Biography
Rubén Berríos Martínez is the longtime president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP). On May 1, 1999, less than two weeks after Puerto Rican civilian David Sanes was killed by errant U.S. Navy bombs at the Vieques training range, he led the first major civil-disobedience encampment on the bombing range. He remained on the range for nearly a year. On May 4, 2000, U.S. Navy and federal agents arrested him and other peace-camp residents for trespassing on U.S. military property. He served four months in federal prison. The four-year Vieques campaign succeeded in forcing the U.S. Navy to withdraw from the bombing range on May 1, 2003 after 60 years. Hundreds of Vieques protesters were arrested and jailed during the 1999-2003 campaign.
