Day of Solidarity with Puerto Rican Prisoners of War

Created: Los Angeles Collective, 1981

Medium: Offset Printed

Dimensions: 11″ x 17″

On April 4, 1980, eleven national liberation fighters for Puerto Rican independence were captured by local police in Evanston, Illinois and accused of being members of the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN). Immediately upon their arrest, the Eleven rejected the criminal charges, taking the position that they are armed combatants of the Puerto Rican struggle against colonialism. They demanded to be treated as Prisoners of War in accordance with the Geneva Convention and other International Law. As such, they did not participate in any of their legal proceedings. Instead, by turning their backs to the judge and addressing their supporters, they turned the courtroom into another arena of struggle for Puerto Rican independence.

Image: Drawing of Puerto Rican Prisoners of War in a police van on upper left. On the upper right, a hand with a gun with Puerto Rican Flag.

Words: Day of Solidarity with Puerto Rican Prisoners of War, Free the 11, Independence and Socialism for Puerto Rico.

Speaker: Julio Rosado from the Movimiento de Liberación Nacional (MLN)

Color: blue, red, black on white paper

Event: Feb 27, 1981, Angeles, CA and Demonstration Feb 28, Santa Monica, CA.

Sponsors: New Movement in Solidarity with Puerto Rican Independence, Comité de California Contra La Represión, Puerto Rican POW Day Committee