Battleangel

Last September, Filiberto Ojeda Ríos was assassinated by the FBI in his home in Puerto Rico. Though ostensibly sought after and placed on the most wanted list for his alleged involvement in a bank heist, Rios’ real crime of course was his passionate advocating of independence for Puerto Rico. Now, the U.S. can’t let that happen, or other territories may soon follow suit. Well, the latest development in this sordid story is that the Justice Department recently glossed over and justified the seeming political assassination (or at the very least clunky, brutish operation) carried out by the FBI.

The Justice Department has ruled FBI agents were justified in the fatal shooting of Puerto Rican independence leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios. Rios was killed in September during a raid on his home. Agents waited at least nineteen hours before entering his home after they shot him. Autopsy reports show that Rios - known widely in Puerto Rico as “Filiberto” — bled to death from a gunshot wound to his shoulder. Investigators say the shooting was justified because Rios had opened fire on the agents. Pro-independence activists are alleging a cover-up. Independence leader Hector Pesquera called the report contradictory, saying: “This confirms our initial claims that they never had any intention of capturing Filiberto, that they came to kill him, not arrest him.”