Puerto Rico has been a colony of the US since 1898. Pedro Albizu Campos (1891–1965), the national hero of Puerto Rico, was the president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 to 1965. In 1937, police opened fire on a crowd of peaceful marchers in Ponce, killing 19 and wounding 200 others including women and children. This is known in Puerto Rico as the Ponce Massacre. This attack clearly showed that the US was willing to use excessive force to maintain their colonial control in Puerto Rico. In 1950, the Nationalist Party led revolts for independence across the island which were met with overwhelming US military force. Nationalists were killed with impunity across the island while the U.S. military bombed the towns of Jayuya and Utuado. Pedro Albizu Campos and hundreds of other Nationalists were arrested and imprisoned. Pedro Albizu Campos was imprisoned for 26 years and died shortly after his pardon.
