Latest news with #SpanishAmericanWar
Daily Mail
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
US territory MAGA once called a 'floating island of garbage' considers rejoining Spain
A United States territory MAGA once derided as a 'floating island of garbage' is considering ceding from America and rejoining Spain. Puerto Rico has put forward several proposals over the years to cut ties with the United States and realign with its mother country. But now a movement to reintegrate with Spain is gaining steam on the island of 3.2 million people, according to The Mirror. The Adelante Reunificacionistas movement, founded in 2017, has even presented its proposal to the United Nations Decolonization Committee, 20 Minutos reports. It claims that Puerto Rico is different from other former Spanish territories, as it never actually ceded from the European country - and was just handed over to the United States following the Spanish-American War in 1898. 'Puerto Rico never wanted to separate from Spain,' said the organization's president Jose Lara. In fact, in the more than 100 years since, Spanish has remained the primary language of the island - spoken by more than 95 percent of inhabitants who use it in education and businesses. Now, the Adelante Reunificacionistas movement claims approximately 13 percent of its residents support the idea of rejoining Spain, which they see as a pathway to prosperity. Lara has argued that since becoming a US territory, Puerto Rico has experienced over a century 'of subjugation' and stagnation under American governance that has not granted Puerto Ricans full citizenship rights. Its residents cannot vote in presidential elections, for example, and they lack voting representation in Congress. Puerto Rico has also been ridiculed by Americans, with comedian Tony Hinchcliffe infamously joking about the territory at a rally for then-Republican nominee Donald Trump in October. 'I don't know if you know this but there's literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it's called Puerto Rico,' he said at a rally for Trump in New York City - which has the largest number of Puerto Ricans outside of the US territory. The Trump campaign was then forced to walk back the comments, with Danielle Alvarez - a senior adviser to the campaign - saying the 'joke does not reflect the vies of President Trump or the campaign.' Senator Rick Scott of Florida also disavowed the joke, saying it 'bombed for a reason. 'It's not funny and it's not true,' the Republican lawmaker wrote on X. 'Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans!' But Hinchcliffe argued he was just making a joke. 'I love Puerto Rico and vacation there. I made fun of everyone … watch the whole set. I'm a comedian,' he wrote on X. Now, Lara says emphasizing Spanish as the primary language and preserving Hispanic cultural traditions are key to persuading locals about the benefits of rejoining Spain. He has also shared merchandise online reading 'Make Puerto Rico Spain Again,' an apparent jab at Trump's 'Make America Great Again.' 'We want a future of progress and we believe that future lies in Spain,' Lara explained.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Flags honor veterans' graves in annual Memorial Day tradition
JOPLIN, Mo. — An annual pre-Memorial Day tradition continues in Joplin. In association with the 'Peace Church Cemetery Association', members of Joplin's American Legion Post 13 placed flags this afternoon on more than two dozen Veteran headstones, as well as a monument at the historic cemetery. Veterans buried there fought in the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World Wars one and two and the Korean War. 'Without the veterans we wouldn't be a free nation, we wouldn't be free here and we wouldn't be able to do the things that we do, so we just want to honor them and we do that two or three times a year and each time we thank them for their service and salute them,' said Jim Beeler, Peace Church Cemetery Association. 'And it's something to us that's a real honor to be able to do because it allows us to honor that veteran and show that we really appreciate what they did while they were in service,' said Bob Harringon, American Legion Post 13. Today's ceremony concluded with a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps. The Peace Church Cemetery Association continues to honor and tell the stories of those who are laid to rest on the property. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
07-05-2025
- New York Post
Desperate Kansas man arrested for stealing 800-pound cannon from Spanish American War to settle drug debt
This crook cannon even pull off a worthwhile theft. A low-level drug dealer stole an 800-pound cannon that was used in the Spanish American War from a Kansas park last week to settle a debt with his deranged boss, who was threatening to murder him and his family, authorities said. 4 The cannon was used in the Spanish-American War. Courtesy Historical Marker Database Advertisement Gordon Pierce, 38, was arrested Thursday after the 1794 cannon went missing from its podium in a Wichita park and was later discovered chopped into pieces. Pierce told investigators that he was a meth user of 20 years and owed his dealer $20,000 after the pound of meth he was supposed to sell was reportedly stolen. He said his dealer threatened to 'shoot him and his family' if he didn't come up with the cash, according to an affidavit acquired by KSNW. To repay the debt, the distressed drug user planned to sell copper from statues made of the material he could steal, he reportedly told cops. Advertisement Pierce allegedly hatched the crackpot plan to steal the cannon after driving around in desperation looking for copper statues when he came across Riverside Park, where the massive artifact had been a fixture since 1900, according to KAKE. He told investigators that the reason he targeted the cannon was because it was in a dark place, according to the affidavit. Pierce then recruited a homeless man to help him with his plan by bribing him with drugs and a pipe. The two men got high on meth before trying to use their own muscles to lift the 800-pound cannon, the document alleges. 4 Gordon Pierce III allegedly stole the cannon to settle a drug debt. 12 News Advertisement First, the pair tried to lift the cannon into the bed of Pierce's Chevrolet Tahoe, but it was too heavy. Next, they hooked up to a chain attached to the truck's hitch so the criminal mastermind could tow it off. Except when he began dragging through the streets, the chain snapped in front of an automotive shop, according to the affidavit. He abandoned the cannon there and fled to a friend's house and acquired a new chain. Pierce used the new chain to drag it to his friend's house where he hid it in his garage, according to the affidavit. 4 The alleged crime happened in Riverside Memorial Park in Wichita, Kan. 12 News Advertisement Inside the garage, Pierce allegedly chopped the cannon into five hunks and took some of the parts to the drug dealer in the hopes it would settle his debt and save his and his family's lives. But the drug dealer was irate, according to the records, and called Pierce 'stupid,' and told him he was going to 'bring heat to his house,' before yelling at him to 'get out.' Since he didn't have an ID that is required to sell scrap metal, Pierce had no real plan for pawning the 800-pound historical artifact, according to records. 4 The granite pedestal was damaged when the cannon was removed. KSN 3 The next time he saw him, the furious drug dealer allegedly told Pierce he was going to shoot him in the head, according to the court records. Terrified, Pierce went to his mother, confessed and fell asleep. When he woke up, cops were there to arrest him. 'This swift investigation shows our dedication to holding individuals responsible when they victimize our community,' police said in a statement. Advertisement Officials from Wichita's Parks and Recreation estimated that the cannon is worth more than $100,000, and that Pierce caused $10,000 worth of damage to the granite pedestal during his harebrained caper. Pierce is being held on a $200,000 bond.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Wichita man destroyed ‘priceless' war cannon over $20K meth debt, affidavit says
A Wichita man charged with destroying a priceless Spanish-American War cannon last month told police he stole the artifact to pay off a drug debt after friends robbed him of $20,000 worth of methamphetamine. Gordon L. Pierce III told police he 'went to look for copper statues to steal to make money' after his drug dealer threatened to shoot him and his family for losing a pound of meth that he was supposed to sell, according to a probable cause affidavit that gives new details about the theft. Pierce told police he spotted the teal-colored cannon at Central Riverside Park, 720 N. Nims, as he was driving around early on April 2. He said he had 'no specific reason for choosing the cannon other than it was in a dark area,' the affidavit says. Pierce told police he enlisted the help of a homeless man, whom he paid with meth and a pipe, to fastened chains around the cannon. They then smoked meth until Pierce mustered up the courage to yank it off of its granite pedestal with his Chevy Tahoe, according to the affidavit. When he realized the 800-pound cannon was too heavy to lift into the SUV, Pierce dragged it behind the Tahoe to a friend's house more than a mile away. There, he spent as many as seven hours using power tools to saw it into four or five chunks that he later showed to his drug dealer to prove 'that he was trying to pay for what he lost,' the affidavit says. A neighborhood resident alerted authorities about the missing cannon on April 3. Wichita police officers were able to figure out where the cannon went by following a series of gouges and teal-colored drag marks in the road between the park and Pierce's friend's house. They found the first piece of the destroyed cannon in the garage there, the affidavit says. Police recovered the rest in Pierce's Tahoe, parked outside his home near 21st and Amidon, after the friend told officers what had happened. This file photo shows the cannon at the Spanish American War Memorial before it was stolen. This 2007 photo shows the Spanish American War cannon after it was restored. The picture within the photo is of the cannon before it was restored. In an interview after his arrest, Pierce told police he had been addicted to meth for 20 years and got a pound of the drug to sell after he told his dealer he was hurting. But instead of selling it, he took the meth to friends who robbed him after he said he 'had scored' and 'they were about to get high,' according to the affidavit. Pierce told police his drug dealer didn't believe the story and threatened to harm him and his loved ones if he didn't pay $20,000 for the meth. The dealer also wasn't happy and called Pierce 'stupid' when he showed up at his house with the cannon pieces, according to the affidavit. The city considers the war cannon priceless because it cannot be remade or replaced. When asked to estimate its value, one city staffer told police similar cannons had sold at auction for more than $100,000 — and it could be worth upward of a half million dollars, the affidavit says. Damage to its granite pedestal is estimated at approximately $10,000. Pierce told police he 'did not have a specific plan to sell' the chunks of cannon because he didn't have the sort of identification required to sell metal like that directly to a scrap yard, according to the affidavit. Had he successfully sold all 800 pounds to a scrap business, he would have made only a fraction of what the cannon is likely worth — between $1,840 to $2,320 — because current scrap prices for bronze in Kansas are $2.30 to $2.90 per pound, the affidavit says. The cannon, forged for the king of Spain in 1794, was the centerpiece of the Spanish-American War Memorial at Central Riverside Park. It was gifted to the city and installed in 1901 after being taken as a wartime trophy by American soldiers in Cuba three years earlier, in 1898. Among its unique features is an intricate filigree design of the Spanish king's seal hand-carved into its muzzle. The cannon is the second valued artifact or piece of artwork on public display in Wichita that has been stolen for scrap in a little more than a year. A life-sized bronze statue of baseball great Jackie Robinson owned by youth sports organization League 42 was cut at the ankles and hauled off from McAdams Park on Jan. 25, 2024. Parts were later found burned in a dumpster. Pierce is charged with felony theft, aggravated criminal damage to property and possession of drug paraphernalia for use. He'll have a chance to enter a not-guilty or other plea at an arraignment scheduled for May 22. Man arrested, historic cannon recovered with significant damage after theft from park 'A great day for healing:' League 42 unveils new Jackie Robinson statue after theft Man sentenced as judge likens theft of Robinson statue to 'hacking off a leg of the Keeper'
