Vieques vs. the U.S. Navy: Island struggle rekindled

Vieques Island, Puerto Rico

The shoes of the fisherman, in Carlos Ventura's case, bear an historic obligation. Carlos's father, Severo, wore them for years during protests against the U.S. Navy, which in 1941 took over two-thirds of the island of Vieques, located just off the east coast of Puerto Rico. Before Severo Ventura died, he passed on the shoes and the responsibility that accompanies them. "The old man made us promise him that when he was no longer here, his children and grandchildren would continue the struggle," says Carlos.

Since April, Carlos Ventura has been wearing his father's shoes often. The struggle to free Vieques from the navy heated up again following the April 19 death of David Sanes, a civilian security guard killed when a navy F-18 fighter dropped two 500-pound bombs more than a mile off target.

Led by fishermen like Ventura, the struggle of Vieque's 9,300 residents against the navy has ebbed and flowed over the decades. In the late 1970s, the conflict attracted the world's attention for several months when protesters occupied part of the navy's bombing range on the eastern end of the island. But the navy arrested 21 protesters in 1979, and 13 of them were jailed for several months in U.S. federal prisons. While they were away, the movement dissolved amidst partisan political squabbling.