Jayuya Uprising
Nationalists were increasingly angered by what they viewed as great injustices, including the Ponce Massacre, the extrajudicial murders of some members, the jailing of Albizu for his advocacy of violent resistance, and the impending changes of Puerto Rico's status from a non-autonomous territory to a partially self-governing commonwealth. They viewed Puerto Rico as a colony demanding independence. On October 30, 1950, his brother and sister participated in the Jayuya Uprising.
The United States declared martial law and attacked the town with U.S. P-47 Thunderbolt bomber planes, land-based artillery, mortar fire, grenades, U.S. infantry troops, and the National Guard. The planes machine-gunned nearly every rooftop in the town. The Nationalists managed to hold the town for three days, then mass arrests followed. Torresola was angered by the situation.
Even though an extensive part of his hometown was destroyed, news of this military action was prevented from spreading outside of Puerto Rico. It was reported as an "incident between Puerto Ricans" by the American media.
Read more about this topic: Griselio Torresola
Famous quotes containing the word uprising:
“Ours is the old, old story of every uprising race or class or order. The work of elevation must be wrought by ourselves or not at all.”
—Frances Power Cobbe (1822–1904)