Culebra: Removal of a Community for Military Use (1901-1975)

Culebra, a small island municipality east of Puerto Rico, was the first Puerto Rican community subjected to U.S. military occupation for target practice — a practice that would be replicated on a larger scale in Vieques.

Military Use:
- The U.S. Navy established a presence on Culebra shortly after the 1898 invasion
- In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt designated Culebra as a naval reservation
- The Navy used Culebra's beaches and surrounding waters for naval gunfire practice, aerial bombing, and amphibious landing exercises
- Multiple nearby cays were used as target ranges
- Residents were periodically evacuated during exercises
- Unexploded ordnance littered beaches and nearshore waters

Impact on Residents:
- Culebra's population was effectively confined to a small portion of the island
- Access to fishing grounds — the primary livelihood — was restricted during military exercises
- The bombing damaged coral reefs and marine ecosystems
- Noise, pollution, and the constant threat of accidental explosions affected daily life
- Infrastructure development was minimal because the Navy controlled most of the island

Resistance and Removal:
- In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Culebra residents organized resistance
- Rubén Berríos Martínez, leader of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, led civil disobedience on Culebra
- Protesters occupied beaches during bombing exercises
- The movement attracted international attention
- In 1975, the Navy withdrew from Culebra, partly due to the protests and partly because Vieques offered a larger and more strategically valuable range

Legacy: The Navy's departure from Culebra was a significant victory for the Puerto Rican resistance movement. However, it also shifted the military burden to Vieques, where bombing would continue for nearly three more decades. Unexploded ordnance and environmental contamination from the Culebra exercises persist. The Culebra experience demonstrates the colonial mindset: a community's land and waters can be commandeered for military use because the colonial territory exists to serve the metropole's strategic interests.