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The Cerro Maravilla Incident is the name given by the Puerto Rican public and media to describe the events that occurred on July 25, 1978 at Cerro Maravilla, a mountain in Puerto Rico, wherein two young Puerto Rican pro-independence activists were killed in a police ambush. The event sparked a series of political controversies where, in the end, the police officers were found guilty of murder and several high-ranking local government officials were accused of planning and/or covering-up the incident.

Originally declared a police intervention against terrorists, the Governor of Puerto Rico ordered the local Justice Department to launch various investigations, and asked the FBI and the US Justice Department to aid in such investigations, which concluded that there was no wrongdoing on the officer's part. However, after the local opposing political party launched its own inquiries, new evidence and witness testimonies uncovered gross negligence on the officers' part, as well as the possibility of a local and federal cover-up. Local trials were held, and 10 officers were convicted of various crimes.

The incident and subsequent events have become one of the most controversial moments in Puerto Rico's political history. (more...)