Abstract:
US military needs for a base site from which to detect Latin American and Caribbean drug smuggling leads the Navy to seek to build an advanced radar tracking station in a rural location in Puerto Rico. But what the military views as a straightforward, strategic decision becomes caught up in the complex web of Puerto Rican politics. Longtime opponents of the US military presence on the island, and of its non-state, non-independent "Commonwealth" status, capitalize on concerns over the loss of agricultural land for the base to seek to stop its construction. When entreaties to the administration of Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Rosello--a proponent of the radar base--are unsuccessful, the Navy must plot its own public relations strategy, navigating the uncharted shoals of public opinion.