1979 Sabana Seca ambush

Attack on US Navy sailors in Puerto Rico June 2025 1979 Sabana Seca ambush the Puerto Rican independence movement 3 December 1979 Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico 18.44531 -66.199479 region:US-PR dms inline, title National Revolutionary Command victory National Revolutionary Command Ejército_Popular_Boricua_logo.png EPB-Macheteros 20px FARP 20px OVRP United States United States Ejército_Popular_Boricua_logo.png Juan Segarra-PalmerAndré Armando 1987 1979-1982 La Etapa Mas Sangrienta es-PR La Crónica Gráfica https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/puertorico/etapa.htm 14 March 2025 United States navy CTRC Warren Smith At least 6 militants 18 sailors None 2 killed10 wounded The 1979 Sabana Seca ambush was an attack by Puerto Rican nationalist paramilitary groups on a United States Navy bus near a listening post in Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico on 3 December 1979. The bus was carrying 18 unarmed sailors, most of whom were communications technicians. Three groups claimed responsibility for the ambush: the Boricua Popular Army (EPB, also known as 'Los Macheteros'), the Armed Forces of Popular Resistance (FARP), and the Organization of Volunteers for the Puerto Rican Revolution (OVRP).Haberman Clyde 4 December 1979 Terrorists in Puerto Rico Ambush Navy Bus, Killing 2 and Injuring 10 en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/04/archives/terrorists-in-puerto-rico-ambush-navy-bus-killing-2-and-injuring-10.html 14 March 2025 Two sailors were killed and another 10 were wounded. Background Since the mid-1960s, paramilitary groups associated with the Puerto Rican independence movement had been carrying out attacks on American interests both on the island and within the continental US. Many of these groups were ideologically Marxist-Leninist and took inspiration from the Cuban RevolutionSater William Puerto Rican Terrorists: A Possible Threat to U.S. Energy Installations? RAND Notes RAND Corporation Santa Monica, CA October 1981 en-US https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/notes/2005/N1764.pdf 15 March 2025 For the most part, attacks targeted property and infrastructure, with some exceptions. By 1973, the first generation of these groups were eliminated on the island, but the remnants united to form the Armed Forces of Puerto Rican National Liberation (FALN) within the continental US. The island-based groups re-emerged in 1976, with the founding of the EPB and its political wing, the Puerto Rican Workers Revolutionary Party. November 1988 ITAC Intelligence Briefing: Puerto Rican Terrorist Groups https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/public/digitallibrary/smof/counterterrorism/r7/terrorism-general.pdf Washington, D.C. United States Army Intelligence Agency 15 March 2025 Several other clandestine paramilitary groups would also form around this time, such as the FARP and OVRP, both of which were linked to pro-independence political organizations.André Armando 1987 El Origen de los Macheteros es-PR La Crónica Gráfica https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/puertorico/origen.htm 15 March 2025 These groups began carrying out ambush attacks on police and the United States Armed Forces, starting with the shooting death of a Puerto Rico Police officer in Naguabo on 24 August 1978.Thomas Jo 16 January 1981 Armed Puerto Rican Groups Focus Attacks on Military en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/16/us/armed-puerto-rican-groups-focus-attacks-on-military.html 15 March 2025 In September 1979, five nationalist paramilitaries joined together to form the National Revolutionary Command (CRN) operations room, allegedly with Cuban backing.James Daniel 19 December 1981 Puerto Rican Terrorists Also Threaten Reagan Assassination en-US Human Events https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/puertorico/daniel-james.htm 15 March 2025 The joint command included the EPB-Macheteros, FARP, and OVRP. The first attack in which several groups worked together occurred on 19 October 1979, when the FALN, EPB, FARP, and OVRP jointly bombed six targets in Puerto Rico and Chicago.Sheppard Jr. Nathaniel 19 October 1979 Two Bombs Explode in Chicago, Four in Puerto Rico en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/19/archives/two-bombs-explode-in-chicago-four-in-puerto-rico-predawn-search.html 15 March 2025 On 11 November 1979, Puerto Rican independence activist and member of the Socialist League Angel Rodriguez Cristobal was found dead in prison in Florida, where he was serving a sentence related to protesting against the use of the island of Vieques by the US Navy. Authorities ruled his death a suicide, but supporters of independence considered it to be a political murder and vowed revenge.18 November 1979 Puerto Ricans Vow to Avenge Death in U.S. Prison en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/18/archives/puerto-ricans-vow-to-avenge-death-in-us-prison.html 15 March 2025 Ambush At around 6:30 AM on 3 December 1979, a yellow Navy bus carrying 18 unarmed communications technicians left the US Navy base in Toa Baja to travel to the Sabana Seca communications station, taking Route 867. At around 6:40, when the bus was about a mile from the station, a green truck that had been tailing the bus suddenly accelerated and overtook it, stopping in front of the bus.17 December 1979 Nation: Ambush at Daybreak en-US TIME Magazine https://time.com/archive/6854672/nation-ambush-at-daybreak/ 15 March 2025 This forced the driver, CTO1 John Ball, to brake and stop the bus. 2001 The Story of a Cryptologic Service and Sacrifice: CTO1 John R. Ball & RM3 Emil E. White https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/about/cryptologic-heritage/cryptologic-memorial/1970/RM3_Emil_E_White_USN.pdf?ver=alC7qCu9oFfgC3aQG7CYJw%3D%3D Washington, D.C. National Security Agency 15 March 2025 Suddenly, gunfire erupted from a white van that was parked to the left of the bus, lasting about 30 seconds. Militants fired some 47 shots with Kalashnikov rifles, M16 rifles, and Thompson submachine guns. Ball and another technician, RM3 Emil E. White, were killed while another 10 Navy personnel were injured. The militants in the pickup truck abandoned it and fled with the other gunmen in the white van, which was recovered several hours later in San Juan. A communique issued by the EPB-Macheteros, OVRP, and FARP the next day claimed responsibility for the ambush, stating it was in retaliation for the death of Angel Rodriguez Cristobal as well as two pro-independence activists killed at Cerro Maravilla. Aftermath The attack was condemned by both American and Puerto Rican politicians alike. President Jimmy Carter denounced the attacks as "a despicable act of murder", while governor of Puerto Rico Carlos Romero Barceló pledged to find the perpetrators. The pro-independence Puerto Rican Independence Party also condemned the attack, stating "it may serve to scare some people". In contrast, the Marxist-Leninist Puerto Rican Socialist Party blamed the actions of the US military for "provoking" the attack.5 December 1979 Search for Nationalist Terrorists Pressed in Puerto Rico en-US The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/05/archives/search-for-nationalist-terrorists-pressed-in-puerto-rico-casualty.html 15 March 2025 Security at military installations was increased following the ambush and Navy personnel were advised not to wear their uniforms outside of base. Two of the suspected participants in the attack were assassinated in 1980, allegedly by right-wing paramilitaries. In 2014, Juan Galloza Acevedo was sentenced to five years in prison for participating in the attack.7 August 2014 New leads in old slaying of sailors in Puerto Rico en-US Associated Press https://apnews.com/general-news-4b89661a415c4432b0b25042e055dbd1 15 March 2025 References Category:Puerto Rican independence movement Category:Terrorist incidents in the United States in 1979 Category:Boricua Popular Army Category:Terrorist incidents in the United States in the 1970s Category:Terrorism in the United States Category:1970s in Puerto Rico Category:Terrorism in Puerto Rico Category:Mass shootings in Puerto Rico