Cold War Puerto Rico

"Steve Howell's book stresses the geopolitical dimensions of Puerto Rico's colonial history and focuses on the overlooked subject of how the preservation of colonial domination shaped the Cold War persecution of communists in Puerto Rico. It offers an extraordinary combination of detailed scholarly work in deciphering FBI files and other contemporaneous documents with insights into the role of friendship in political life as the men and women portrayed suffered the traumas of persecution, incarceration or exile."—Arcadio Díaz-Quiñones, former director of the Program in Latin American Studies, Princeton

"Howell does an excellent job uncovering the FBI's transnational networks that enabled it to harass Puerto Rican radicals, follow their compatriots abroad, and work with other intelligence and legislative agencies to circumscribe individual freedoms and rights ostensibly in the name of national security and democracy."—Denise M. Lynn, author of Women March for Peace: Black Radical Women's Anti-Korean War Activism

"Most histories of McCarthyism ignore Puerto Rico. Most histories of the Puerto Rico independence movement focus on the Nationalist current. Steve Howell's book makes a major contribution to filling these gaps. His investigation unearths new material and brings to memory significant events, such as the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings in Puerto Rico in 1959, a spectacular confrontation that until now has not received the attention it merits in the literature on McCarthyism or in Puerto Rican historiography."—Rafael Bernabe, author of Obstinate Star: a History of the Puerto Rico Independence Movement

"Steve Howell's deeply researched and expertly written account of red scare politics in Puerto Rico offers an impressively panoramic yet surprisingly intimate portrayal of mid-twentieth-century U.S. colonialism and anti-communism at a crucial intersection point in the American empire."—Dr. Hugh Wilford, author of The CIA: An Imperial History

"Howell narrates the history of solidarity between a network of Puerto Rican and U.S. communists who faced repression from the developing US imperialist state during the early years of the Cold War. An engaging and important historical contribution."—Sandy Plácido, Associate Professor, Rutgers-Newark

"Cold War Puerto Rico is both the story of radicals such as Brandon Howell, the author's father, who tried to make Puerto Rico into a modernist paradise and to accompany it in its journey to independence, and it is a story of Puerto Rico, and its own radicals, amongst whom Howell became an important figure. This is a little-known story of the fight for an island to breathe."—Vijay Prashad, Director, Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, and author of numerous books, including with Noam Chomsky: The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya Afghanistan and the Fragility of US Power

"What Steve Howell's done here is shine a light on a story that's far too often brushed aside. Puerto Rico's struggle isn't just some footnote to Cold War history; it's about real people whose lives were torn apart for daring to stand up against colonial rule. The way he pulls together FBI files, personal histories, and the bigger political picture makes this more than just a history lesson. It's a reminder of how power works, how dissent gets crushed, and why solidarity across borders really matters. Anyone who cares about justice and democracy should read this book."—Maryam Eslamdoust, General Secretary, TSSA Union

"Cold War Puerto Rico offers a new perspective on political persecution in the island during the 1950s. Blending personal history, the global Cold War, and anti-communist policies, Steve Howell tells this story from the perspective of those who were targeted. Through this work, Howell sheds light on a forgotten chapter in the history of Puerto Rican independence and exposes the systematic violations of civil rights committed in the name of national security."—Emmanuel Figueroa Rosado, author of Borinquen Rojo