Puerto Rican protest against Cuban dissident turns violent

March 30, 2006, 12:31AM
Puerto Rican protest against Cuban dissident turns violent
Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Some 20 demonstrators angered by a ceremony honoring a Cuban defector stormed into Puerto Rico's statehouse Wednesday, breaking tables, windows and a glass case covering the U.S. territory's constitution.

The demonstrators were angered by a tribute lawmakers were paying to Julio Labatut, a Cuban dissident and a renowned florist honored for his charitable works and entrepreneurship in Puerto Rico.

Some alleged Labatut was involved in the unsolved 1979 killing of Carlos Muniz Varela, an activist for Puerto Rico's independence.

"We will never forget. Stop the impunity," Muniz's son, Carlos Muniz Perez, 31, told the crowd of several hundred demonstrating in front of the statehouse.
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