Slideshow: Puerto Rican artists turn former bombing range into monument against militarism

Until the 1970s the U.S. military used the small island of Culebra in Puerto Rico as a bombing practice site. Culebra is about 16 miles (27 km) east of the main island of Puerto Rico and 11 miles (19 km) west of St. Thomas, the westernmost of the Virgin Islands. Culebra itself is made of an 34-square-mile (88-sq-km)  island and several smaller islets. There is no source of fresh water on Culebra; water has to be piped in from Vieques. In the 1970s, residents – known as Culebritas – and activists from Puerto Rican independence groups protested and the U.S. military relented.

Three decades later the people of Vieques also managed to stop the U.S. military from using their island as a bombing range.

Today, in addition to the natural beauty of Culebra (above and below the water) there is photographic evidence of previous military action and of the struggle against militarism and imperialism through modern street art.

Photos by Sean Kinane. Click any thumbnail image to launch slideshow.

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