In her January 2 inaugural address Calderón said, "The people of Puerto Rico want an immediate halt to the naval exercises. Sixty years of a menace to the health and security of our countrymen is unacceptable for any civilized and peaceful society."

The U.S. Navy has occupied most of the small Puerto Rican island of Vieques since World War II, using it as an ammunition depot and live-fire training ground for naval battle groups. Sustained protests by Puerto Ricans demanding an end to the U.S. naval presence, led by fishermen and other residents of Vieques, erupted after April 1999, when a Navy warplane dropped a 500-pound bomb on the island during target practice, killing Vieques resident David Sanes. In face of these protests, the Navy initially suspended bombings there.

Former Puerto Rican governor Pedro Rosselló, a leader of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP), signed a pact with Clinton in January 2000 to allow continued use of the island for U.S. naval exercises until at least 2003. The agreement calls for a local referendum--with the date to be set by the U.S. military--by Vieques residents on whether to allow the Navy to stay until then, or to stay indefinitely. In a concession to protesters, the plan limited Navy target practice to 90 days a year and to the use of "inert" rather than live ammunition. It also included the offer of returning some Navy-occupied land to local residents.

The Clinton-Rosselló agreement sparked widespread opposition among working people in Puerto Rico. Nonetheless, in May 2000 Washington sent the Marines and other U.S. forces onto Vieques to evict protesters camping out on Navy-occupied territory.

The Popular Democratic Party (PPD), which favors the existing colonial Commonwealth status, has sought to cash in on popular opposition to the U.S. military presence on Vieques, making it a central issue in its election campaign. PPD leaders have sought to divert protesters off the streets and into electoral support to their party.

Calderón stated she will ask for a meeting with the U.S. president to ask for a "better deal" than the Clinton-Rosselló agreement, and says her government will call a referendum if the Navy doesn't call one soon. These statements sparked an indignant response from Pentagon officials, including Danzig's threat that the Navy will renege on its land transfer commitment unless Calderón adheres to the January 2000 pact.

PPD leader Calderón, a business executive and former vice president of Citibank in Puerto Rico, was previously the mayor of the capital city of San Juan.  
 
 
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