Los Macheteros

The group attracted a wide variety of politically interested people, including some that had belonged to another group, named University Pro Independence Federation[?], or Federacion Universitaria Pro Independencia (FUPI). FUPI was the youth arm of another group, named Movement Pro Independence[?], or Movimiento Pro Independencia (MPI). Among those who came over from FUPI were Marta Sanchez Olmeda[?] and Avelino Gonzalez Claudio[?] who used the alias of Carmelo. Clearly, unlike Ruben Berrios' PIP party movement, The Macheteros agenda was to try to make Puerto Rico independent by means of violence.

January 2 of 1977, one day after Carlos Romero Barcelo, who looked for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state of the American Union, was sworn in as Puerto Rico's governor, two bombs were placed at a ROTC building in San Juan. The bombs did not explode because the police destroyed them, but The Macheteros took responsibility for the incident.

The group later became also experts in bank robberies, as a way to finance their activities. Their famous robberies included one of a Wells Fargo facility in West Hartford, CT. in 1983. They have claimed responsibility for hundreds of attacks, specially many that happened during the 70s.