Velazquez Calls for Clemency for Oscar Lopez Rivera

Washington, DC –Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) wrote to President Obama asking that he grant clemency to of Oscar López Rivera. The full text of the letter is below.

December 2, 2016

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

As your eight years in office comes to an end, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you have done for our nation. The passage of the Affordable Care Act, Dodd-Frank, and more recently PROMESA, has shown your willingness and courage to take on America’s greatest challenges. But your legacy will be more than these landmark laws; you have given voice to those that cannot be heard.

There is still unfinished business, however, for the Puerto Rican people – and that is the plight of Oscar López Rivera and the need for you to grant him executive clemency. At his advanced age, continued detention is unnecessary. The sentence granted to him is disproportionate for a “seditious conspiracy” charge; he did not kill anyone and is not a threat to society.

In many ways, Oscar López Rivera is a symbol for all Puerto Ricans, whether on the island or among the diaspora. For us, his struggle is our struggle. As a child growing up in Puerto Rico, I have witnessed the deep and powerful political divisions over the island’s status, seeing people moved to anger and outrage. I left the island at the age of 19 to go to graduate school in New York City and after completing my studies, returned to teach at the University of Puerto Rico and confronted the very same disillusionment regarding political status that continues to define our island.

Despite the political turmoil and the fiscal crisis, there is one unifying hope among Puerto Ricans and that is for you to grant executive clemency for Oscar López Rivera. We stand as one with him because he represents the pain, the emotion, and the journey that all Puerto Ricans have and are living. It is rewarding to say that despite all the cynicism associated with our predicament, his sense of dignity and humanity has brought the island together, even though he is locked up in a federal prison.

It is for this reason, and in the spirit of the holidays, that I ask you to bring Puerto Rico’s son, Oscar López Rivera, home to his family and to the people of Puerto Rico. Given all the island has endured - from the economic crisis to Zika- taking this step would be a powerful symbol of hope when Puerto Rico needs it most.

Thank you for your attention to this request and for your service to our country.

Sincerely,

Nydia M. Velázquez
Member of Congress

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