NEW YORK – Activists from the Puerto Rican diaspora in New York joined human rights organizations to demand answers about an investigation by authorities on the island into the use of deadly force by a private security guard who shot at protesters who They were protesting against a construction over the Las Golondrinas cave, injuring one of them.
Last Sunday, the complainants protested in the area of the cave, located in the western area of the island between Aguadilla and Isabela and of high ecological value.
Those present demanded the demolition of the structure owned by developer Carlos Román González.
The victim’s wife indicated in a conference held via Zoom this Thursday that the bullets were apparently fired with the intention of hitting the unarmed protesters in the head.
“Several bullets were fired. The bullet that hit my partner was from a 9mm FC Luger. These bullets fragment on impact to form a star. This caused a small entry wound and a large exit wound. He was also grazed by another of these bullets as well as hit by two pellets and a rubber bullet. After examining the walls where the bullets hit and the videos of the gunmen (between two and three), apparently these bullets were shot directly at the heads of the unarmed protesters,” said Laura S. Nazario Lameiro, president of Camp Carey Inc. at the virtual event convened by the Power4PuertoRico coalition of diaspora groups.
Lía Fiol-Matta, senior adviser at LatinoJustice PRLDEF, another of the organizations that requested an exhaustive investigation of the events, said that they will provide those affected with all the legal tools available to defend what is rightfully theirs.
“As an organization founded on the defense of the rights of Puerto Ricans in the archipelago and in the states, LatinoJustice supports the people of Aguadilla and all those who defend with their bodies the right to preserve lands in the public domain and natural resources of Puerto Rico, the national patrimony”, stated Fiol-Matta.
Amnesty International chapter of Puerto Rico also joined the call for accountability.
“Amnesty International has witnessed, through our team of observers, the press and independent media, the authorities’ hyper-vigilance of environmental protests in Puerto Rico. We have witnessed arbitrary arrests and the exaggerated presence of police and tactical units with riot gear on public beaches with families and people enjoying our wonderful natural resources. We have seen the use of pepper spray, physical violence, shaking and attacking demonstrators with batons. Finally, and where the Government must draw the line, we have witnessed the use of lethal force against individuals who are protesting an illegal construction at the top of the Las Golondrinas cave,” added Liza Gallardo, executive director of the Puerto Rico chapter.
Other leaders of the Puerto Rican diaspora, such as the Democratic representative in Congress, Nydia Velázquez, had already questioned the development of the cave and the intervention of security personnel.
In a tweet on Monday, Velázquez indicated: “I am horrified by the events that occurred in Aguadilla yesterday. Private security personnel attacked and shot activists who were peacefully protesting. Since when is protecting the environment a crime? This nonsense has to end. Relevant agencies have to do their job, and those responsible have to face justice.”
Last May, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) ordered the Aguadilla Pier Corp., owned by Román González, to demolish a gazebo and a pasture that it illegally built over the cave.
The DNER has already determined that the land is in the public domain. However, the company requested a demarcation of the maritime-terrestrial zone, a process that identifies and delimits the assets that belong to the maritime-terrestrial public domain.
Eight months ago, the agency ordered the demolition of structures illegally built on top of this natural resource and ordered the restoration of the site to its pre-development condition.
Resolution and Order 22-116 issued against Román González demanded the demolition within a term of no more than 30 days. The order also required the owner to apply for demolition permits. The DNER’s decision establishes that the development was carried out in the maritime-terrestrial zone, violating the provisions of maritime-terrestrial public domain assets. The department also stated that there is no record of geophysical studies that establish that the area is stable. Additionally, the building implies risks for the coastal strip in which it is located.
As explained on its website by the organization Ayuda Legal PR, like all public goods for public use, the maritime-terrestrial zone, because it is considered a public good for public use, belongs to all people. By their nature, they cannot be sold, bought, usucapir or seized.
Among the functions of the DNER to conserve and monitor the maritime land zone, is to establish the point to which public goods arrive. “This is done through a process called demarcation. Regulation 4860 of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources regulates matters related to the demarcation”, they explain from the Ayuda Legal PR website.
The lands that adjoin the maritime-terrestrial zone can be private, but with certain conditions.
In the case of the cave, the authorities indicated that the investigation could be extended further since it has to be determined if the area in which the group was protesting is private or public.
“For us to determine the elements of the crime, that is one of the things that we have to take into consideration. If they were on a public road or if they were in a private area,” argued Ramos García.
According to the prosecutor, at the moment they are verifying if the other agencies that are in charge of the demarcation have already completed the process. “That is why I say that the investigation may be a little slower than the people would like, but we have to make sure that it is a well-done investigation,” he anticipated.
For its part, the company in dispute claimed that it has no problem demolishing the structure, but that it has not yet received the required permits for that purpose.
One of the arrested protesters, identified as Yamize Elías, assured El Nuevo Día that the attack by the guard occurred on a public property.
“Even though they built (the gazebo) there, that’s public land. This measure is made from the deepest part of the cave and they are above the cave, but that is why they have not wanted to let the ICP personnel in, so that the process is not completed,” he told the newspaper.
“But furthermore, the boy is shot outside the fences that were illegally put there, so they can’t question where he was. That was seen in all the videos that were recorded there, ”he added. “It is already established that this land belongs to the people.”
At the moment, the district attorney of Aguadilla, Juan Ramos García, has not reported the filing of charges against the security employee, identified as César Toledo Montilla, from the company SJA Security.
However, Ramos García confirmed at the beginning of the week to the aforementioned medium that the wound suffered by the protester was from a live bullet.
As part of the investigation, the Police submitted the bullet casings that were recovered at the scene to ballistic tests at the Institute of Forensic Sciences (ICF). Additionally, the Prosecutor’s Office conducts multiple interviews.
The arrest of protesters responds to the fact that they resisted leaving the cave when the Police established that it was a criminal scene. The authorities do not rule out filing charges on this ground.
The shooting suspect is a retired military man. It is believed that he would have fired about 15 times with one of the two pistols he was carrying. The law in Puerto Rico only allows the possession of a weapon.
Investigators seek to determine if the casings correspond to the 9mm caliber Cranik. that was occupied to the watchman. The man was also seized with a Colt .45 caliber pistol, as well as magazines and ammunition for both weapons.
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