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The Unrepentant Terrorist: An Update
January 11, 2011 | 17 comments
Special Report
The Unrepentant Terrorist
Oscar Lopez-Rivera was offered clemency by Bill Clinton but refused to show remorse. Now he’s up for parole.
(Page 2 of 2)
On March 19, the two traveled with a third unidentified member to Wadsworth VA Hospital, near the Leavenworth prison. Lopez had feigned illness, and was to be transferred there, and the three terrorists would attempt to effect a rescue.
The FBI had been aware of the plot, and held Lopez at the prison. The three others returned to Chicago, and Cortes, Torres and Alberto Rodriguez (the latter two currently working to free Lopez), would be arrested that June, after specific bombing targets had been chosen.
But Lopez would not give up on his plan to escape from prison. In 1985, he began plotting with a small group of other individuals, including two members of “Prairie Fire,” a group with direct ties to the Weather Underground. The plan included flying a helicopter to the prison, and use that to effect Lopez’s escape.
Lopez had made up a list of materials to be used in the plot. It included grenades, rifles, plastic explosives, bulletproof vests, blasting caps and armor-piercing rockets. The FBI had known of the plot since the beginning, and made arrests in 1986.
At his trial in 1987, Lopez portrayed himself as a “valiant freedom fighter,” but prosecutor Deborah Devaney argued that Lopez and his co-defendants were “terrorists who operated without conscience.” Lopez was sentenced to 15 more years in prison — bringing the new total to 70 years.
Lopez continued to make unrepentant comments well into the 1990s. He told the AP in 1998 that he had no regrets. “The whole thing of contrition, atonement, I have problems with that.” In 1995, Judge McMillen had told the Chicago Tribune that pardoning terrorists would send out the wrong message and that the FALN had “used weapons and bombs… they should serve out their sentences.”
Besides the numerous felonies that Lopez and the other members of the FALN were convicted of (which included numerous weapons and bomb-making charges), all of them also shared one underlying crime: seditious conspiracy. It is described in the U.S. Code as to “conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States…”
In other words, a pure definition of terror. The FALN would set off nearly 140 bombs over nine years, killing six and injuring scores more. A police officer was also killed in Mexico after a shootout with FALN members.
Their closely allied group, the Macheteros, would kill six more. Their members have continued to foment violence over the years, and some of them remain at large, including Victor Gerena, who has been on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list for a record 26 years. Fellow Machetero Filiberto Ojeda-Rios, who is also suspected of having direct ties to the FALN, died in a violent shootout in 2005. A third member of the group remains in prison.
And some of the former FALN members working to obtain Lopez’s release who expressed “remorse” in the past in order to obtain their own freedom now show none, including Carlos Torres and Alberto Rodriguez. Another FALN member, bomb-maker William Morales, escaped from custody in 1979 and is currently in Cuba.
As for Oscar Lopez, he is a dangerous terrorist as well as a sociopath, and has never been known to express any regret or remorse. He was a co-founder of a deadly terrorist group, who constructed bombs (their weapon of choice) and trained others in both how to build them and how to use them. He twice attempted to escape from prison, and the latter attempt included plans of violence and murder.
Lopez is currently scheduled for release from the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institute (in Indiana) in June of 2023. Again, his parole hearing is set for January 5th before the U.S. Parole Commission. If you wish to contact the commission, their number is 301-492-5990.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (25) | Leave a comment
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Henry| 12.22.10 @ 6:52AM
Terrorism should carry a mandatory death-sentence, to be carried out as quickly as possible to minimise the possibility of rescue attempts.
SonOfSam| 12.22.10 @ 8:19AM
I agree with you Henry, 110%. Every terrorist in Gitmo should be shot, TODAY. Likewise for all the killers on death row. Doing that would give us enough room in the prisons for the criminals currently infesting Washington DC.
NavyBrat | 12.22.10 @ 9:35AM
I'm with you guys. Give this a$$hat Anicin Headache # .357 & be done with it. Would we let a Hezbollah bomber go? I would sure as hell hope not. But then again, our current AG wrote out these pardons for these muderers. So I guess we shouldn't be surprised if this schmuck gets his early release. I also wouldn't be suprised if he got run over by a truck soon after, either.
vigilant| 12.22.10 @ 5:01PM
Your suggestion sounds prudent, until you realize that they now consider you & me, indeed all of us, as terrorists. Perhaps we should reconsider giving them the rope to hang us with.
Louis Jenkins| 12.22.10 @ 8:09AM
Let the man twist and turn in wind. If he gets out on parole it will be a sham on the government.
Joe Connor| 12.22.10 @ 9:24AM
Ron, a masterful piece. Thank you. Somewhere my dad, Frank Connor, who was killed by these thugs, thanks you too.
Joe
Lopez
http://bigpeace.com/jfconnor/2.....g-release/
And a piece I wrote on co founder Carlos Torres on his release.
Torres
http://bigpeace.com/jfconnor/2.....jailbreak/
L. Stern| 1.4.11 @ 11:57AM
Joe -
We heard you on the radio today and wish you the best. This is an outrage.
The article has been posted on the In Session Message Boards under "Politics"
http://boards.insessiontrials.com
Jason| 1.5.11 @ 3:52PM
Well, you got what you wanted. Oscar was denied parole.
Anthony| 12.22.10 @ 10:00AM
Si, Senor Lopez es un muy mal hombre!!! Comprende!!! Los Macheteros made quite a stir in Connecticut, those many years ago.
This one may be close, as Senor Lopez has proclaimed his continued hatred for America, this should hold him in good standing with the parole board.
However, Senor Lopez may have lost a few allies along the way. The former reprobate-in-chief, Bill Clinton, no longer has a need to buy Puerto Rican votes for Madam Hillary, as she has abandoned both NY and (hopefully) a presidential run. Count Slick Willie out, as Lopez no longer has any value to the cigar man.
Then we have Mr. Holder, no doubt his sympathies remain strong for all good America haters. However, this dirt ball is a bit more visible than in the past, being that he is now A.G., so if Holder gets his grubby hands on this, it will be at the behest of Obozo himself.
Hopefully, if Lopez pulls this off, we can have congressional hearings and have Holder testify under oath.
With any luck, Lopez, Holder, Obozo, and a host of congressional Ds, will find their way to GITMO, one way.
Mr. Conner, may you find peace this Christmas season.
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 12.28.10 @ 1:23AM
Why shouldn't he hate America? We conquered his country 110 years ago, and Puerto Rican patriots would naturally like to have it back. Sure, the Puerto Rican people vote in referendums to remain part of the USA (although they've never been given a chance to vote on a straight up/down proposal on whether to remain affiliated with the USA), but "our" Federal government effectively uses the public treasury to bribe Puerto Ricans to vote that way. If there'd been a referendum held in the Thirteen Colonies in 1776, there isn't any reputable historian who believes a majority would have voted for secession from the British Empire. Sometimes the people need leaders to take them in the right direction, because on their own they'll take the coward's route of comfort & security in matters that are simply too important to allow for their foolishness to interfere with the common good. This guy may be much of a leader, but at least he's got the right idea ie., that his nation shouldn't just be a part of our nation.
Albert| 12.22.10 @ 10:49AM
That this piece of human filth should even be considered for parole is outrageous. That Bill Clinton granted clemency to his FALN cohorts in 1999 shows Clinton's true colors and true loyalties. But this has been the pattern of Democrat politicians for decades. Every time people vote for Democrats they are voting to release criminals and terrorists, to confiscate wealth, and to persecute innocent people, all for personal political gain. Will America ever wake up to this brazen corruption?
hunter| 12.22.10 @ 11:09AM
The 70 year term rivera was sentenced to should have been a death sentence, in other words he would not live long enough to serve the 70 years. So, he should have been executed shortly after sentenceing. The fact that he wasn't is that a harsh sentence was placed upon the American people. The est. cost of keeping someone in prison is around $40,000. plus/minus. Take that times a few million prisoners with the same age/sentence ratio and the taxpayer is saddled with a huge burden. This money would have been better spent. Now who is the prisoner?
Steve A| 12.22.10 @ 11:30AM
I have to tell you. The thing that irritates me the most about this entire saga is the fact that whether or not the terrorist displayed remorse or not is even mentioned, as it is several times above.
OK, fine, you set off some random explosives, get caught & say you are sorry. Great. I just "feel" sooooo much better about it now. You can express all the remorse you want, or not. I could care less. It makes absolutely ZERO difference. Strap them in the chair, throw the switch & broadcast it.
Bulgaricus| 12.22.10 @ 11:42AM
This piece of human crap should have been executed years ago!
carol| 12.22.10 @ 11:58AM
seems like the liberals like unrepented terrorists that are want to take this country down.....
believer| 12.22.10 @ 1:18PM
Give these Puerto Rican's what they want, Free Puerto Rico and stop them from immigrating to America. No more money for their welfare , schools, and slums. Puerto Ricans make up a good percentage of violent criminals in New York as well , take them from the prisons and deport them. This piece of garbage Rivera shows that he has no intention of peaceful negotiations, send him back home to rot in Puerto Rican jails and perhaps that will cool his stupid opionion a little.
Bill| 12.22.10 @ 1:37PM
I see no reason to give clemency to an unrepentant self-avowed enemy of the United States who has been found to be willing to destroy it and has taken steps to try to accomplish that very goal. Let him serve out his sentence.
Call me crazy....| 12.22.10 @ 6:11PM
But it seems that War warped this man's mind. Anyone else here serve in Vietnam or war? I tried to see what he admitted to and it wasn't any specific bombing. If he did I'd say just get the $.25 for the round and end it right there. Otherwise, this isnt "news" its old and he is behind bars. Who cares? Let's report some important news.
ellen | 12.23.10 @ 1:46AM
http://www.okapparel.com
Richard Baker| 12.23.10 @ 9:33AM
Give me the pistol.
Occam's Tool| 12.23.10 @ 1:14PM
You guys are way too nice with this piece of filth. Casino Royale chair him (the recent one with Daniel Craig) until he dies.
Kevin Riley O'Keeffe | 12.28.10 @ 1:15AM
I don't care about this character. I haven't yet finished the article, but it doesn't sound like he actually killed anyone (if he did, then they should have executed him). But I definitely support national independence for Puerto Rico. Why the Hell would Americans want some Spanish-speaking, Third World island off the coast of the Guyanas to be part of our country? Puerto Rico simply ain't part of America, and its about time that fact was legally recognized. Patrick Buchanan has on several occasions made the point that conservatives ought to regard Puerto Rican nationalists as their allies, as we'd naturally share that goal in common. If I were a wealthy man, I'd be writing annual checks to the Puerto Rican Independence Party.
Joseph P.| 1.11.11 @ 3:47PM
Very good and balance article except for one act of omission: Terrorist Filiberto Ojeda-Rios did not just "die" in a violent shootout in 2005. Filiberto Ojeda-Rios was surrounded by the FBI on a Puerto Rican National Holiday, shot by an FBI marksman expert and left alone to bleed to his death instead of being arrested and taken to a hospital. The FBI actions were as henious as the crimes comitted by the FALN on civilans. Two wrongs don't make one right, and as long as the Federal government demonstrates disdain towards Puerto Ricans, during turmoil times or peace times, don't whine when some of them react.