Five Bombs Explode in Puerto Rico Protest
Five bombs exploded in Puerto Rican cities before dawn Monday, the day after King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain arrived for a two-day visit.
Police said there were no injuries in the blasts, all in cities outside San Juan. Three other bombs were found and dismantled and one bomb exploded in a police van as it was being taken to a demolition center.
A self-described representative of the Guerrilla Forces for Liberation telephoned San Juan radio station WKAQ and said that the bombs were to call attention to Puerto Rico’s “colonial” status.
This U.S. commonwealth in the Caribbean has been American territory since 1898, when it was ceded by Spain.
The Spanish royal couple came here to open a planning conference for the 1992 celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ discoveries.
Police said the blasts caused slight damage to the U.S. Coast Guard office in the southern city of Ponce, to mailboxes at the post office in the central town of Aibonito, to the New York Department Store in Caguas outside San Juan, and to the Western Federal Savings Bank in Mayaguez.
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