The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (Instituto de Cultural Puertorriqueña) announced that, “[o]ver 4,000 files illegally created by the Intelligence Division of Puerto Rico’s Police against thousands of citizens sympathetic to Puerto Rico’s independence from the 1950s though the 1980s are now available for public viewing in Puerto Rico’s General Archives. (AGPR).” The existence of these files points to wide scale political persecution which likely divided families and friends, much like the Red Scare did on the mainland.
Jorge Irizarry Vizcarrondo, the Institute’s Executive Director, said the following about the files (Latino Rebels’ translation):
The accessibility of these files makes it possible for the necessary investigation and study of one of the darkest moments we experienced in Puerto Rico. The illicit and violent act to create files —the political persecution it implies— divided entire families, communities and destroyed places of learning and workplaces. The investigation and access to this information should give us the tools to fully understand what happened and its implications. Only then can we move forward and put this matter into its proper historical perspective.
There is a PDF online which lists the names of all of the people illegally tracked during this time period. For those who read Spanish, you can read the official press release here. If you would like to contact AGPR directly you can call 787-725-1060 ext. 2022 (hours: 8:30am to 4:00pm, Monday–Saturday).
