Navy Asks Riot Police to Stop Protests

The U.S. Navy urged Puerto Rican authorities to send out riot police to quell protests on Vieques that were increasingly hampering the Navy’s efforts to conduct controversial military exercises on the island.

Dozens more activists protesting the training on Vieques, a small island off the U.S. Caribbean territory, made their way onto Camp Garcia naval base.

The protesters say the exercises damage Vieques residents’ health and the environment. The Navy rejects the charge and says the exercises--ship-to-shore shelling and air-to-ground bombing--are necessary for U.S. military preparedness.