Murder Under Two Flags: The U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Cerro Maravilla Cover-Up [Hardcover]

Anne Nelson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Three years ago, Puerto Rico experienced its own Watergate when televised hearings by the Puerto Rican Senate revealed an elaborate cover-up by island and U.S. officials of the 1978 deaths of two young dissidents atop Cerro Maravilla, a mountain outside Ponce. In this well-crafted account, Nelson, a freelance journalist, shows how the statements of Puerto Rico's pro-statehood administrationsthat "terrorists" Carlos Soto and Arnaldo Rosado were killed by police acting in self-defensewas rubber-stamped by the U.S. Justice Department but gradually crumbled as Puerto Rican reporters and the later hearings produced evidence that the victims, active in the independence movement, were murdered. Nelson views the complex scandal against the turbulent history of relations between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, where the "halfway" status of commonwealth has sparked political violence for three decades. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In 1978 two young men were ambushed and killed by Puerto Rican police as they attempted to sabotage radio trans mitters atop a mountain called Cerro Maravilla. Police claimed a shoot-out and closed the case, but an investiga tion carried out by civil rights workers and journalists, of whome Nelson was one, exploded into a major scandal and cover-up involving the governor and even the U.S. Department of Justice. How witnesses were coerced into lying under oath is described against a fasci nating back-drop of political violence related Puerto Rico's ambiguous sta tusneither a state, nor an indepen dent entity, nor autonomous with a commonwealth. As exciting as a detec tive story, this book belongs in general, as well as Latin American, collec tions. Louise Leonard, Univ. of Flori da Lib., Gainesville
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 269 pages
• Publisher: Ticknor & Fields; First Edition edition (March 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0899193714
• ISBN-13: 978-0899193717
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,028,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne Nelson is an author, lecturer and playwright who specializes in media and international affairs from a human rights perspective. Nelson's most recent book is "Red Orchestra: the Story of the Berlin Underground and the Circle of Friends Who Resisted Hitler." It was selected as a New York Times "Editor's Choice" in 2009. Its German edition, published by C. Bertelsman, was widely reviewed and described as a "masterpiece" in the Frankfurter Rundschau. A screenplay based on the book is now in circulation. Nelson's dramatic writing include the 2001 play, "The Guys," produced across the U.S. and as a feature film starring Anthony LaPaglia and Sigourney Weaver. Her 2005 play Savages, produced off-Broadway, dealt with the trauma of counter-insurgency warfare, and was described by the New Yorker as a work of "lacerating beauty." Her 1986 book, "Murder Under Two Flags," was produced as a feature starring Robert Duvall and Kevin Spacey. Nelson has a second career as a media consultant. She blogs for PBS MediaShift and appears on twitter as anelsona. Nelson was born at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and is a graduate of Yale University. She lives in New York with her husband, author George Black. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and teaches "New Media and Development Communications" at Columbia University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Murder in Cerro Maravilla, December 30, 2000

By 

J.R. Mendez (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Under Two Flags: The U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Cerro Maravilla Cover-Up (Hardcover)

It's been 102 years since the United States invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, and perhaps more telling that Puerto Ricans are no more sure of their future today than they were in 1898. Anne Nelson's book is an extremely good read which reveals much of the complexities of the Puerto Rican existance under two flags, the root causes of the independence movement in Puerto Rico, and provides a telling example of the mainland's perception of Puerto Ricans over the last 100 years, mixed in with the scenes of a brutal murder of two young idealists at the hands of the Puerto Rican police, with, some say, the knowledge of the FBI. Ms. Nelson has done her homework well, I found her assessment of what we Puerto Ricans call the "Ay Bendito!" to be right on the mark. She writes: "Puerto Rican... have a gentle note of self-deprecation to their national humor; if anything, their stories involve the smallest farm, the slowest horse, the shortest tree." If you like U.S. History, then you will enjoy the first half of this book as it relates to the Spanish-American War, if you like true crime stories, then you will enjoy the second half of this book. It's a keeper, five stars just for the history portion alone.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, October 31, 2008

By 

Puerto Rico Dish By Dish Dot Com (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Under Two Flags: The U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Cerro Maravilla Cover-Up (Hardcover)

I have to admit, the book HALF of the book starts off with a history of Puerto Rico turnover to the U.S. and its aftermath. My first reaction was " I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BOOK ON CERRO MARAVILLA....WHEN IS THIS AUTHOR FINALLY GOING TO GET TO THE CERRO MARAVILLA!!!" When I finally did get to that part of the book I realized that the previous information was ESSENTIAL to prepare for the impact of what happened at Cerro Maravilla. If you like learning, culture, history, politics, government, espionage, murder mysteries, action packed stories, law, violence, human rights, civil rights, conspiracy theories, PUERTO RICO.....this book IS FOR YOU! It took me 4 days to finish the book. The reason why this book interested me is because I remember seeing the hearings (on mainland u.s. spanish channels) as a little girl and all I remember is that once the investigation started involving the governor suddenly it wasn't shown on tv anymore....even at the age of.... 7...... and...... on the "mainland"......Cerro Maravilla had my attention so much so that I HAD to read this book! AMAZING!

5.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing Portrait of Political Injustice, December 23, 2000

By 

Luis Hernandez (New York, New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Under Two Flags: The U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Cerro Maravilla Cover-Up (Hardcover)

"Murder Under Two Flags : The U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Cerro Maravilla Cover-Up," by Anne Nelson, was the inspiration for the 1990 film, "A Show of Force," and is an interesting, disturbing case study on the ugliness politics can be in Puerto Rico. The book, which revolves around the "Cerro Maravilla" incident that occurred on July 25, 1978, was the biggest political scandal to rock the U.S. Commonwealth ever. In the incident, two young independence-sympathizers were ambushed and brutally murdered by police forces. The police claimed that the two so-called "terrorists" were going to blow up a broadcast tower, while others doubted this claim.

After a heavy investigation, a senate hearing was held in Puerto Rico, where it was determined that a political cover-up was involved here. The pro-statehood governor at the time, Carlos Romero Barcelo, had been implicated of planning the murder of the two youths, in order to boost his sagging popularity two years before he was up for re-election. What was uncovered shattered the reputation of Romero Barcelo, Puerto Rican police, the FBI, and especially that of the New Progressive Party (also known as PNP in its' Spanish-acronym) who favors statehood for the island, even though statehood has been rejected in each and every political referendum since the U.S. took over.

Author Anne Nelson. first begins her book with a discussion of Puerto Rican history before the Spanish-American War of 1898, when Spain ceded the island to the United States. She goes on to discuss early U.S. relations and policies, a discussion and history on each of the island's main parties, and finally the "Cerro Maravilla' incident, which is a very disturbing chapter in the democratic history of the Americas. The use of photographs were interesting, and the chart showing the damage one of the bodies suffered (over 40 bullets and massive swelling due to continuous beatings) show that this was both a unusual and cruel way for two people to die, especially if they were unarmed.

Ms. Nelson, unbiased look at this scandal did open many eyes to the injustice many political-minorities not only in Puerto Rico but elsewhere (the PAN party in Mexico is a great example, especially after their rising star and presidential candidate Donald Luis Colosio was assassinated in 1991, reportedly by henchmen hired by the PRI party, who had ruled the country for over 70 years without any opposition). It would have been more interesting to see the actual photographs of the bodies at the murder scene, seeing that they had already appeared on the front page of the island's newspapers the day after the incident. In a turn of events, Romero Barcelo who had served as the island's non-voting representative in the U.S. Congress during much of the 1990's was defeated for re-election in the fall of 2000. People cited he Cerro Maravilla incident and his party's (PNP) massive corruption and cover-ups during the administration of PNP governor, Pedro Rosello, as the reasons he lost.

Overall, Ms. Nelson has written an excellent book on a topic that needed to be discussed. Americans must be aware that this scandal took place under a colony that is under the U.S. flag for the last 102 years. If democracy can exist on the mainland, why can't it in Puerto Rico. That is a question that must be answered, and after reading this book, you will probably come up with an appropriate answer.