Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

MACHETEROS • 409The Macheteros appeared to be a relatively small but highly organizedand carefully screened group that eluded infiltration. It operatedmainly within Puerto Rico, targeting primarily U.S. militaryfacilities and personnel, as well as the Puerto Rican police. Since1978 the group has carried out a few very competently executedterrorist actions that can be considered armed propaganda. On 3December 1979 they ambushed and machine-gunned a bus carryingU.S. Navy personnel, killing two sailors and seriously wounding 10others. On 12 March 1980, in a similar ambush of another bus, theMacheteros wounded one of the three Reserve Officers’ TrainingCorps (ROTC) instructors aboard. On 16 May 1982 they machinegunnedfour U.S. sailors leaving a San Juan nightclub, killing oneand wounding the others. On 6 November 1985 they shot and seriouslywounded a U.S. Army recruiting officer as he was riding hismotor scooter to work.The most dramatic Machetero action was the sabotage of thePuerto Rican National Guard airfield at Muniz Air Base outside SanJuan on 12 January 1981. Disguised in military uniforms, 11 Macheterospenetrated the security fence and planted 21 bombs in 11 jetfighters, eight of which were destroyed and two of which were damaged,causing in excess of $45 million in damages. The date selectedwas the birth anniversary of Eugenio María de Hostes, a Puerto Ricanhero in the struggle for independence from Spain. The significanceof the use of the number 11 in the number of men deployed andnumber of planes targeted was to express solidarity for 11 FALNmembers being tried for terrorist activities in the United States at thattime. Similarly, on 28 October 1986, they planted 10 bombs at militarybases and facilities across the island, three of which exploded,destroying two recruiting facilities. This action was undertaken toprotest a supposed plan to train Nicaraguan contras in Puerto Rico.The group has also used rocket-propelled grenades in attacks on U.S.government office buildings in San Juan.On 16 September 1983 the Macheteros conducted an operation onthe U.S. mainland, robbing the Wells Fargo armored truck terminalin Hartford, Connecticut, of $7.2 million, of which only $85,000was recovered and $2.5 million is known to have been transportedto Cuba. While bank robberies in Puerto Rico had been a primarysource of funds for the group, the evidence provided by this holdupallowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to arrest several