The Navy, however, canceled certification exercises for two carrier battle groups after protesters set up encampments on the training ground and bombing range in April 1999 in a drive to close them down. In response to mass sentiment in Puerto Rico against the Navy's presence, the US government has moved cautiously. President Bill Clinton ordered last year that live bombs not be used until the year 2003. He also drafted a bill, now stalled in Congress, to return some of the island to its inhabitants and to use federal funds to develop the area. Clinton has also proposed a referendum on the issue by the Vieques population.
Protesters say the deal offers no guarantees and they want the range to remain closed.
The use of its territory by the Pentagon is supposedly bound by joint agreement. The expulsion of the protesters from Vieques and the US government's announcement that it will resume military exercises on the island, notwithstanding Clinton's attempts to provide a diplomatic gloss, constitute an arrogant assault on the rights of the Puerto Rican people and one more demonstration of US militarism.