Bombs Over Paradise: How Decades Of U.S. Navy Bombing Poisoned Vieques and Shaped Puerto Rico's Fight for Justice (History Rico)

Bombs Over Paradise: How Decades of U.S. Navy Bombing Poisoned Vieques and Shaped Puerto Rico's Fight for JusticeFor more than sixty years, the tiny Caribbean island of Vieques, Puerto Rico lived under the thunder of U.S. Navy bombs. What looked like paradise, turquoise waters and palm lined For more than sixty years, the tiny Caribbean island of Vieques, Puerto Rico lived under the thunder of U.S. Navy bombs. What looked like paradise, turquoise waters and palm lined beaches, was turned into one of the most heavily bombed landscapes in the Americas.Bombs Over Paradise uncovers the hidden history of how decades of military training poisoned Vieques' land, water, and people. From the first land seizures during World War II to the death of civilian David Sanes Rodríguez in 1999 and the island wide protests that followed, this gripping narrative exposes the environmental devastation, political betrayal, and grassroots resistance that forced the Navy to finally leave in 2003. Drawing on vivid storytelling and meticulous research, Alex Alicea reveals how colonial status and U.S. military power collided, creating a toxic legacy that still haunts Puerto Rico today.