FBI Off the Hook for Killing of Rican Nationalist

Wed23Aug2006

FBI Off the Hook for Killing of Rican Nationalist

Surprise surprise. Last week the Federal Department of Justice determined that FBI acted appropriately when they shot and killed Puerto Rican nationalist leader and Machetero Filiberto Ojeda Rios last September 23. The only criticism the Feds made was that there were some procedural issues in the shooting, including delayed communications between FBI headquarters and agents at the scene. According to CNN the report said:

"Although our report did not find that the FBI violated the deadly force policy or intentionally allowed Ojeda to die, we did find deficiencies in the FBI's conduct of the arrest operation," the report said. FBI decisions suffered from inadequate consideration of alternative options and inadequate preparation for foreseeable scenarios."

The real issue is why there was a delay of 18 hours from when Filiberto was shot until someone went inside. Many Ricans on all sides of the status issue feel that Filiberto was allowed to bleed to death on purpose. Of course the FBI claims otherwise. The Hartford Courant wrote:

The inspector general concluded the delay was justified, given a variety of uncertainties that existed at the time, including the fear that Ojeda, an expert in improvised explosive devices, might have booby-trapped his house. There were also agents who suspected that Ojeda was not alone, given the rate of fire that had initially burst from the house.

In my opinion just another example of the U.S.'s penchant to use extreme force against communities of color. In this case it was justifiable in the eyes of the Feds because the U.S. "owns" Puerto Rico as colony and feels they can do whatever they wish there.

Via / The Hartford Courant & CNN