Rican Prisoner Oscar López Rivera To Be Freed
... is a cause célèbre in the Puerto Rican diaspora in Florida and throughout the United States, and for residents of Puerto Rico. His support extends from the capitol of Puerto Rico, where Gov. Alejandro García Padilla; Gov.-elect Ricardo Rossell, and Secretary of Justice César Miranda all have written and called for his release; to the halls of Congress, where López has near-universal support among the Hispanic Caucus members. The support goes well beyond the Puerto Rican community to include Jimmy Carter, who was president during most of López’s alleged crimes, and who last month called for Obama to release him; U. S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who made a similar call; the New York City Council, which pass a resolution in 2015 calling for his immediately release; the late Coretta Scott King, who backed his release before her 2006 death; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; the presidents of the AFL-CIO, AFSCME and SEIU; the United Church of Christ; the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda; the Latino Victory Project, the ACLU, and several international human rights organizations, though not including Amnesty International. A decorated Vietnam War ...
Puerto Ricans Push Obama To Free Oscar López Rivera, Independence Activist Jailed For 35 Years
... Rican Cultural Center in Chicago and brother of Oscar López Rivera. We welcome you both to Democracy Now! José López Rivera, let’s begin with you. If you can talk about what you’re calling on President Obama to do for your brother Oscar. JOSÉ LÓPEZ RIVERA: Well, we’re calling on President Obama to release my brother. We’re calling on him to live up to a legacy that he should leave for the Puerto Rican people, because it’s not just about my brother’s case, it is ultimately about the horrible colonial situation between Puerto Rico and the United States. What better legacy that he could give the Puerto Rican people, that he could give the emblematic figure of Puerto Rican unity, than to release my brother from prison. JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, José López Rivera, this is not an unusual situation, because President Jimmy Carter, in the late ’70 s, pardoned a group of nationalist Puerto Ricans that were in jail, as well as the pardons that President Clinton did before ...
Puerto Ricans Cheer Commutation For Nationalist Oscar Lopez
... live his life free, and hopefully he can live with the sins he committed, and that he'll answer one day to a higher power than us for what he did.". Lopez, whose release also was opposed by several groups including a national police organization, is now scheduled to be freed May 17. "He wants to live in Puerto Rico, and people there really want him to come home," Susler said. Lopez was offered clemency by President Bill Clinton in 1999, but he rejected the offer because it excluded two comrades who have since been released. Then in 2011, the U. S. Parole Commission denied his request for an early release. Among those who publicly supported Lopez's release was Pope Francis, former President Jimmy Carter and several legislators, including U. S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois. Alejandro Molina, coordinator of the National Boricua Human Rights Network, joined about 100 other people in a spontaneous celebration Tuesday at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago, which was founded by Lopez. "It's wonderful news," he said. Upon his return to Puerto Rico, Lopez plans to ...
Pardon Sought For Prisoner Who Fought For Puerto Rican Independence
... for "seditious conspiracy" to overthrow the the government of the United States, in relation to his membership in the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, or FALN. Between 1974 and 1983, the FALN claimed responsibility for more than 70 bombings in New York, Chicago and Washington, D. C. The bombings caused millions in property damage, dozens of injuries and five deaths. López Rivera's supporters say he is a political prisoner serving an unjust sentence. His opponents say he is an unrepentant terrorist. Obama Faces Difficult Choices Amid Stream Of Last-Minute Clemency Requests. Born in Puerto Rico, López Rivera moved to Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood as a teenager. He fought in Vietnam, where he earned the Bronze Star, but became disillusioned by the war and what he saw as U. S. imperialism. After the war, López Rivera worked as a community organizer in Chicago. He also became involved in activism around the cause of Puerto Rican independence. The more he researched Puerto ...
Oscar López Rivera Does Not Deserve President Obama’s Pardon
... Oscar López Rivera does not deserve President Obama’s pardon. Now 74-years old, Oscar López Rivera has served 35 years of a 55-year sentence for seditious conspiracy and weapons-related charges. Monday, January 16, 2017, 1:28 PM. Rumor has it that President Obama might pardon FALN mastermind Oscar López Rivera. He shouldn't. Now 74-years old, López Rivera has served 35 years of a 55-year sentence for seditious conspiracy and weapons-related charges. "I am an enemy of the United States government," he told federal judge Thomas Mc Millen in 1983. There is no evidence that he's changed his mind. During the 1970 s and 80 s, López Rivera's FALN placed more than 130 bombs in American cities. Their goal was to destabilize what they called the "Yanki capitalist monopoly" and achieve Puerto Rican independence. Their method was terrorism. In 1974, the FALN began planting ...
Otra De Las Sentencias Conmutadas Por Obama
... o violencia; posesión/porte de un arma sin registro; porte de armas durante la comisión de crímenes violentos; transporte interestatal de armas con la intención de cometer crímenes violentos; transporte interestatal de vehículos robados/hurtados. Luego, el 26 de febrero de 1988, fue sentenciado a otros 15 años por las conductas de conspirar para escapar, transportar explosivos con la intención de matar o herir personas y destruir edificios y propiedades del gobierno, favorecer incendios provocados en el comercio interestatal y usar un teléfono para continuar con el incendio. Rubén Berrios, presidente del Partido independentista puertorriqueño, explicó a CNN en Español que López "ya había servido casi 35 años en cárcel, por la libertad de su patria. Por lo tanto, para el pueblo puertorriqueño entero y particularmente para los que luchamos por la independencia de Puerto Rico esto es un momento de júbilo, de alborozo, de extraordinaria alegría". El gobernador de Puerto Rico, Alejandro García Pinilla, publicó en su cuenta de Twitter varios mensajes celebrando la decisión. El pueblo de PR acaba de recibir las mejores noticias y comienza a celebrar la tan esperada ...
Barack Obama's Decision Awaited On Oscar López Rivera
... for his immediately release; the late Coretta Scott King, who backed his release before her 2006 death; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; the presidents of the AFL-CIO, AFSCME and SEIU; the United Church of Christ; the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda; the Latino Victory Project, the ACLU, and several international human rights organizations, though not including Amnesty International. A petition asking for his release, filed through the White House We The People program, has drawn more than 108,000 signatures. López also has petitioned on his own for clemency. His most ardent supporters, including the ACLU, compare him with Nelson Mandela, portraying him as a jailed freedom fighter and prisoner of conscience. Soto compared his efforts with those of Boston Tea Party patriots. Even those who oppose López’s specific cause of national independence for Puerto Rico find him symbolizing their frustration at being second-class, under a political status imposed on the island. “It’s important because it has a lot to do with Puerto Rico’s identity: as a U. S. territory we’ve been in the ...
Will Obama Grant Clemency To Puerto Rican Independence Activist Oscar López Rivera
... two fellow activists, who have since been released. In a rare video recording from prison, Oscar López Rivera said the charges against him were strictly political. This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: And I just want to clarify the clemency petition for the Puerto Rican independence activist. Oscar López Rivera, for people who don’t know, has been in jail for 35 years, much of the time—. REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Yes. AMY GOODMAN: —in solitary confinement. REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: Yes. AMY GOODMAN: His sentence was commuted by President Clinton. He refused to leave, because others were staying in prison. Those people have left now, and you are asking for that pardon for him. REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: So, when I got to—so, Amy, when I got to Congress in ’93—. AMY GOODMAN: For clemency. REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ: I began petitioning then-President Clinton. And Clinton was very different than Obama. Clinton would sit down and talk to you as a member of Congress when you went to petition him for a pardon, and he would talk about the political situation, as the rest of his staff. Unfortunately, Obama ...
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