This week in 1898, the US formally began its colonial domination of Puerto Rico by declaring military rule of the island. Under colonial rule, the US destroyed the Island’s democratically-elected parliament, created a tyrannical colonial system & worked to loot the economy. 
The US invaded Puerto Rico on July 25, 1989 & the US generals who ruled over the Island had all made their names slaughtering Native Americans in ‘Indian Wars’. Direct US military rule lasted 2 years, but US domination continued.
The US immediately disrupted Puerto Rico’s coffee industry, implementing a sugar economy, creating massive poverty among Puerto Rico's population.
In 1901 legal opinions known as the "Insular Cases" argued Puerto Rico & other territories ceded by the Spanish were full of “alien races” who couldn’t understand “Anglo-Saxon principles", so the US constitution didn't apply to them.
As a result, Puerto Rico became an “unincorporated territory” w/ no path to statehood. US tried to force Puerto Rico to adopt English as their language, but a nationalist movement stopped it.
Puerto Ricans became US citizens in 1917, so that they could be deployed as troops during World War I. Today Puerto Rico is dominated by foreign investors, who often pay no taxes, this w/ inadequate funding by US gov has led to massive debt & inadequate infrastructure.
Ninety percent of Puerto Rico’s industry is mainland-US owned & the industries provide few jobs, pollute the atmosphere and insure tax-free profits to United States corporations.
The US military has operated a bombing range & a number of other military sites on the Island, which have poisoned the area w/ depleted uranium, agent orange, lead & other toxic chemicals causing some of the highest rates of illness in the Caribbean. theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
The US government held Puerto Rico political prisoners—who had fought for the Island’s freedom—for decades. nacla.org/article/more-2…
The well-known freedom activist Oscar Lopez Rivera was only just released in 2016.
democracynow.org/2017/10/18/fre…
The well-known freedom activist Oscar Lopez Rivera was only just released in 2016.
democracynow.org/2017/10/18/fre…
