After halting bombing exercises since October, the U.S. Navy resumed exercises amid protests on Monday, April 1, 2002. Protesters, who had been gathered since the weekend, erected barricades, held vigils, and some crossed over onto the base. An Associated Press article suggests that the protest is losing strength from last year after September 11th. Last year, protesters occupied the surrounding base area for a full year, occasionally requiring the Navy to cancel military exercises. The current Governor Sila Calderon, who was elected on a platform of removing the U.S. Navy from Vieques, has been much less vocal about the matter in recent months, saying that she is supporting an agreement for the Navy to leave in May of 2003.

News Stories:

"Protesta en caravana contra ejercicios de la Marina,"
El Nuevo Día (San Juan, Puerto Rico), April 1, 2002

"Provoca la tensión un incidente en Camp García,"
El Nuevo Día (San Juan, Puerto Rico), April 1, 2002

Associated Press, April 1, 2002

"US Navy to Start Vieques Exercises,"
BBC News, April 1, 2002