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Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners

The National Committee to Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners campaigned around many issues, regarding the 15 Puerto Rican Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War. One of the primary focuses of the organization, in addition to building awareness and solidarity with the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, was to make people aware of the distinction between international law vs. US domestic law and further explain why the captured Puerto Ricans declared themselves POWs. The materials contained in this collection range from 1981-1998 and include general flyers and pamphlets about the issues, newsletters from 1980s and monographs which delve into international law and the right to struggle against colonialism, the political stance of the PPs and POWs and their ideas, poems and lives.

The 15 prisoners were: Edwin Cortes, Ida Luz Rodriguez, Elizam Escobar, Alberto Rodriguez, Alejandrina Torres, Ricardo Jimenez, Carmen Valentin, Carlos Alberto Torres, Juan Segarra Palmer, Antonio Camacho Negron, Luis Rosa, Dylcia Pagan, Adolfo Matos, Alicia Rodriguez, Oscar Lopez Rivera.  Only Oscar Lopez Rivera is still incarcerated.

Documents

It's Time to Bring Them Home It's Time to Bring Them Home
Publisher: National Committee to Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political PrisonersFormat: MonographCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Contents: Background; What You Can Do; Sample Letter; Prisoners' addresses; Prisoners' Biographies. In English and Spanish.
More Than a Decade Puerto Rican Prisoners and Prisoners of War in United States Prisons More Than a Decade Puerto Rican Prisoners and Prisoners of War in United States Prisons
Format: PamphletCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Support pamphlet
Sample Letter to President Bill Clinton Sample Letter to President Bill Clinton
Publisher: National Committee to Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political PrisonersFormat: CorrespondenceCollection: Free Puerto Rican POWs and Political Prisoners
Sample letter calling for unconditional amnesty for Puerto Rican political prisoners being held in US prisons and jails.