History of the Navy in Vieques

Map of Vieques prior to the 2001 land transfer

“Never again shall we tolerate abuse of a magnitude and scope the likes of which no community in any of the fifty states would ever be asked to tolerate. Never again shall we tolerate such abuse: not for sixty years, and not for sixty months, or sixty hours, or sixty minutes.”

-- Puerto Rico Governor, Pedro Roselló, October 19, 1999. Statement before the U.S. Senate Armed Forces Committee.

 

Prior to 1999
1999-2000
2001-2002
2003
2004

2008

US Navy pledges more money for cleanup of island near Puerto Rico

2007

Navy: $250M more needed to clean Vieques

The Navy estimates it will cost another $250 million through 2012 and beyond to clean up munitions and other hazardous substances at its former training area on the island of Vieques.

Tons of bombs and other substances remain from the decades during which the Navy used the Puerto Rican island as its main Atlantic training site, combining air, sea and land maneuvers and using live bombs until two went astray in 1999 and killed a civilian guard. The Navy withdrew in 2003 after years of local protests.

The budget estimate comes on top of some $50 million already budgeted through last September for assessments and cleanup, and it could change depending on further site investigations, said Monday’s report from the Government Accountability Office.

(As published in the Navy Times at http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/03/ap_vieques_cleanup_070327/)

2004

2003

2001 to 2002

• Letter from Navy Secretary Gordon England to Puerto Rico Governor Calderón and Vieques reaction. Article about difficulty in cleaning the lands on Vieques range. October 30, 2002.

• Map of lands transferred from the Navy, Apr 30th 2001, courtesy of Charlie Connelly, Vieques Times.. Map of development proposal for this area, from El Nuevo Día.

• The Navy gave away money during 2001 in hopes of winning a referendum in Vieques, called by the Puerto Rico governor, where voters were to decide whether the Navy kept using the bombing range on the eastern side of Vieques or leave. The Navy lost this referendum and decided to cancel the federal referendum, as specified on the Clinton/Roselló agreement, scheduled for December 2001. This article talks about the impact of the money grants on the local media. August 30, 2002.

• Vieques Wins The Eleventh Round, May 9, 2001.

• ONE-STOP SHOPPING FOR NAVY FACTS: A RESPONSE TO THE NAVY'S VIEQUES WEBSITE

• University of Georgia's study finds thousands of barrels and compressed gas cylinders sunk onto the coral reefs of Vieques near the firing range. The study was kept secret since 1999.

• Department of Health study about Vieques water finds no health hazards on Vieques public water supply. Feb 20, 2001

• Depleted Uranium: The Vieques-Kosovo Connection. 02/12/2001

• Navy Fact Sheets
  Nov 2000
  April 2001

• Mississippi-based law firm John Arthur Eaves, which specializes in class action law suits involving industrial pollution, has brought a more than $100 million lawsuit against the Navy. 02/04/2001

   

  1999-2000

• Chronology of Vieques struggle against the Navy since April 1999

• Clinton's decision about the Navy in Vieques and Puerto Rico's rejection Dec 3, 1999.

• PUERTO RICO REACHES NAVY RANGE PACT Clinton's directives are spelled out. Clinton's speech on Puerto Rico TV. Jan 31 - Feb 1, 2000

• Sustanciales los cambios a las 'Directrices Presidenciales/Substantial changes to the 'Presidential Directives'.

• El Presidente puede traer la paz para Vieques, quiéralo o no el Congreso

• Navy has used depleted uranium in Vieques. Here are the implications:
  • Comments from former head of Defense Dept. Uranium Project Click
  • Physicians for Social Responsibility Issues Brief on Depleted Uranium Click

• The New York Times: The Navy Doesn't Need Vieques Click

• Report on trip to Vieques campsites Click

• Showdown averted in Vieques May 4, 2000

   

• Slowly And Silently, Navy's Bombs Kill Islanders. By RONALD FERNANDEZ, The Hartford Courant. Dec 1, 2000

• 'Depleted uranium': A tale of poisonous denial. THE SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER, Monday, May 1, 2000

• The U. S. Navy Must Leave Vieques Click

• Development of a free Vieques Click

   

  Prior to 1999

• 1947 memo from the Division of Territories and Island Possessions about a plan to move all the people of Vieques to St. Croix. First attempt from the Navy to get total control of Vieques.

• John F. Kennedy and Vieques Letter from Puerto Rico's Governor, Luis Muñoz Marín, to President Kennedy about the reasons why not to forcibly remove the 8000 Vieques inhabitants and their ancestor's bodies from the cemeteries to turn the whole island over to the Navy.

• Vieques: Centro de Actividad comercial de la Marina, mayo 2001.

• Vieques: Five Centuries of Struggle and resistance/ Historia de Vieques: Cinco Siglos de Lucha de un Pueblo Puertorriqueño By Robert Rabin, Vieques Historical Archives/Por Robert Rabin, Archivo Histórico de Vieques

• Vieques: An Ecology under Siege/Vieques: ecologia asediada By Robert Rabin, Vieques Historical Archives.

• Navy's "Vieques Community Action Plan" By the U.S. Navy

• Map from the Navy Map depicting the areas restricted to civilian use during Navy bombings. This one is from 1983.

• Armas nucleares en Vieques en 1966? Nuclear Arms in Vieques in 1966?

   

• Short Route/Ruta corta Map showing the long 1 1/2 hour ferry to Fajardo route in use now versus the short route to Puerto Rico that could not be used because the Navy controlled the west side of Vieques./ Mapa sobre la posible ruta corta hacia Puerto Rico desde el oeste de Vieques en lugar de la ruta de 1 1/2 horas hasta Fajardo en uso hoy.

• See a Pictorial of the Navy impact in Vieques courtesy of the Vieques fishermen.

• Columbia University's Urban Planning Program for the land occupied by the Naval Ammunition Training Facilities in Vieques.