1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,160 Speaker 1: The mystery of the seven million dollar Wells Fargo robbery 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: in Connecticut two years ago apparently was partially solved today 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,400 Speaker 1: with the arrest of thirteen people. On a surprise disclosure. 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: On August night, more than two hundred federal agents descended 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: upon dozens of locations across Puerto Rico and the continental US. 6 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,079 Speaker 1: The FBI raids began after dawn in San Juan and 7 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: nearby cities. Eleven people were rounded up in Puerto Rico, 8 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: another was arrested in Dallas, one more in Boston. Thirteen 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 1: suspected members of Los Macha Tero's and their associates were 10 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: arrested in connection to the Wells Fargo heist, among them 11 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: Juan Zigara, who learned of the indictment beforehand and fled 12 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: to Mexico with his wife and kids. It didn't work, 13 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: As one explains in the Last American Colony documentary, he 14 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: was arrested did on the same day at an airport 15 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: in Dallas as he tried to sneak back into the 16 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: United States. This guy followed me, had a big cowboy 17 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: hat and cowboy boots, you know, so it was pretty noticeable. 18 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,640 Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden, I sense. You know, 19 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:18,160 Speaker 1: the guy with the cowboy boots here on one side, 20 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: and there's three other people, one on one female, and 21 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: two other guys are on me, and he said, you're 22 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: under arrest for bank robbery. Los Macha Terro's leader, Philiberto 23 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: Ojeda Rios, was met with a starkly different approach. Around 24 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: six in the morning, a team of FBI agents converged 25 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: on the apartment Philiberto shared with his wife in Puerto Rico. 26 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: FBI records claim he emerged from the top of his 27 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: staircase and engaged in a shootout with federal agents, leaving 28 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: one man permanently blind in one eye. When Philiberto was 29 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: forcibly taken out of his home nearly an hour later, 30 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: the FBI said he was holding a pistol in one 31 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:09,160 Speaker 1: hand and an oozy in the other. Eventually, the embattled 32 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: Macha Ros leader surrendered was taken into custody. Four fugitives 33 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: were also named in the indictment, including Victor Harana. The 34 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,519 Speaker 1: arrest would mark the start of a long and complex 35 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: legal battle, one that dragged on for years and raised 36 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: questions about the limits of federal law, Puerto Rico sovereignty, 37 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: and the powers the President of the United States could wield. 38 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: Previously on White Eagle, we did several role plays in motels, 39 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,679 Speaker 1: so there was gonna be no question about him being 40 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: able to mobilized the guy with the element of surprise 41 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: and then take him down. They buy a loader, they 42 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: basically stuck it from the cash and behind him, and 43 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: they take victory and they stuffed him in a place 44 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,359 Speaker 1: behind the false wall. What the money did was corrupted 45 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: the man terris. Some wanted to keep its money. They 46 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: didn't want to send any more money to Cuba. My 47 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: name is sem William Phelps. I'm an investigative journalist and 48 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 1: author of more than forty true crimes. What you were 49 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: about to hear is the true story of a heist, 50 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: one that funded an international independence movement and sparked an 51 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: investigation spanning nearly four decades. This is White Eagle. From 52 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: the start. The legal battles involving the Macha terrorist and 53 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: their associates were contentious to this day. The Wells Fargo 54 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: case is still considered one of the longest and most 55 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: complicated legal cases in the history of federal court. There 56 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:03,640 Speaker 1: was tremendous support and sympathy, or at least neutrality, so 57 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 1: as a result, many of the big law firms in 58 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: Hartford donated their lawyers to the Welsh Fargo legal team. 59 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: Ronald Kobe is a criminal defense and civil rights attorney 60 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: who has been practicing law for the better part of 61 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,840 Speaker 1: forty years. In five, ron was fresh out of law 62 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: school and off to a promising start working the Wells 63 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: Fargo case and training under legendary civil rights attorney William Kunstler. 64 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,440 Speaker 1: Back then, Kunstler was considered one of the country's most 65 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:40,080 Speaker 1: famous lawyers, in large part because of his work representing 66 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: controversial clients such as members of the Black Panther Party, 67 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,840 Speaker 1: the Catonsville Nine, and the Chicago Seven. Counselor and Kubi 68 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:52,160 Speaker 1: worked together for more than a decade, representing everyone from 69 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:55,839 Speaker 1: civil rights activists two members of the Gambino crime family. 70 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: The pair became so well known. Also made an unoffici 71 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 1: show cameo in a certain nineties cult classic film at 72 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: one hour forty one minutes in The Big Lebowski. In 73 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: the Malibu police station scene, as the dude is slammed 74 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 1: across the desk, he utters the greatest words ever uttered 75 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: in the in the history of cinema. I want to lawyer. 76 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:33,600 Speaker 1: I want, Bill Conster, if you can't tell already. Ron 77 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: Koby is a dynamic character. He has a long gray 78 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: ponytail and easy going demeanor. He loves to talk and 79 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: is the kind of guy that will keep you on 80 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,960 Speaker 1: the phone for hours. He has a page on his 81 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: legal website dedicated to his dogs, which he proudly refers 82 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:55,160 Speaker 1: to as his law dogs, but his resume speaks for itself. 83 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 1: It would be unwise not to take Ron Kobe seriously, 84 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 1: Bill and up representing Philiberto ad Rios. I ended up 85 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:11,920 Speaker 1: representing Philibert's lieutenant, if you will, Louis Alfredo coldon Osorio, 86 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: you know. And it was Warren Zevron who said lawyers, 87 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: guns and money, and we had at least two out 88 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: of the three. We had lawyers, and we had money, 89 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: and probably some people had guns too, but that wasn't 90 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: a part of the legal defense. So we were prepared 91 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: to fight the government, and the government was not prepared 92 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:36,960 Speaker 1: for a legal channel. It's important to note that Ron's 93 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: comments are the recollections of a criminal defense attorney who 94 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: argued on behalf of the macha Ros, but he provides 95 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 1: unique and rare insight into what went on behind the 96 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: scenes As those involved in the Wells Fargo heist went 97 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:56,480 Speaker 1: to trial, Ron says Day one of core proceedings turned 98 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,359 Speaker 1: out to be nothing short of a circus. We showed 99 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:05,040 Speaker 1: up to to the most massive military style presence I 100 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: had ever seen in any case ever. You know, they 101 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: had black clad snipers on the rooftop, They had shooting 102 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: positions taken up all around the courthouse. They put in 103 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: brand new concrete barriers to prevent suicide bombers. Everybody had 104 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: an automatic rifle. The Wells Fargo case was a big 105 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: opportunity for federal prosecutors. For years, the FBI and Puerto 106 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: Rico and prosecutors in the US had been trying to 107 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: prosecute Los Machateros members for acts of pro state violence. 108 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: More often than not, they'd come up short. Even when 109 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: the group took credit for an illegal event, agents had 110 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: a hard time identifying those directly responsible. Just as former 111 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: FBI agent Bob Hybel, who spent years investigating Los mach Teros, 112 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: the FBI didn't have the capability to penetrate these organizations 113 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 1: because they didn't have the sufficient bilingual agents to put 114 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: in San Juan to do the job. They were going 115 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: through the motions with this and leaving it all up 116 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: to the blue of Puerto Rico. In many ways, the 117 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: Wells Fargo robbery changed all that. The mach Teros committing 118 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: the Wells Fargo heist was one of the biggest mistakes 119 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,079 Speaker 1: they ever made. The reason is that in Puerto Rico, 120 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: the legal system had been so penetrated by leftist attorneys 121 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: that it was almost impossible to get a conviction on 122 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: a perpetrator that you had cut in the act. The 123 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:52,319 Speaker 1: FBI didn't catch the group in the act, but it 124 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: did collect a mountain of circumstantial evidence, including hours of 125 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 1: wire tapped conversations. It wasn't always easy to decipher what 126 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: was said in the tapes, though. The Macha Terros used 127 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: the system of code names for nearly everything, people places, operations. 128 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,560 Speaker 1: Here's Harford current reporter ed Mahoney. They always had crazy 129 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: up missing strat things like bank robberies, were expropriations and 130 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,080 Speaker 1: that sort of thing. Nearly every mach Terris associate had 131 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:27,400 Speaker 1: at least one, if not five, pseudonyms. One member went 132 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,920 Speaker 1: by the nickname Frank, another was known as Jumbo, Philiberto 133 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: was Greco. As for its clandestine activities, The Macha Terris 134 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:43,199 Speaker 1: preferred animals for code names. La Gaviota, which translates to seagull, 135 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: was the name for the Muneese air based bombing. Elchivo 136 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: Spanish for goat was code for a plan to free 137 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: and assassinate an incarcerated former Macha Tero who was suspected 138 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: of being an informant. As for Aguila, Anka, turns out 139 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:05,600 Speaker 1: there was more to that code name. Questioned by the government, 140 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:12,719 Speaker 1: FBI agent Jose Rodriguez testified about it in court. Now, 141 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 1: during the course of your FBI electronic surveillance, were you 142 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: able to determine where Aguila was? Yes, ma'am and where 143 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 1: is Aguila? On July the thirteenth, four, in the vehicle 144 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: of Filberto Rios, a conversation was intercepted. They were discussing 145 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 1: Aguila and the fact that his female companion wishes to 146 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: be with him. They mentioned that the female companion is 147 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: on probation, and they stayed in this conversation that Cuba 148 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 1: is an attraction for him. It's real because he has 149 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: been there. And who is Aguila? Aguila is Victor Manuel Hereina. 150 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:59,319 Speaker 1: In those wire tapped conversations, agents also learned the group 151 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: was beginning to fracture. They'd hear members bickering about how 152 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,280 Speaker 1: to spend the money, when to take credit for the heist, 153 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: or whether the Cubans took too much of the cash. 154 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 1: The fighting got so bad at one point during the 155 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:17,120 Speaker 1: summer of the group had split into two factions, one 156 00:11:17,160 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 1: of which included Juanzagara and Philiberto Ojeda Rios. In one exchange, 157 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: Philiberto can be heard discussing how he was actually voted 158 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: out of the Macha Ros Central Committee, the internal governing 159 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:35,680 Speaker 1: body that he helped found. And the guy he's a 160 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: memory of the Cuban intelligence service, the guy that makes 161 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,000 Speaker 1: the whole thing work is so Hada, and they demoted him, 162 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:45,479 Speaker 1: you know, which is ridiculous because without him there's no organization, basically, 163 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:50,960 Speaker 1: an organization famous for its meticulous planning and secretive structures 164 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: had devolved into chaos, and the FBI they took full 165 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:12,600 Speaker 1: advantage of the situation. The United States of America versus 166 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 1: Victor Manuel Harrena at All was a legal slug, a 167 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:22,319 Speaker 1: long uphill battle with twists, turns and a seemingly endless 168 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:27,240 Speaker 1: number of procedural delays. Take as an example this fact, 169 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: the first hearing in the case took place on September three. 170 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 1: As for the actual trial, opening arguments didn't happen until 171 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: there was a massive quantity of evidence against the defendants 172 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:52,600 Speaker 1: in terms of sheer volume, not quality, but volume. And 173 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:55,960 Speaker 1: what I mean by that. There were thousands of hours 174 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: of wire tapped communications that had been intercepted over a 175 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: period of years. There were forty five separate searches, so 176 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: there were hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pages 177 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 1: of documents. So there was a massive quantity of evidence, 178 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 1: but the government was amazingly sloppy. It didn't seem like 179 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,600 Speaker 1: any of them were preparing to process it in a 180 00:13:22,679 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: way that would be usable at trial. Kuby says, even 181 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: with the primary suspect nowhere to be found, it was 182 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,600 Speaker 1: still plenty to litigate. There were emotions to have the 183 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 1: trial moved to Puerto Rico, where almost all of the 184 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,560 Speaker 1: defendants lived and where defense attorneys said they were less 185 00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: likely to face bias. Those were denied. There were issues 186 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: with the nature of the material sees from the defendants homes. 187 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:53,440 Speaker 1: What was fair game under the warrant, what was personal? 188 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 1: What was just the FBI grabbing anything and everything it 189 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 1: could in case it might matter lay her. They basically 190 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:07,440 Speaker 1: took everything, and some of it was was just hysterically 191 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 1: funny out of my client's home. I think they took 192 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:14,880 Speaker 1: a tape, a video tape called Jazzer Size your Thighs, 193 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 1: which was an exercise video like like the Macha Terro's 194 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: are going to squeeze America to death between their powerful knees. 195 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: What possible evidence could this be? They took children's coloring books, 196 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: and they took everything that made any reference to Puerto Rico, 197 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: all the history and literature and books on or buy 198 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,080 Speaker 1: or about Puerto Rico, all of the Puerto Rican flags, 199 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:48,960 Speaker 1: every scrap of anything that made reference to the thousands 200 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:53,640 Speaker 1: of your history about this place. Everything was taken as 201 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: evidence of terrorism. Perhaps the biggest dilemma, though, was the 202 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: issue of those wire taps. The defense filed motions to 203 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: throw a large portion of that evidence out, saying it 204 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,440 Speaker 1: had been improperly sealed and that in some cases federal 205 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: agents had listened to conversations without recording them and then 206 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: they lied about it. The FBI was really, really, really 207 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: good at collecting eavesdropping tapes and wire tapping and paying 208 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: attention to the tapes and collecting intelligence information. They were 209 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: really bad at adhering to the requirements of the wire 210 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: tapping law, which meant that at the expiration of a 211 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: particular warrant, the tapes had to be sealed within thirty days. 212 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: What sealed actually means is exactly that they are put 213 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: in plastic bags. There is a seal put on them 214 00:15:56,640 --> 00:16:01,240 Speaker 1: that contains the dates, the times, that ticulars of the tape. 215 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: You can't open the bag without breaking the seal. And 216 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: the purpose is to maintain the integrity of the tapes 217 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 1: where U s at trial, and also to make sure 218 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:15,200 Speaker 1: the FBI isn't doing what we know they did, which 219 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: is sharing these things with other people who have an 220 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:21,760 Speaker 1: interest in the Macho terros who might want to listen. 221 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: And the government totally screwed that up. A judge agreed 222 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 1: more than half of the wire tap tapes were deemed 223 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,120 Speaker 1: it admissible, and the government's case against the number of 224 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: Los Materos was split into two. The trial for half 225 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: of the group, which included Filiberto, Ojeda Rijos, was delayed 226 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: while an appellate court reviewed the tapes. The trials for 227 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:52,400 Speaker 1: the other half move forward. Philiberto was let out on 228 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 1: bail after spending thirty two months in jail. Well, the 229 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:00,880 Speaker 1: question was where is Philoberto going to go? So Richard Harvey, 230 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:05,120 Speaker 1: who at that time was serving as co counsul To Kunstler, said, well, 231 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:06,480 Speaker 1: he can live with us. He can live with the 232 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,160 Speaker 1: lawyers up in Hartford in our law commune. What what 233 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: could be better than living living with your lawyer, I 234 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:17,760 Speaker 1: ask you, and he did. He moved in. He's really 235 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 1: happy to be out of prison. And he is just 236 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 1: an amazing human being. I mean, first of all, he's 237 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 1: a revolutionary to the marrow of his bones. He's a 238 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: Puerto Rican patriot. But he can do other things. He 239 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 1: can play the guitar, he can play the trumpet, he 240 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: can do things around the house that need to be 241 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: done that he was willing to do. Because Philiberto fundamentally 242 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: was also a communist in the best sense of that word. 243 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:59,480 Speaker 1: He knew that he always had to contribute through his 244 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: labor to everything and everywhere he was, and he knew 245 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,399 Speaker 1: that all labor had dignity. And so he cooked. He 246 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 1: cooked for the house, and he was a fantastic cook, 247 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: you know, making up rice and beans and mofungo and 248 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: other Puerto Rican delicacies. For me, I recognized that this 249 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:25,000 Speaker 1: was a a great man of Puerto Rico. I had 250 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:28,280 Speaker 1: no idea how great, and I had no idea ultimately 251 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,560 Speaker 1: that he would have a legacy as early as he did. 252 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:35,840 Speaker 1: But I knew that, you know, this is like Cha Bavara, 253 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:42,639 Speaker 1: you know, growing up the cheeseburger. For me. The Liberto 254 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: remained in that Hartford law house for several months and 255 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:48,639 Speaker 1: then returned to Puerto Rico, where he cut off his 256 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: ankle bracelet and jumped bail. More on that later, Like 257 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,639 Speaker 1: his mentor, Juan Zagar, spent over two years in jail 258 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: before he was granted bail. Unlike his mentor, however, he 259 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: stayed put his case, along with four additional members of 260 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:11,200 Speaker 1: Los MACHOs, went to trial. The trial relied less heavenly 261 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:15,160 Speaker 1: on wire tapped evidence, in part because federal prosecutors had 262 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:19,080 Speaker 1: flipped two witnesses, Kenneth Cox, a friend of One's who 263 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 1: admitted to helping him acquire fake I d s. And 264 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,720 Speaker 1: Anna Gasson, wants former lover who laundered some of the 265 00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:30,520 Speaker 1: stolen money. Now, what did Mr Cigara relate to you 266 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:33,920 Speaker 1: at that time he related to me that a robbery 267 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: happened in Hartford. What did he say happened to the money? 268 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: The money went to Springfield in cars. Did he tell 269 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,040 Speaker 1: you what happened to the money after he got to Springfield? Nope? 270 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 1: Did Mr Cigara tell you what happened to Mr Harina? 271 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:52,720 Speaker 1: Yes he did. What did he say happened to Mr Harina? Well, 272 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,679 Speaker 1: one time he told me Mr Harina was taken on 273 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: the night of the robbery from Hartford to Springfield on 274 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,679 Speaker 1: a motorcycle. And what happened after that? He told me 275 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 1: he was taken to Boston, then to Mexico. Defense attorneys 276 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 1: railed at the use of Kenneth Cox as a witness, 277 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: calling him quote an accomplice, an addict, a man with 278 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: a criminal record who's being paid for his testimony and 279 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,720 Speaker 1: kept out of prison for his testimony. For what it's worth, 280 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:26,320 Speaker 1: all of the above was true. Cox was arrested twenty 281 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:29,399 Speaker 1: one times in twenty five years, and actually went to 282 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,439 Speaker 1: the FBI about Wells Fargo the day after he was 283 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 1: arrested on a shoplifting charge. Juan Zigara's ex mistress, Anna Gassin, 284 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: was a far more compelling witness like one. She graduated 285 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:46,679 Speaker 1: from Harvard, where she studied biology. Her testimony went on 286 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: for days and reads like a novel. I would say, 287 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,560 Speaker 1: there's two major reasons, which for me are part and 288 00:20:55,640 --> 00:21:00,399 Speaker 1: parcel of the same thing, which is that I loved 289 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 1: this man and respect of the values that he shared 290 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,800 Speaker 1: with me. It was that respect which was also part 291 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,160 Speaker 1: of the reason why you loved him most probably, yes, 292 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 1: I don't know. Anna Gassin was initially charged as an 293 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 1: accomplice in the Wells Fargo case, but was granted immunity 294 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 1: in exchange for her testimony, and for good reason. She 295 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,680 Speaker 1: claimed that Juan asked her to keep about thirty five 296 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: thousand dollars in a trunk under her bed, which she did. 297 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,719 Speaker 1: She said. One also asked her to transport money across 298 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:40,720 Speaker 1: the US Mexico border, which she didn't. Did Juan Cigara 299 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 1: ask you to become involved in this plan to transport 300 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: money to Mexico? Yes? Would you tell us please what 301 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:50,560 Speaker 1: he wanted you to do? Well, there was a couple 302 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: that was supposed to drive the camping truck across, and 303 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:57,119 Speaker 1: he wanted the couple to be non Hispanic, to be white. 304 00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: By a couple, you mean a man and a woman, 305 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:03,440 Speaker 1: man and woman. Yes, he had already had the man 306 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: who was supposed to drive across, and there was a 307 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:08,480 Speaker 1: woman who was supposed to come from Puerto Rico to 308 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: drive across, and she couldn't because of some health reasons 309 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,879 Speaker 1: or something. What's more, Anna testified that Juan had admitted 310 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,919 Speaker 1: he was behind the Wells Fargo heist. She said he 311 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,639 Speaker 1: also asked her deposit cash into her bank account and 312 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: write checks to people in Puerto Rico, some of whom 313 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,680 Speaker 1: were later found to be alias is of Matris members. 314 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: Then there was his own written account of Wells Fargo, 315 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,960 Speaker 1: a manuscript that Juan hoped would one day be turned 316 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,199 Speaker 1: into a screenplay. He told us the purpose, as you 317 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,720 Speaker 1: understood it, for the writing was to be made into 318 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,520 Speaker 1: a movie. It was going to be turned into a 319 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 1: screenplay by someone else. So his objective was to write 320 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 1: down what exactly had happened so that someone else who 321 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: was a writer could then turn it into a screenplay. 322 00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:05,560 Speaker 1: What I saw was his version, not the screenplay. Lawyers 323 00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:09,639 Speaker 1: for the defense called Wan's manuscript questionable, saying it was 324 00:23:09,680 --> 00:23:13,199 Speaker 1: a work of fiction and that key details didn't line up, 325 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 1: But the testimony along with some of the wire tapped 326 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 1: evidence did the trick. On April eleven, Juan Sagara was 327 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:29,240 Speaker 1: convicted on eleven counts, including aiding and abetting a robbery 328 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 1: and helping to transport stolen funds. He was sentenced to 329 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:38,840 Speaker 1: sixty five years in prison. The other men received varying sentences. 330 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,080 Speaker 1: Two were found guilty of conspiracy, another of conspiracy and 331 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: the transport of stolen money. The last was completely exonerated. Philiberto, 332 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,840 Speaker 1: who was still on the lamb, was sentenced to fifty 333 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 1: five years in absentia. Fundamentally, the Wells Fargo case was 334 00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 1: an attempt to crown laws the Puerto Rican Arms Struggle 335 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:09,200 Speaker 1: independence movement, but to do so in a place where 336 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,840 Speaker 1: there would not be so many sympathizers to that movement. 337 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: After the Wells Fargo verdicts, questions shifted from who was 338 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,479 Speaker 1: responsible and whether they'd be caught, to a debate that 339 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 1: has continued for the better part of forty years. Were 340 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: members of the Macha terris violent terrorists who robbed the 341 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: bank or were they at war with an occupying force 342 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:48,920 Speaker 1: and within their rights under international law. In most cases, 343 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:52,440 Speaker 1: the crime story usually ends with the trial and conviction, 344 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:59,120 Speaker 1: but This is unlike most cases. It's complex and politically charged. 345 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,359 Speaker 1: It's not some plea about a robbery. And to truly 346 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,919 Speaker 1: understand the surprising fate that would befall a number of 347 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:10,640 Speaker 1: the Macha Tero's, including Victor Juan and Philiberto, we need 348 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,919 Speaker 1: to take a step back several decades in fact, and 349 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,320 Speaker 1: look at their efforts in the context of a larger movement, 350 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:23,720 Speaker 1: one of mass protests, clandestine organizations, and open rebellion in 351 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:27,639 Speaker 1: the halls of Congress. Those movements date back to the 352 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,439 Speaker 1: moment of the Spanish American War, when there were already 353 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: folks who wanted to seek independence in the way that 354 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: Cuba was seeking independence. Dr Yari mar Boni a Ramos, 355 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:39,879 Speaker 1: who spoke in the last episode, is an expert in 356 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: Caribbean politics. She also runs a center for Puerto Rican 357 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: Studies at Hunter College in New York. That current was 358 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:51,680 Speaker 1: always sustained and always had important figures, most notably, of course, 359 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: Pedro Albizu. Compost is often called the father of Puerto 360 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: Rico's moderate independence movement. He was born just a few 361 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: years before the US annexed the island and spent a 362 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 1: majority of his life either fighting for independence or in 363 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:11,879 Speaker 1: prison for his efforts. Here's retired FBI agent Bob Hybel. 364 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:15,639 Speaker 1: What happens is that a nationalist group is swarmed, was 365 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,159 Speaker 1: called the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico. Albiscampos becomes the 366 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:24,639 Speaker 1: leader of that group. They're quite militant, They participating in 367 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:31,280 Speaker 1: elections in they're defeated, significantly defeated. From then on they 368 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:35,679 Speaker 1: turned the violence. Lbizo compost was a man of bold action. 369 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,480 Speaker 1: He led a strike on Puerto Rico's Light and Power 370 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:42,040 Speaker 1: company for its alleged monopoly on the island. He was 371 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: a Harvard educated lawyer who represented sugarcane workers in a 372 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 1: lawsuit against the sugar industry. In ninety seven, roughly one 373 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,600 Speaker 1: year into a ten year prison sentence for a conspiracy 374 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 1: to overthrow the US government, peaceful protests by his Nationalist 375 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 1: party turned deadly. The poets a massacre is one of 376 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:06,080 Speaker 1: the clear examples of criminalization and stay balanced against the 377 00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:10,800 Speaker 1: pro independence movement that University of Illinois professor Dr. Jose 378 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,440 Speaker 1: tell us. It took place in the context of the 379 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:18,919 Speaker 1: encarceration of pederal bisup Campos and all the leadership of 380 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: the Nationalist Party. The new leadership of the party organized 381 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 1: a demonstration and the Puerto Rican State and with the 382 00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: support of the US, denied the permit for this public 383 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: demonstration English. You know, it was just a political rally. 384 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:42,680 Speaker 1: And when they canceled the authorization to have that rally, 385 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:47,440 Speaker 1: the insular police, now the Puerto Rican police, just started 386 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:53,880 Speaker 1: shurting and around twenty people die, around hundred were injured. 387 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 1: No one was arrested or formally held accountable for the 388 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:02,520 Speaker 1: pont massacre. By the time albi Zoo Compost was released 389 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:05,879 Speaker 1: from prison in nineteen forty seven, tensions had started to 390 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:10,040 Speaker 1: boil over. People were angry about the ongoing police repression 391 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,440 Speaker 1: as well as a controversial gag law. By October of 392 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:18,080 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty, thousands of pro independence activists had had enough 393 00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: in stage revolts in towns and cities across Puerto Rico. 394 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 1: In Washington, d C, two men attempted to assassinate President 395 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,879 Speaker 1: Harry Truman in the name of independence. One of the 396 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:34,440 Speaker 1: men was killed, the other jailed, along with Albizoo composts 397 00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: in thousands of others. Then, four years later in Washington, 398 00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 1: D C. Ruthless fanatic violence erupted in the halls of 399 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:48,360 Speaker 1: Congress three men and a woman believed to be members 400 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 1: of the Puerto Rican Nationalist gang that in November nineteen 401 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:55,840 Speaker 1: fifty attempted the assassination of President Truman opened fire from 402 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: the visitors gallery of the House of Representatives. The attack 403 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:05,600 Speaker 1: by Raphael Cancel, Irvin Flores, Andre's Figueroa and Lolita Lebron 404 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:10,640 Speaker 1: was deemed a continuation of the revolts. Five congressmen were wounded. 405 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: There were no intending to kill members of Congress, but 406 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,440 Speaker 1: they were aware of the possibility that they might die. 407 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,960 Speaker 1: So in that context, they were trying to get the 408 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 1: international and the u S attentions to the case of 409 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:28,760 Speaker 1: Puerto Rico and what was happening in Puerto Rico with 410 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:33,000 Speaker 1: the repression and criminalization, but also with the process a 411 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:37,920 Speaker 1: sham process of the colonization. Lolita Lebron said quote, I 412 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: did not come to kill anyone. I came to die 413 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: for Puerto Rico. Like Albizo composts, Lebron and her compatriots 414 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:51,520 Speaker 1: received lengthy prison sentences and these people become heroes to 415 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:55,000 Speaker 1: certain elements in Puerto Rico. And the result of this 416 00:29:55,200 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 1: criminal activity, the nationalist parties prosecuted in court and its 417 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: leaders go to prison. Albizo compost was released from prison 418 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:09,959 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty four after being pardoned by Puerto Rico's governor. 419 00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 1: He died a year later from what many believed to 420 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:17,600 Speaker 1: be the effects of radiation poisoning. The Nationalist Party as 421 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:22,280 Speaker 1: a party ceases to exist, However, the adherents of the 422 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 1: Nationalist Party continue their activities relative to violent terrorist methods. 423 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 1: Bob Bible says the nationalist movements of the forties and 424 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:40,360 Speaker 1: fifties deeply inspired Philiberto Ojeda Rios. He idolized Albizo Composts 425 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 1: and left his career as a musician with the intention 426 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:47,960 Speaker 1: of picking up where his predecessor had left off. Additionally, 427 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: both he and Juan Sagara have said they believe that 428 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 1: the group's violent conflict with the US government is perfectly 429 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 1: legal under international law. That they're not terrorists, they're fighting 430 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:06,080 Speaker 1: for self determination. It's a point I raised with dr Attilus. 431 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:10,240 Speaker 1: This is a really interesting question that international lawyers would 432 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:14,160 Speaker 1: devade for hours. In theory they were in the right right. 433 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:18,040 Speaker 1: We have the u N Resolution fifteen fourteen fifty that 434 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:22,880 Speaker 1: and recognize the right of the people to self determination. 435 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 1: There is an old UN resolutions, a series of resolution 436 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:31,000 Speaker 1: that acknowledged the right of people on the colonial condition 437 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:36,200 Speaker 1: to pursue the self determination. Here's Dr Bonia again. I 438 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:40,400 Speaker 1: think it's hard to say how Puerto Ricans viewed loss 439 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 1: in a kind of homogineous way, because I think there 440 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:46,240 Speaker 1: were lots of different views about them. For some folks 441 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:49,360 Speaker 1: they were kind of like boogeymen. They were, you know, 442 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:54,000 Speaker 1: bandits hidden in the mountains and shadowy figures. For others, 443 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:59,000 Speaker 1: they were heroes and celebrated. Dr Bonia is too young 444 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,400 Speaker 1: to remember of the group's more violent operations, but says 445 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:06,120 Speaker 1: she always understood that there were Puerto Ricans hidden away 446 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,800 Speaker 1: avoiding what she called the repression of the U. S. Government. 447 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: The violence that I remembered was more of the violence 448 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:18,040 Speaker 1: of surveillance, the carpet, the quintel pro politics, the FBI. 449 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: Like my memory of the independence movement is of a 450 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 1: movement repressed, surveilled, and criminalized. And to me, that's the violence. 451 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:32,520 Speaker 1: That's that I most fervently remember. When I first heard 452 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:35,440 Speaker 1: about the Wells Fargo case as a sixteen year old, 453 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,840 Speaker 1: it didn't make much sense. Why would Victor Harain a 454 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:44,640 Speaker 1: steal money he couldn't keep even more puzzling, why would 455 00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:47,360 Speaker 1: he agree to leave his family and live the rest 456 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 1: of his life as a fugitive. Years later, as I've 457 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:55,600 Speaker 1: looked into the story myself, those questions have evolved into 458 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:59,719 Speaker 1: a different frame of thinking reflecting on the facts of 459 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 1: the case. Within a historical context, what the Macha Teros 460 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:07,160 Speaker 1: were striving for, at its core was really no different 461 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:11,640 Speaker 1: from what the forefathers of America did during the eighteenth century. 462 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:17,120 Speaker 1: Think about this. We had colonists fighting, robbing the British 463 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 1: of arms and money, blowing things up, all in the 464 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:26,960 Speaker 1: name of independence. It's the same ideology. And while wan 465 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,720 Speaker 1: Zigara has said that he knew there was a good 466 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:33,080 Speaker 1: chance they'd all end up quote in prison or dead, 467 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 1: I don't believe for one minute he didn't think there 468 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:41,640 Speaker 1: was another potential outcome. Because in nineteen seventy nine, just 469 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:45,360 Speaker 1: a few years before Wells Fargo, then President Jimmy Carter 470 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:49,360 Speaker 1: did the unthinkable. He commuted the sentences of Lolita Lebron 471 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:53,560 Speaker 1: and three others, including Oscar Koyazo, one of the men 472 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:58,840 Speaker 1: who attempted to assassinate President Truman. After his release, Koyazo 473 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:04,440 Speaker 1: told nbc AT decades later he had zero regrets at 474 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:09,400 Speaker 1: all fighting for the film of the country. If there's 475 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:13,640 Speaker 1: nothing to have remars off, I'm more committed than never 476 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:18,560 Speaker 1: every minute of my existence. If she would use violence again, 477 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:23,800 Speaker 1: I will do what is necessary for deliberation of Puerto Rico. 478 00:34:25,160 --> 00:34:28,040 Speaker 1: You see, clemency was an option for the Magic terrorists, 479 00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,400 Speaker 1: and they all knew this, especially if there was someone 480 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:36,400 Speaker 1: powerful enough who found their sentences unfair and believed that 481 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:40,239 Speaker 1: their initial fight was for a just cause. And as 482 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:45,600 Speaker 1: it turns out, there was someone I William Jefferson Cletton 483 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:54,080 Speaker 1: do solemnly swear next time on White Eagle. Today we're 484 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:57,960 Speaker 1: going to focus on the President's decision to offer clemency 485 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:02,000 Speaker 1: two members of a Puerto Rican terrorist group. A presidential 486 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:09,320 Speaker 1: order ignites a firestorm in Congress. White Eagle is written 487 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:12,960 Speaker 1: and executive produced by Me and William Phelps and I 488 00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:17,839 Speaker 1: Heart executive producer Christina Everett. Additional writing by our supervising 489 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:22,520 Speaker 1: producer Julia Weaver. Our associate producer and script supervisor is 490 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:28,200 Speaker 1: Darby Masters. Audio editing and mixing by Christian Bowman, Voice 491 00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:32,879 Speaker 1: acting by Daniel Cologne, Julia Weaver and Abu zafar Our. 492 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 1: Series theme forms regal or Grant is written by Aaron Kaufman. 493 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,960 Speaker 1: Thanks to Arlene Santana and Will Pearson at I Heart Radio, 494 00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:44,160 Speaker 1: and a very special thank you to Northern Night Productions 495 00:35:44,400 --> 00:35:47,880 Speaker 1: for allowing us to use clips from the documentary The 496 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: Last American Colony. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, 497 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:55,720 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever 498 00:35:55,760 --> 00:36:03,799 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.