Juan Enrique Segarra-Palmer
Encyclopedia
Juan Enrique Segarra-Palmer is a Puerto Rican
Nationalist
who became eligible for release from prison five years after accepting President Bill Clinton
's clemency offer on September 7, 1999. He had received a sentence of 55 years for seditious conspiracy, and weapons and conspiracy charges, along with interference with interstate commerce, in connection with the Wells Fargo Depot robbery. He was sentenced on June 15, 1989. Segarra-Palmer is one of the founders of the clandestine Puerto Rican pro-independence group Los Macheteros.
in 1950. He came from a family with a long history of resistance
to both Spanish and U.S. colonialism. During his youth Segarra-Palmer did cultural work in the poor barrios of New York, in the prisons in Boston, and in the anti-mining crusades and the land rescue movement in Puerto Rico. After attending Phillips Academy Andover, he graduated from Harvard University
and continued studying in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He is married to ex-political prisoner
Lucy Berrios and has five children: Amilcar, Ramon, Wendy, Luriza, and Zulena.
At his trial proceedings, he declared his status as prisoners of war
, and refused to participate in the proceedings.
. The robbery took place in West Hartford, Connecticut
and netted over $7 USD million. It was "then the largest cash heist
in U.S. history."
The Macheteros's code name for the robbery was "White Eagle" (or Águila Blanca in Spanish). According to the Macheteros part of the money was used to give to the poor communities of Puerto Rico to fund education, food, housing, clothing and even toys for children. According to prosecutors the money was used to finance Los Macheteros.
The Well Fargo robbery incident resulted in no deaths or injuries. Segarra-Palmer was given a 55-year federal sentence for seditious conspiracy and other charges. Among the other convicted Puerto Rican nationalists there were sentences of as long as 90 years in Federal prisons for offenses including sedition, possession of unregistered firearms, interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle, interference with interstate commerce by violence and interstate transportation of firearms with intent to commit a crime. None of those granted clemency were convicted in any of the actual bombings. Rather, they had been convicted on a variety of charges ranging from bomb making and conspiracy to armed robbery and firearms violations. They were all convicted for sedition, the act of attempting to overthrow the Government of the United States in Puerto Rico by force.
s in an anti-colonial war against the United States to liberate Puerto Rico from U.S. domination and invoked prisoner of war
status. They argued that the U.S. courts did not have jurisdiction to try them as criminals and petitioned for their cases to be handed over to an international court
that would determine their status. The U.S. Government, however, did not recognize their request.
The sentences received by Segarra-Palmer and the other Nationalists were judged to be "out of proportion to the nationalists' offenses." Statistics showed their sentences were almost 20 times greater than sentences for similar offenses by the American population at large.
In 1999, Segarra-Palmer was one of the FALN members whose sentences were commuted by President Bill Clinton.
For many years, numerous national and international organizations criticized Segarra-Palmer's incarceration categorizing it as political imprisonment. Edwin Cortes was finally released from prison on September 10, 1999, after President Bill Clinton
extended him clemency. Clinton cited Rev. Desmond Tutu
and former President Jimmy Carter
as having been influential on his decision to grant Cortes the clemency offer. Cases involving the release of other Puerto Rican Nationalist prisoners have also been categorized as cases of political prisoner
s.
In criticizing President Clinton's decision to release the Puerto Rican prisoners, the conservative U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee
also categorized Cortes as a "Puerto Rican Nationalist", echoing a recent Newsweek article. In 2006, the United Nations called for the release of the remaining Puerto Rican political prisoners in United States prisons.
Segarra-Palmer was freed in January 2004.
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
Nationalist
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...
who became eligible for release from prison five years after accepting President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's clemency offer on September 7, 1999. He had received a sentence of 55 years for seditious conspiracy, and weapons and conspiracy charges, along with interference with interstate commerce, in connection with the Wells Fargo Depot robbery. He was sentenced on June 15, 1989. Segarra-Palmer is one of the founders of the clandestine Puerto Rican pro-independence group Los Macheteros.
Early years and personal life
Segarra-Palmer was born in Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
in 1950. He came from a family with a long history of resistance
Puerto Rican independence movement
The Puerto Rican independence movement refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at obtaining independence for the Island, first from Spain, and then from the United States...
to both Spanish and U.S. colonialism. During his youth Segarra-Palmer did cultural work in the poor barrios of New York, in the prisons in Boston, and in the anti-mining crusades and the land rescue movement in Puerto Rico. After attending Phillips Academy Andover, he graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and continued studying in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He is married to ex-political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
Lucy Berrios and has five children: Amilcar, Ramon, Wendy, Luriza, and Zulena.
Seditious conspiracy
In 1985 he was arrested for conspiring to overthrow the U.S. government in Puerto Rico and to obtain money from the Wells Fargo company, insured by the United States government, to continue the independence struggle in Puerto Rico. He was serving a 60-year sentence in Atlanta, Georgia.At his trial proceedings, he declared his status as prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, and refused to participate in the proceedings.
Political activism
The Wells Fargo Depot robbery occurred on 12 September 1983, a day coinciding with the birthdate of Puerto Rican Nationalist Dr. Pedro Albizu CamposPedro Albizu Campos
Don Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death...
. The robbery took place in West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford, Connecticut
West Hartford is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town was incorporated in 1854. Prior to that date, the town was a parish of Hartford....
and netted over $7 USD million. It was "then the largest cash heist
Heist
A heist is a term used to describe a robbery from an institution such as a bank or a museum, or any robbery in which there is a large haul of loot.Heist in fiction may refer to:*Heist , directed by David Mamet...
in U.S. history."
The Macheteros's code name for the robbery was "White Eagle" (or Águila Blanca in Spanish). According to the Macheteros part of the money was used to give to the poor communities of Puerto Rico to fund education, food, housing, clothing and even toys for children. According to prosecutors the money was used to finance Los Macheteros.
Charges
The FBI charges against Segarra-Palmer for this robbery include: obstruction of commerce by robbery and conspiracy, bank robbery, aggravated robbery, theft from interstate shipment, foreign and interstate transportation of stolen money, and conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. The group asserted that the money was not used for personal gain, but to further the struggle for Puerto Rico's independence.The Well Fargo robbery incident resulted in no deaths or injuries. Segarra-Palmer was given a 55-year federal sentence for seditious conspiracy and other charges. Among the other convicted Puerto Rican nationalists there were sentences of as long as 90 years in Federal prisons for offenses including sedition, possession of unregistered firearms, interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle, interference with interstate commerce by violence and interstate transportation of firearms with intent to commit a crime. None of those granted clemency were convicted in any of the actual bombings. Rather, they had been convicted on a variety of charges ranging from bomb making and conspiracy to armed robbery and firearms violations. They were all convicted for sedition, the act of attempting to overthrow the Government of the United States in Puerto Rico by force.
Sentence
Juan Segarra Palmer, one of the leaders of the group, was sentenced to 55 years in prison.Political prisoner
At the time of his arrest Segarra-Palmer and the others declared themselves to be combatantCombatant
A combatant is someone who takes a direct part in the hostilities of an armed conflict. If a combatant follows the law of war, then they are considered a privileged combatant, and upon capture they qualify as a prisoner of war under the Third Geneva Convention...
s in an anti-colonial war against the United States to liberate Puerto Rico from U.S. domination and invoked prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
status. They argued that the U.S. courts did not have jurisdiction to try them as criminals and petitioned for their cases to be handed over to an international court
International court
International courts are formed by treaties between nations, or under the authority of an international organization such as the United Nations — this includes ad hoc tribunals and permanent institutions, but excludes any courts arising purely under national authority.Early examples of...
that would determine their status. The U.S. Government, however, did not recognize their request.
The sentences received by Segarra-Palmer and the other Nationalists were judged to be "out of proportion to the nationalists' offenses." Statistics showed their sentences were almost 20 times greater than sentences for similar offenses by the American population at large.
In 1999, Segarra-Palmer was one of the FALN members whose sentences were commuted by President Bill Clinton.
For many years, numerous national and international organizations criticized Segarra-Palmer's incarceration categorizing it as political imprisonment. Edwin Cortes was finally released from prison on September 10, 1999, after President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
extended him clemency. Clinton cited Rev. Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
and former President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
as having been influential on his decision to grant Cortes the clemency offer. Cases involving the release of other Puerto Rican Nationalist prisoners have also been categorized as cases of political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s.
In criticizing President Clinton's decision to release the Puerto Rican prisoners, the conservative U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee
Republican Policy Committee Chairman of the United States Senate
Since 1947, the Republican members of the United States Senate have elected a policy committee chairman, who is the fourth-ranking Republican, behind the Republican Leader, Republican Whip, and Republican Conference Chairman....
also categorized Cortes as a "Puerto Rican Nationalist", echoing a recent Newsweek article. In 2006, the United Nations called for the release of the remaining Puerto Rican political prisoners in United States prisons.
Segarra-Palmer was freed in January 2004.
See also
- Elizam EscobarElizam EscobarElizam Escobar is a Puerto Ricanpoet, author and visual artist.-Early years:Escobar was born in Puerto Rico's second largest city, Ponce, Puerto Rico, on the southern part of the island. There he received his primary and secondary education. As a child, he always enjoyed drawing and painting...
- Ricardo JimenezRicardo JimenezRicardo Jiménez is a Puerto Rican nationalist who received a sentence of 90 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. He was sentenced on February 18, 1981, and incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison...
- Adolfo MatosAdolfo MatosAdolfo Matos is a Puerto Rican nationalist who received a sentence of 70 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. He was sentenced on February 18, 1981, and incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison...
- Dylcia Noemi PaganDylcia Noemi PaganDylcia Noemi Pagan is a Puerto Rican nationalist who received a sentence of 55 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. She was sentenced on February 18, 1981, and incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison...
- Alicia RodriguezAlicia RodriguezAlicia Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican nationalist who received a sentence of 55 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. She was sentenced on February 18, 1981, and incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison...
- Ida Luz RodriguezIda Luz RodriguezIda Luz Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican nationalist who received a sentence of 75 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. She was sentenced on February 18, 1981, and incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison...
- Luis RosaLuis RosaLuis Rosa is a Puerto Rican nationalist who received a sentence of 75 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. He was sentenced on February 18, 1981, and incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison...
- Carmen ValentinCarmen ValentinCarmen Hilda Valentín Pérez is a Puerto Rican nationalist who received a sentence of 90 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. She was sentenced on February 18, 1981, and incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison...
- Alberto RodriguezAlberto Rodriguez (Puerto Rican Nationalist)Alberto Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican nationalist who received a sentence of 35 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. He was sentenced in 1985, and incarcerated first at United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg , PA, and later at the federal penitentiary at USP Beaumont, TX...
- Alejandrina TorresAlejandrina TorresAlejandrina Torres is a Puerto Rican nationalist who was convicted and sentenced to 35 years for seditious conspiracy to overthrow the government of the United States. Torres was linked to the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional , which claimed responsibility for numerous bombings...
- Carlos Alberto TorresCarlos Alberto Torres (Puerto Rican Nationalist)Carlos Alberto Torres is a member of Puerto Rico's independence movement and the longest-serving Puerto Rican political prisoner. He was convicted and sentenced to 78 years in a U.S. federal prison for seditious conspiracy - conspiring to use force against the lawful authority of the United States...
- Juan Enrique Segarra-Palmer
- Edwin CortesEdwin CortesEdwin Cortes is a Puerto Rican nationalist who received a sentence of 35 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. He was sentenced on February 18, 1981, and incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison...
- Pedro Albizu CamposPedro Albizu CamposDon Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death...
- Oscar CollazoOscar CollazoOscar Collazo , was one of two Puerto Ricans who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman.-Early life:...
- Lolita LebrónLolita LebrónDolores "Lolita" Lebrón Sotomayor was a Puerto Rican nationalist who wasconvicted of attempted murder and other crimes after leading an assault on the United States House of Representatives in 1954,...
- Filiberto Ojeda RiosFiliberto Ojeda RíosFiliberto Ojeda Ríos was the commander-in-chief of the Boricua Popular Army , a clandestine paramilitary organization that considers United States rule over Puerto Rico to be oppressive colonization and advocates the latter's independence.Ojeda Ríos was a...
- Puerto Rican independence movementPuerto Rican independence movementThe Puerto Rican independence movement refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at obtaining independence for the Island, first from Spain, and then from the United States...