Vieques Goes from Bombs to Beets, by Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero

http://www.ipsnews.net/2014/02/vieques-goes-bombs-beets/

VIEQUES, Puerto Rico, Feb 10 2014 (IPS) - A decade after the United States Navy’s departure, the Puerto Rican island town of Vieques faces new challenges, and the rebirth of its agriculture sector is hampered by a legacy of toxic military trash that has uncertain consequences.

From 1999 to 2003, Vieques, which is just over twice the size of New York City’s Manhattan Island, was the site of a massive civil disobedience campaign to put an end to the presence of the Navy, which had used the island for bombing practice since World War Two. Puerto Rico is officially a commonwealth and territory of the United States.

Photos: Taken at Cora's farm by Elisa Sánchez

On the left, Vieques farmer Jorge Cora