Filiberto Ojeda: an "illegal death"

By: NotiCel/CyberNews
February 2, 2012

The Civil Rights Commission (CDC by its Spanish
initials) revealed today its report which
concludes that the death of Machetero leader
Filiberto Ojeda Ríos was “illegal” and that the
investigations of his death conducted by the U.S.
Office of Inspector General and the Puerto Rico
Department of Justice omitted important information and testimony.

On Thursday, members of the Caribbean and Latin
American Coordinating Committee of Puerto Rico
made public the CDC's report about the death of
Ojeda Ríos at the hands of FBI agents at his home
in Hormigueros on September 23, 2005.

Liliana Laboy, one of the organization's
spokespeople, indicated that the report contains
information that wasn't included in the OIG or
Justice Department reports and also emphasized
the federal authorities' refusal to collaborate with the investigations.

"This report (CDC) contains worthwhile
information and testimony that hadn't come to
light previously. It's notable, in this
investigation as well as in the Puerto Rico
Department of Justice's investigation, that
federal authorities refused to cooperate and
allow the examination of several employees and
former employees who participated, and thus had
responsibility for the murder," said Laboy.

The spokesperson also stated that the report
points out facts that prove that the intention of
the federal agents was not to arrest Ojeda Ríos
and that thus what happened was "an illegal death."

"The report points out facts that prove the lack
of intention to arrest Ojeda and concludes that
an illegal death was committed in other words, a murder," stated Laboy.

For his part, Luis F. Abreu, the Machetero
leader's attorney, stated that the CDC report
details four particular aspects about the events
that took place at Ojeda Ríos’ home in
Hormigueros, including: the nature and amount of
the force used by the federal agents against
Ojeda Ríos, the availability of adequate medical
attention, media access, and the role of the
government of the Free Associated State.

As for the involvement of the Puerto Rican
government in the case, Abreu condemned the fact
that it was the administration of then Governor
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá that notified federal
authorities of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos’ whereabouts,
in exchange for a designation of funds to combat terrorism.

Although Abreu recognized the importance of the
CDC report in terms of its content, he said he
was not satisfied because the report doesn't
clearly establish the crass violation of rights implicated by the murder.

Laboy stressed that in light of this new report,
the United States and Puerto Rican governments
should reopen the case to make criminally
responsible the agent who shot Ojeda Ríos, as
well as Luis Fraticelli and José Figueroa Sancha,
who directed the federal operation.

Laboy stated that the Civil Rights Commission
sent them a simple communication on Wednesday
indicating that the report on the death of
Machetero leader Filiberto Ojeda Ríos had been
sent to the Governor and the Legislature, and
that it was under the consideration of the State
Electoral Commission's Board of Advertising
Examiners pending authorization for its
publication, according to Electoral Law
requirements during the electoral season.

The report was ready in March of 2011.

PUERTO RICO: FILIBERTO OJEDA WAS PLAYING THE TRUMPET WHEN MURDERED BY THE FBI

Jesus Davila alainet.org

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, January 30th 2012 (NCM) ­ Two agents who
participated in the assault on the home of Filiberto Ojeda, Commander
of the Boricua People's Army- Macheteros, testified that the sniper
"Brian" fired the fatal shots when the veteran guerrilla was playing
his trumpet, according to the official report that determined that it
was an illegal murder and requests that the criminal investigations be
reopened.

The testimonies, which were kept secret for over five years and are
known about due to the new report by the Civil Rights Commission, were
allegedly given at scene the day after a commando unit led by the
Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) of the Federal Bureau of Investigations
attacked Ojeda's home and murdered him on September 23rd 2005.

There was an arrest warrant for Ojeda for the theft of $7 million from
the Wells Fargo in order to finance the operations by the Macheteros
and the official version of events is that when the agents arrived he
opened fire first and was able to hit three of them, one of whom
required surgery. According to that version, "Brian" took the shot
when spotting Ojeda taking aim again with his 9 mm pistol, but this
came into doubt when it became known that the locations of the sniper
did not make that observation possible.

This has led to speculation as to if a thermal sight had been used,
but this was not amongst the weapons that they reported were used.

The new evidence would explain how "Brian" could have aimed at the
direction of the sound of the trumpet since he could not see Ojeda. It
is also indicative of the fact that the sniper as well as the other
agents in the perimeter knew that at that moment the fugitive did not
pose a threat since his hands were busy with the musical instrument
and not holding his gun.

These facts are on page 128 and 129 of the 238 page report submitted
by the CDC about the bloody incident, after the Office of the
Inspector General of the FBI cleared the agents of the HRT that took
part and the Puerto Rico department of Justice closed the case after
not finding evidence of "negligent homicide".

However, the new report concludes that the HRT-FBI contingent arrived
shooting without any documented justification, and that Ojeda opened
fire with a pistol in self-defense against an assault group which
fired over a hundred rifle rounds within two minutes. The report also
states that after Ojeda was wounded there was ample opportunity to
give him medical assistance and save his life, but instead they opted
for letting him slowly bleed to death.

The following day the FBI allowed Puerto Rican investigators access
after the cadaver had been moved with a cable. The body sent to the
Institute of Forensic Sciences for a final autopsy.

The report also points to the lack of analysis in order to determine
the time of death, if the position of the body was changed in order to
alter the scene and the exact trajectory of the shots amongst other
things.

At the beginning of the investigators forensic evaluation on the 24th,
the experts noticed that Ojeda's trumpet, instead of being stored
inside the house as the priced possession it was, it was at the foot
of the cement blocks and dirt stairs at the entrance.

According to the report, in finding this, the investigators supervisor
interrogated two agents who participated in the operation who are
identified in the document. He stated that they told him that Ojeda
was playing the trumpet at the time "Brian" shot at him and that he
fell to the floor with the trumpet that later rolled down the stairs
when they pulled the body with the cable.

The forensic investigators took some pictures of the instrument and
its location, as well as tagging it for evidence. However, "report ICF
A-4622-05" does not include the trumpet amongst the items seized at
the scene.

The report stated that the statements by the official could not be
corroborated because the FBI prohibited that the two agents be
questioned by the CDC.


Luis F. Abreu Elias, one of Ojeda's attorneys stated after receiving
anonymous information that a supervisor confiscated it after one of
the FBI agents tried to take it as a trophy. Ojeda's attorneys carried
out a long battle in order to recover the trumpet, without the FBI
explaining why they kept it if it was an object that had nothing to do
with the events investigated.

According with that interview, the FBI never disclosed that the
trumped was incriminating evidence against the so called "Brian", who
refused to testify protected by the constitutional right against
self-incrimination.

After the first shootout on the day of these events, Ojeda's wife,
Mrs. Elma Beatriz Barbosa surrendered at his instructions and before
she was taken heard her husband say he would talk about surrendering
himself as well with a reporter as a witness. The negotiations
continued for some time and while waiting for a response that never
came was when Ojeda began to play the trumpet.

It is not known what Ojeda would be playing but sometime before these
events, he had said that if the FBI arrived at his house to kill him,
he would receive them with the Suite of the Americas, composed by
Damaso Perez Prado, The King of "The Mambo" in homage to the Heroic
Guerrilla Ernesto Che Guevara.

The report of the CDC, of which NCM News recently received a copy,
recommends that it be required of the Puerto Rican Department of
Justice and the Civil Rights Division in Washington investigate the
case. It is dated March 11th 2011; it was reviewed September 22,
approved October 13th and certified December 5th past

NCM-CHI-SJ-NY-30-01-12-02

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