Open Media Series Events in 1999 called attention to the fact that Puerto Rico still remains a colony of the US: the clemency grants by Clinton to Puerto Rican activists in prison for pro-independence activities, and the death of a Puerto Rican security guard by missile fragments during US naval bombing tests bear witness to this fact. This groundbreaking primer explores the origins and significance of these developments in the context of more than 100 years of US domination.

Katherine T. McCaffrey gives a complete analysis of the troubled relationship between the U.S. Navy and island residents. She explores such topics as the history of U.S. naval involvement in Vieques; a grassroots mobilizationled by fishermenthat began in the 1970s; how the navy promised to improve the lives of the island residentsand failed; and the present-day emergence of a revitalized political activism that has effectively challenged naval hegemony. By analyzing this particular, conflicted relationship, the book also explores important lessons about colonialism and postcolonialism and the relationship of the United States to the countries in which it maintains military bases.

In this analysis of the dispute over the U.S. Navy's bombing range in Vieques, Puerto Rico, Amilcar Barreto looks at the political fallout from the accidental killing of a civilian in 1999, including its impact on Puerto Rican nationalism and ethnic mobilization.