That option was currently supported by a majority of Puerto Ricans.

The Puerto Rican heroes, on the contrary, had been arrested and thrown into prison.

Puerto Ricans needed to face that reality and help each other.

Noting the consensus among the people of Puerto Rico in favour of the release of the Puerto Rican political prisoners who are still serving sentences in United States prisons for cases related to the struggle for Puerto Rico's independence and to the Vieques Island struggle for peace,

Facebook user Margarita Javier shared just how meaningful that moment was for her and for countless Puerto Ricans

Increasing numbers of Puerto Ricans were beginning to reject the social, economic and political situation of the country.

The continued attempts to deny Puerto Ricans full American citizenship ran counter to the principles of democracy, and must stop.

Indeed, a few individuals' dream could turn into a nightmare for millions.

The Puerto Rican diaspora was experiencing the effects of racism and discrimination that historically had been the predicament of colonial communities.

In fact, the Puerto Rican diaspora would perceive such a measure as a goodwill gesture.

It was time to end the longstanding discrimination that had relegated Puerto Ricans to a kind of second class citizenship.

The Committee had significantly assisted Puerto Rico in its struggle for demilitarization and for the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners.

However, in the absence of a declaration of statehood, Puerto Ricans faced considerable discrimination.

Fifth, the United States Armed Forces used aggressive methods to recruit Puerto Rican youth and that practice constituted a form of colonial exploitation.

She called on the President of the United States to put an end to the long standing discrimination against Puerto Ricans by granting the island statehood.

Following the publication of this article, a worried US president Barack Obama issued a broadcast warning Puerto Ricans that they must take the Zika virus seriously.

In conclusion, the speaker urged the Special Committee, in line with international law, to call upon the United States to release the remaining Puerto Rican political prisoners.

In fact, the United States unilaterally concluded and imposed on Puerto Rico arrangements that often ran counter to Puerto Rican interests.

The Government's official position was to develop a truly democratic, inclusive plan that respected ideological differences among Puerto Ricans and included not only political parties, but also civil society.

Although Puerto Ricans had managed to put an end to military exercises of the United States on Vieques, they had not yet achieved the island's full demilitarization and the recovery and development of the areas liberated.

Mr. Villanueva Munoz (Chairman of the Committee for Human Rights of Puerto Rico) said that the human rights committee, which he chaired, monitored closely the issue of the release of all Puerto Rican political prisoners.

The Puerto Rican's struggle for their survival and preservation as a people and for defending their language, culture and sovereignty against all attempts of political assimilation could set an example to other peoples.

The President of the United States had the authority to take action for the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners jailed in the United States for participating in the fight for Puerto Rico's independence.

In March 1917, two months after Puerto Ricans had been declared United States citizens under the Jones Act, 17,855 Puerto Ricans had been called up for military service on the European theatre of operations.

Puerto Ricans living in the United States reaped the fruits of colonialism They were one of the most disadvantaged social groups, particularly in the areas of employment, housing, medical care and social services as a whole.

Many Puerto Ricans had fought in the United States Armed Forces and had lost their lives while defending the principles of freedom and equality enshrined in the Constitution of the United States.

Although Puerto Ricans were American citizens, and had been drafted and obliged to fight in every war, they continued to be politically disenfranchised and were denied the right to vote in Presidential elections.

But that's just one of the reasons why Monica Puig's victory will be remembered as one of the highlights of the Rio 2016 Olympics. Puig's success holds a very special meaning for Puerto Ricans everywhere.

Mr. Ramos Rosado ( Pro Libertad Freedom Campaign) said that his organization embodied a popular anti imperialist and anti colonialist movement for the liberation of Puerto Rican political detainees and prisoners of war and the decolonization of Puerto Rico.

Its members premised their action on the belief that the imprisonment of Puerto Ricans for their political convictions and their pro independence and pro self determination activities was a repressive measure targeting Puerto Rico's independence movement in violation of international humanitarian law.

In fact, Puerto Rico's colonial status, the United States military presence in Vieques and the detention of Puerto Rican political prisoners and prisoners of war provided clear evidence that the United States itself violated international law and human rights.

The lengthy, costly and frustrating discussion about the future relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States had divided Puerto Ricans and distracted them from urgent issues such as education, job creation and security.

In particular, the fact that Puerto Ricans perished in Washington's war in Iraq, where Puerto Rico ranked third among United States territories in terms of fatal casualties, was giving serious cause for concern.

In 1917, Congress had passed a law granting American citizenship to all Puerto Ricans and the inhabitants of the island wanted to exercise their constitutional rights, in particular the right to vote in Presidential elections.

Congress had a moral obligation to formally define the legal and political relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, thereby enabling all Puerto Ricans to enjoy all the rights incumbent upon them as American citizens.

The United Nations should not encourage the pro independence tendency, which undermined the Puerto Ricans' right to double nationality at a time when many other countries tended to favour double nationality arrangements.

The very fact that the Special Committee held hearings of Puerto Rican petitioners even though each of them supported one of three alternative political statuses for Puerto Rico proved the colonial character of Puerto Rico's current relationship with the United States.

In spite of a number of obstacles, that debate had moved on apace, and a growing number of Puerto Ricans of all political affiliations now regarded the proposed assembly as an indispensable tool in the search for consensus.

Requests the President of the United States of America to release all Puerto Rican political prisoners serving sentences in United States prisons for cases relating to the struggle for the independence of Puerto Rico and to the Vieques Island peace struggle

The new proposal enjoyed the support of many sectors of Puerto Rican society, members and representatives of political parties in Puerto Rico, elected officials in the United States including several members of Congress and many Puerto Ricans residing in the United States.

When Puerto Rico had begun its transformation from an impoverished sugar plantation into a modern industrial centre, it had been decided that there were too many Puerto Ricans on the island consequently, a mass exodus to the United States had taken place.

Mr. Velgara (Vieques Support Campaign) recalled that on 1 May 2003, as a result of the unremitting struggle of the population of the Vieques island and all Puerto Ricans and thanks to international solidarity, the United States Navy had been compelled to cease bombings and shut down its firing range on the island.

While many of the economic and social problems facing Puerto Rico were the same as those facing other countries, the Puerto Rican population had endured over 500 years of colonial rule and had never had the opportunity to take its own decisions freely.

His Government was therefore in favour of decolonizing Puerto Rico by way of a mechanism that ensured the full participation of all Puerto Ricans, such as an assembly on the status of the Puerto Rican people where any initiative aimed at resolving the island's political status came directly from the Puerto Rican people.

Puerto Ricans, as many other North Americans, were indignant over the fact that some Vieques residents who had celebrated the United States Navy's departure from the island on 1 May 2003 had received excessive sentences for the offences of which they had been accused and were currently incarcerated.