Volume 9, Issue 2.
Summer
In this article, Mr. Garcia-Passalacqua emphasizes the historical and continuing significance of Puerto Rico to the stability of the Caribbean region and, by extension, to the security of the United States. After a brief overview of the island's colonial past, the author examines the forces operating across its current political spectrum and traces ... read morethe interaction of these forces with the political and military presence of the United States. Mr. Garcia- Passalacqua finds that the political pressures building within Puerto Rico - as evidenced by shifting electoral alignments and by the actions of separatist terrorist groups - are being exacerbated by the apparent indifference of U.S. policymakers and the perception of increased U.S. militarization of the island. He concludes that the legitimacy of the island's political needs, the urgency with which those needs must be addressed, and the genuine strategic importance of Puerto Rico require that the U.S. act immediately to help define the island's future and end its current colonial status.
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