1. Oscar Collazo was a Puerto Rican militant of the Nationalist Party.
24 Facts About Oscar Collazo
1. 2.
Oscar Collazo had been living in New York City after growing up in Puerto Rico.
3.
In 1979, Oscar Collazo's sentence was commuted to time served by President Jimmy Carter.
4.
Oscar Collazo was paroled and allowed to return to Puerto Rico.
5.
Oscar Collazo Lopez was born in what is Florida, Puerto Rico.
6.
In 1920, Oscar Collazo's father died and his mother sent him to live with his brother in Jayuya.
7.
Oscar Collazo's brother was a member of the Liberal Party which had independence beliefs.
8.
When Oscar Collazo was 14 years old, he participated in a student demonstration, which the government had made illegal, commemorating the birth of Jose de Diego, a known advocate for Puerto Rican independence who had died two years before.
9.
In 1932, when Oscar Collazo was 18 years old, he participated in another demonstration commemorating Jose de Diego.
10.
That day Oscar Collazo was so impressed by Albizu Campos' leadership that he joined the Nationalist Party and devoted himself to it.
11.
In 1941, Oscar Collazo moved to New York City, which had a large Puerto Rican community.
12.
Oscar Collazo worked in a metal polishing factory and led a normal family life.
13.
Oscar Collazo met and became friends with Albizu Campos when the latter was hospitalized for a time at the Columbus Hospital.
14.
Oscar Collazo had become the secretary and later served as president of the New York branch of the Nationalist Party.
15.
On October 30,1950, Torresola and Oscar Collazo learned that the Jayuya Uprising in Puerto Rico, led by the nationalist leader Blanca Canales, had failed.
16.
In prison, Oscar Collazo was asked why he had targeted Truman, who was in favor of self-determination for Puerto Rico and who had appointed the first native-born Puerto Rican governor.
17.
Oscar Collazo was sent to the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas.
18.
On September 6,1979, President Jimmy Carter commuted his sentence to time served, after Oscar Collazo had spent 29 years in prison.
19.
Oscar Collazo had been eligible for parole since April 1966, and Lebron since July 1969.
20.
Oscar Collazo helped gather 100,000 signatures in an effort to save her husband from the electric chair.
21.
Oscar Collazo continued to actively participate in Puerto Rico's independence movement.
22.
Oscar Collazo was given recognition for her efforts towards the commutation of her ex-husband's death sentence.
23.
Rosa Oscar Collazo, who died in May 1988, lived the last years of her life by the side of her daughter Lydia Oscar Collazo Cortez.
24.
Oscar Collazo continued to participate in activities related to the independence movement.