Cerro Maravilla Murders - Legacy

Legacy

Ever since the final investigations ceased, there has been a much heated debate about the Cerro Maravilla incident within Puerto Rico, with some groups arguing that there are still others responsible for planning and/or ordering the plot to kill the activists as well as the subsequent cover-up, while others have argued that the incident was exaggerated by rival politicians and the media, maintaining that no conspiracy was ever present and that some of the officers incarcerated, though not all, are actually innocent.

Every July 25, Puerto Rican Nationalists and independence activists gather on Cerro Maravilla to honor Carlos Soto and Arnaldo Dario, as well as to defend and celebrate the Puerto Rican independence movement. It is usually organized by the family of the victims, former members of nationalist groups, and by the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP). The mountain has also been christened by them as “El Cerro de los Mártires” (The Mountain of the Martyrs). The movie A Show of Force is loosely based on the events and theories behind the incident.