Puerto Rican archbishop joins criticisms of FBI deadly shootout

Published: 2005-10-03

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (CNS) -- Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez of San Juan is among Puerto Rican leaders who have criticized an FBI operation resulting in a shootout that caused the death of an independence activist. A statement by the archbishop expressed "my profound bewilderment, indignation and sadness" for the manner in which Filiberto Ojeda Rios was killed. "I reject the operation that ended with his death and which will awaken important questions about the legality and justice of these events," he said. The archbishop issued his statement on the situation Sept. 24 and it was published Oct. 2 in El Visitante, his archdiocesan newspaper. Ojeda, 72, was killed in a Sept. 23 shootout at a farmhouse where he was hiding in Hormigueros, a small town in southwestern Puerto Rico. FBI officials said they favored an independent investigation of the events that led to Ojeda's death after widespread calls for such an investigation by local political, governmental and civic leaders. News reports quoted federal agents as saying that Ojeda shot first and they responded. Ojeda's wife, who was arrested at the farmhouse and later released, was quoted as saying that the FBI shot first.

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