BY VERÓNICA POSES AND JOSHUA CARROLL
CHICAGO - Early in the morning of Nov. 6, l997, well over a dozen heavily armed FBI agents surrounded the home of professor José Solís Jordán in a suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico. They released pepper spray into his house, and then, in front of his terrified children, handcuffed him and took him into custody.

The cops transported him to a U.S. federal building where he was interrogated for more than five hours before he was allowed to speak to his lawyer. Federal agents did not inform Solís of his counsel's presence in the building until two and a half hours after the lawyer's arrival.

The U.S. government is trying to frame Solís for a l992 bombing at a military recruitment facility in Chicago. He is being charged with conspiracy to destroy government property, two counts of destruction of government property by means of explosives, and illegal possession of explosives, according to Mervin Mendez from the Committee in Solidarity with José Solís Jordán.

Solís is a professor at the University of Puerto Rico and a long-time activist in the fight for Puerto Rican independence. From 1992 to 1995, Solís taught in the education department at DePaul University here.

In April Solís was a featured speaker at a conference at DePaul University marking 100 years of resistance to U.S. colonialism in Puerto Rico. In his presentation he described the growing student struggles on the island against efforts by the government to privatize the University of Puerto Rico.

In an interview with the magazine Chicago Ink, Solís explained that his arrest was part of the U.S government's broader response to the rise in struggles by workers and students in Puerto Rico. A few weeks before his arrest, 100,000 workers marched in San Juan against the sell-off of the state-owned phone company. Students had also stepped up their fight to defend public education. The Puerto Rican colonial government tried to use the protest actions by students to legitimize a crackdown and "impose some discipline on a campus getting out of control," he said.

The attack on Solís is one of a number of assaults on fighters for Puerto Rican independence in the United States and Puerto Rico. Two independence activists, Juan Marcos Vilar and Ruben Rivera, were subpoenaed May 28 to appear before a federal grand jury as part of the government's supposed investigation into the l992 bombing.

Vilar is the national coordinator for the National Committee to Free Puerto Rican Prisoners of War and Political Prisoners. He is also one of the organizers of the July 25 national march in Washington, D.C., to demand release of the Puerto Rican political prisoners and self- determination for the Caribbean island. Rivera is a former student of Solís at DePaul.

"This was not just about intimidating me" Solís explained in the Chicago Ink interview. "It was about sending a signal to the people of Puerto Rico that this is what happens to you if you dare the authority of the United States government in Puerto Rico."

The lead witness for the government against Solís is Rafael Marrero, a government informer who was once active in the Puerto Rican independence movement in Chicago. Marrero is also the lead witness in an investigation by several state agencies that claim government funds were misappropriated by supporters of independence at Roberto Clemente High School and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center.

Solís has received support from students and faculty at the University of Puerto Rico and DePaul University. On March 6 the faculty of the Department of Education at DePaul voted unanimously to affirm publicly their support for him.

At the University of Puerto Rico he has received resolutions of support from the faculty and the student council at the Education Department, the university senate, and the board of directors of the union of non-teaching staff.

On May 13 Solís appeared in a federal court here. The court was scheduled to hear a motion from Solís's counsel to suppress all evidence that had been gathered after his arrest based on the denial of his right to counsel. At the hearing, the U.S. district attorney was granted a continuance to further prepare his case. Solís will have to appear again in court on June 25.

Contributions to Solís's defense fund can be sent to: José Solís Jordán Defense Fund, c/o The Law Offices of Jed Stone, 434 W. Ontario, Suite 400, Chicago, IL 60610.

To find out how to help or to request speaking engagements for supporters of José Solís, contact: Mervin Mendez, Committee in Solidarity with José Solís Jordán, 1851 W. Armitage, Chicago, IL 60622. Or call: (773) 278- 9361.

Elizabeth Stone, a member of the International Association of Machinists, contributed to this article.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home