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Puerto Rico nationalist won't participate in New York parade amid controversy
Source: Associated Press
Puerto Rico nationalist won't participate in New York parade amid controversy
Associated Press
Friday 2 June 2017 14.51 BST
A Puerto Rican nationalist recently freed from prison has agreed to step aside from any formal role in New York City’s Puerto Rican Day parade, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday.
“Oscar Lopez Rivera agreeing to step aside from any formal role in the parade is a critical step forward in refocusing our city’s attention on the more important issues facing Puerto Rico,” the Democratic mayor said in a statement.
Parade organizers had planned to honor Lopez Rivera, a member of the Armed Forces of National Liberation, or FALN, which claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lopez Rivera was not charged with carrying out any of the bombings himself, but he was convicted of charges including seditious conspiracy and served more than 35 years in prison before his sentence was commuted by Barack Obama in January.
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Associated Press
Friday 2 June 2017 14.51 BST
A Puerto Rican nationalist recently freed from prison has agreed to step aside from any formal role in New York City’s Puerto Rican Day parade, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday.
“Oscar Lopez Rivera agreeing to step aside from any formal role in the parade is a critical step forward in refocusing our city’s attention on the more important issues facing Puerto Rico,” the Democratic mayor said in a statement.
Parade organizers had planned to honor Lopez Rivera, a member of the Armed Forces of National Liberation, or FALN, which claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings in the 1970s and 1980s.
Lopez Rivera was not charged with carrying out any of the bombings himself, but he was convicted of charges including seditious conspiracy and served more than 35 years in prison before his sentence was commuted by Barack Obama in January.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/02/puerto-rico-oscar-lopez-rivera-new-york-parade