Jayuya Revolt
(Oct. 30, 1950)
Nationalists began preparations for an island-wide revolution slated for November 1950. Police raids and sweeps forced them to expedite the date of the uprising; from October 27th through November 10, 1950, hundreds of Nationalists rose up in arms across Puerto Rico - Ponce, Peñuelas, Utuado, Arecibo, Jayuya, San Juan, Naranjito, Mayaguez, and Washington, D.C. With unexpected police raids the morning of October 27th, Albizu gave the order for the nationwide uprising to take place on October 30th.
In the town of Peñuelas, the nationalists exchanged fire with the police who came to raid their meeting house. In Arecibo, they attacked the local police precinct and tried to make their way to the agreed upon meeting point of Utuado, where other contingents were attacking federal installations as well.
In the town of Jayuya, Blanca Canales led the group of nationalists into town as the group attacked federal installations, battled local police and raised the flag of Puerto Rico (which was illegal to own in those days) over the town. She read the proclamation officially declaring the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. It was a moment reminiscent of the Grito de Lares of 1868, when Puerto Ricans rose up against Spanish rule and declared independence.
The National Guard and local police were called out to respond to the uprising. Fighter aircraft were scrambled and shot and bombarded the towns of Jayuya and Utuado indiscriminately, destroying 70% of the town of Jayuya and even riddling school buildings with bullet holes. People were shot in the streets by police and Guardsmen as they walked about or attempted to get away. Families were warned to stay indoors with their doors open lest they risk being attacked by the armed forces and their planes. Witnesses describe the scene as filled with chaos and terror once the Guard and the attacking airplanes arrived.
In Utuado, local policemen assassinated several Nationalists who had surrendered and were unarmed. The men were being walked to the local precinct but instead were turned into a side street, and as they held up their pants with one hand (their belts were taken away) and held up the other hand in surrender, they were riddled with bullets and left to die in the street.
In San Juan, a nationalist commando unit attempted to assassinate the governor, Luis Muñoz Marin, who had all but declared his own war on the Nationalist Party and who took credit for the creation and institution of the Commonwealth system. They were unsuccessful in their goal but made it through the main gate and into the main entrance area of the governor’s mansion.
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