[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 120 (Wednesday, September 15, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H8354-H8355]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          ON THE RELEASE OF FALN TERRORISTS BY THE WHITE HOUSE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, last week, as some Members of the body 
know and many Americans know, a number of terrorists that engaged in a 
reign of terror across this Nation during the seventies and eighties 
were part of a group known as the FALN, that were responsible and 
proudly claimed responsibility for 130 bombings, if not more, killing 
innocent people and maiming innocent people.
  It became news in the last several weeks because they were offered 
clemency by the White House. Despite the fact that they rejected the 
initial offer of clemency because they thought conditions placed upon 
them were too humiliating, ultimately they agreed and now they are 
free, with the exception of two, who rejected the offer.
  At the time, those of us who opposed the offer of clemency objected, 
for a number of reasons. One, these are evil people. They sought to 
hurt, kill, and maim innocent people. They sought, in a way, the 
overthrow of the United States government because they did not get 
their way through a civilized, normal democratic process known as the 
rule of law, known as elections.
  They sought the independence of Puerto Rico. They did not get their 
way, so they resorted to bombs. They resorted to killing. They resorted 
to maiming. They were terrorists.
  At the time, we brought forward some of the victims: A police officer 
was blinded for life, another who was blind in one eye, another who 
lost his leg, another whose husband was killed in the tavern bombing in 
1975, another family who lost their father and husband in 1975. We 
said, we are sending the absolutely wrong signal to terrorists, because 
we are emboldening people around the world who are going to contemplate 
terrorism on our soil.
  It did not take long, Mr. Speaker. Just a few days ago there was a 
statement put out by one Filiberto Ojeda Rios. He put out this 
statement: ``If they,'' the United States, ``start bombing Vieques 
again, and they threaten

[[Page H8355]]

 the island's population, or those carrying out acts of civil 
disobedience, they will have to face the consequences, because Los 
Macheteros will not remain with their arms crossed. You can be sure of 
that.''
  He added that Puerto Rico should take advantage of ``this historic 
moment and battle against the revolutionary offenses being developed by 
the United States government, among others.''
  Why is this important? Because this gentleman was the leader of Los 
Macheteros, a ruthless terrorist organization that claimed 
responsibility for bombings and other acts of violence, along with the 
FALN, throughout the seventies and eighties. He emerged from a decade 
of hiding this week with this statement that I just read that was 
broadcast over radio.
  One of the prisoners who has been released, who is now free, was a 
member of this organization. So here we have it, just several days 
after some of these terrorists were set free, after several days we 
sent the wrong signal that we are going to tolerate terrorists, 
negotiate with terrorists, coddle terrorists; just several days after, 
someone who has been in hiding for a decade rears his ugly head once 
again.
  Yesterday in the other body there was a hearing, and in an effort to 
try to get to the bottom of what happened here, why the White House 
would reach this mind-boggling conclusion to release people who were 
part of a network, who had no remorse, offered no apologies, no 
contrition for this act that innocent people could be killed, and it 
could have been anywhere in this country, it could have been any 
American family just having lunch who could have been killed, the White 
House office of deputy counsel to the President responded that the 
reason why they were granted clemency, among other things, they do not 
pose a danger to society.
  These are people who were videotaped making bombs. These are people 
who were proudly part of an organization that killed innocent people. 
These were people who were convicted of seditious conspiracy. Some of 
them at their trial said that they wanted to kill the sentencing judge. 
Some of them said that if they could, they would kill anybody. These 
are the people that this White House has chosen to send back into 
society.
  To this very day, we do not know why. I would think the American 
people and the victims, especially, deserve to know.

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