| 04/19/99 |
David Sanes Rodriguez is killed during a Navy training exercise. |
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| 05/08/99 |
Anti-Navy protesters establish camp on the beach at Vieques bombing range. |
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| 05/11/99 |
Governor Pedro Rossello appoints a nonpartisan Special Committee on Vieques |
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| 12/31/00 |
President Bill Clinton and Governor Pedro Rossello agree to the elimination of live-fire exercises and a referendum determining future Navy use of the facility by the residents of Vieques. |
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| 02/14/00 |
Sila Calderon resigns from Vieques Special Committee in protest, calling the Clinton-Rossello agreement "immoral." |
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| 02/21/00 |
Some 80,000 people march in San Juan to protest Navy in Vieques. |
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| 05/04/00 |
Federal agents remove protesters from Vieques bombing range. |
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| 05/05/00 |
Training exercises resume on Vieques with "dummy" bombs. |
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| 06/03/00 |
Candidate Sila Calderon [On a local referendum.] "We should get ready as soon as possible to hold a democratic consultation, a consultation in which the people of Vieques can express themselves, and that is not marred or left in the hands of the Navy." |
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| 11/07/00 |
Candidate Sila Calderon wins election as governor, in part because of her campaign pledge to renegotiate Clinton-Rossello agreement and stop bombing exercises immediately. |
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| 11/09/00 |
Governor Elect Sila Calderon, on renegotiating the Vieques accord: "It will be difficult, but when one has the will and the conviction and one believes in something, anything can be accomplished." |
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| 12/12/00 |
Navy sets 11/06/01 as date for federal Vieques referendum. |
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| 12/13/00 |
Governor Elect Sila Calderon: "My position on Vieques and that of the overwhelming majority of the people of Puerto Rico is well known. I stand firm by that position. This is not a time for threats … rather, it is a time that requires enlightened leadership and sensible action." |
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| 12/31/00 |
Clinton and Rossello reach agreement: no live bombs until referendum on Vieques decides between pullout by May 2003 or resumption with live ammo. |
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| 01/13/01 |
Governor Elect Calderon repudiates Clinton-Rossello accord, cites vibroacoustic disease" among residents of Vieques. |
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| 01/13/01 |
Governor Elect Calderon "Before he leaves office, we would like the president [Clinton] to stop the bombing as soon as possible. We can renegotiate an agreement, but after a more decent quality of life has been restored to the people of Puerto Rico." |
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| 01/24/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [On regulation regarding sound waves off the coast of PR.] "I would like to use this legislation if we cannot stop nor bring to the attention of the federal government the damage that those sounds and those practices are having on the health of the Viequenses." |
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| 01/30/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [On a bill calling for a local referendum on Vieques.] "I have a public policy and a defined strategy of dialogue with President Bush, and that bill is not in accordance at this time with my strategy." |
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| 02/23/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [On ongoing Naval exercises] "The naval exercises on one side of Vieques and the bombings on the other have become intolerable for the inhabitants and must cease immediately." |
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| 04/24/01 |
The Government of Puerto Rico files a federal lawsuit to force the Navy to withdraw from Vieques. The lawsuit cites a local 1972 noise pollution law and the high incidence of "vibroacoustic disease" among Vieques residents. |
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| 04/24/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [On the federal lawsuit filed by the government of PR against the Navy.] "The legal action that my government is taking responds directly to the need to … look out for the health and security of all Puerto Ricans." |
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| 05/02/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [to the press] "Our contention is that we should stop the bombing, period. This has reached a point of no return." |
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| 05/26/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [to the press] "This is not between me and Bush. This is between the Department of Defense and the government of Puerto Rico. My calling is not to Bush but to the Department of Defense." |
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| 06/12/01 |
The PR government withdraws mention of "vibroacoustic disease" from its federal lawsuit against the US Navy, citing lack of evidence. |
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| 06/14/01 |
President Bush announces in Goteburg, Sweden, that the Navy will leave Vieques by May 2003. This apparently ends prospects for a federal referendum on Vieques that had been set for November. |
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| 06/14/01 |
President Bush [saying that the Navy should leave Vieques by May 2003] "My attitude is that the Navy ought to find somewhere else to conduct its exercises, for a lot of reasons. One there’s been some harm done to people in the past. Secondly, these are our friends and neighbors and they don’t want us there." |
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| 06/14/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [On Bush announcing halt to bombings without notifying her.] "The information being disseminated this afternoon over the military maneuvers in Vieques is not official." |
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| 06/15/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [On Bush’s decision.] "We are satisfied with the certainty that there is a definite end to the Navy military practices in Vieques, but we deplore the intention of continuing military exercises and bombings for the next two years." |
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| 07/26/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [On the up-coming local referendum.] "Even though it is a vote that is legally non binding, it is a vote that has moral force." |
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| 07/29/01 |
A local, non-binding referendum is held on Vieques. An option asking for the Navy’s immediate withdrawal receives 68% of votes. |
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| 09/11/01 |
Terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. |
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| 10/06/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [After the 9/11 attacks] "The public policy of my government is what it always has been, which is that contained in column two that won the local referendum: the immediate halt of military practices in Vieques and the cleaning of the land." |
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| 10/06/01 |
Governor Sila Calderon [Regarding new Congressional debate on Vieques] "The Puerto Ricans who are there lobbying [in favor of the Navy’s continued use of Vieques] and who are allying themselves with (Senators) Inhofe and Hansen are traitors to Puerto Rico." |
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| 11/01/01 |
The US Navy postpones the federal referendum on Vieques until January 25, 2002, giving, Congress time to kill it. |
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| 12/12/01 |
Congress passes and President Bush signs the 2002 Defense Appropriations bill, which cancels the referendum and requires the Navy to find a suitable replacement for Vieques before abandoning it in May 2003. The bill requires the Navy find a suitable alternative to Vieques before withdrawal in May 2003. |
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| 12/31/01 |
US District Judge Gladys Kessler dismisses the PR government’s case against the Navy. She rules, "While the political and policy issues raised in this case are complex and involve the clash of many important interests, the legal issue, in contrast, is simple and straightforward." |
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| 01/03/02 |
Governor Calderon, [Responding to the legal decision] "the people’s will is now all that can stop the Navy on Vieques. Our strategy is exactly what I have said – maintain ourselves strong and continue with our claim and our demands in the White House." |
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| 01/09/02 |
President Bush is reported to have makes an oral pledge to Governor Calderon that the Navy will leave Vieques by May 2003. No formal agreement is reached, but Calderon is "inspired" by the President’s words. |
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| 01/09/02 |
Governor Calderon [On her meeting with President Bush] "Looking me in the eye, he told me his commitment to halt the military practices on Vieques by or before 2003 stood firm, and that he would keep his word I return to Puerto Rico inspired by the words of the president." |
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| 01/10/02 |
Governor Sila Calderon [Following-up on the report of her White House visit] "The president has given me his word. I think we should believe Bush’s word." |
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| 04/19/02 |
U.S. Navy wraps up another training exercise on Vieques. |
