The island town of Culebra, part of the Puerto Rican archipelago, has always been a magnet for outside interests. In 1867 the United States tried to buy it from Spain. That didn’t work out, but then the U.S. invaded Puerto Rico in 1898 and within a few years the U.S. Navy was training in Culebra.
The constant bombing disrupted the lives of culebrenses as they tried to carry on with their daily activities from attending school to going to church. People were forced out of their homes to make space for the military and there were accidents that threatened the lives of the locals.
By the 1970s, culebrenses were tired and ‘Navy Go Home’ graffiti started showing up on the streets. The people of Culebra organized, marched and committed civil disobedience. Their mayor Ramón Feliciano “Monchín” also found a lawyer willing to sue the U.S. Navy. They succeeded and in 1975 the Navy left Culebra. But almost four decades later, culebrenses face a new threat: overdevelopment.