Santiago (Chagui) Mari Pesquera (1952–1975) is the eldest son of Juan  Mari Brás and Paquita Pesquera Cantellops.

Juan Mari Brás, a lawyer by profession, was a political leader from his  youth and dedicated to the struggle for Puerto Rico’s independence from  the United States, which had taken control of the country through a  military invasion on July 25, 1898. At the time of his son’s death in March  1976, Mari Brás was leading the Puerto Rican Socialist Party, a vigorous  and growing, openly revolutionary movement that had gained strength  and influence within the labor movement and community struggles and  was making inroads in the country’s electoral contests.

Paquita Pesquera, who was a university professor, had been an activist  since her student days and played a prominent role in the party. At the  time of her son’s death, she was teaching at a university in New York and  was active in the New York chapter of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party.

Chagui—the nickname by which Santiago Mari Pesquera was known— was a young man who, at the age of 23, was emerging as a great talent  with remarkable abilities. A brief overview gives us an idea.

He was always a good student. He attended high school at the Escuela  Libre de Música, where he specialized in clarinet and trombone. He  graduated in 1970 with excellent grades. He enrolled at the University of  Puerto Rico, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Social  Sciences.

He had an entrepreneurial and adventurous spirit. At age 16, he learned  to drive cars, and from there he went on to obtain licenses for heavy  equipment and commercial vehicles, which allowed him to work as a  driver while continuing his studies. His desire to learn, to discover things  through hands-on experience, his physical strength, and his exceptional  manual skills led him to win motocross championships, sailing regattas,  and a 24-hour rally around the entire island, where he took first place in both time and precision, competing in his own vehicle with very limited  resources against experts sponsored by large commercial companies to drive cars, and from there he went on to obtain licenses for heavy  equipment and commercial vehicles, which allowed him to work as a  driver while continuing his studies. His desire to learn, to discover things  through hands-on experience, his physical strength, and his exceptional  manual skills led him to win motocross championships, sailing regattas,  and a 24-hour rally around the entire island, where he took first place in  both time and precision, competing in his own vehicle with very limited  resources against experts sponsored by large commercial companies.

He enjoyed scuba diving and fishing, as well as bird hunting and basketball.

At age 18, he and two cousins of the same age bought an 80-cuerda farm in the Toro Negro neighborhood of Ciales with money the three of  them were able to raise by selling some of their belongings and working  hard.

Politically, Chagui remained active and participated in the activities of the  independence and student movements. In the fight against mandatory  military service, he refused to serve because he believed he had no reason to enlist in an army that was not his own, to fight in the war of aggression in Vietnam.

He played an active role in the 1973 student strike that kept the university  closed for several months, forcing university authorities to meet with  student leaders and reach agreements.

He always attended protests against mining and environmental  destruction, as well as the September 23 events in Lares commemorating  the 1868 Cry of Independence, to which he also rallied his friends and  cousins.

That is how he grew up—mastering all modes of transportation, playing  outdoor sports, participating in political events, overcoming obstacles, and  devising solutions—until his own challenge led him to learn the science of  flying airplanes.

To pay for his commercial pilot training, at age 22, after graduating from  college, he sold his share of the Ciales farm and moved to Oklahoma,  from where he returned with his license to begin his career as a  commercial pilot.

He returned in January 1976 and found a job by February. He had been  working as a pilot for a small cargo airline for several weeks when he was  murdered.

On the morning of March 24, 1976, Chagui left for work as usual, and that  afternoon, when he was supposed to pick up his nephew and his sister,  he didn’t show up. The next morning, his body was found inside his  sister’s car, parked on the side of Highway #1—which runs from Río  Piedras to Caguas—across from the General Foods offices.

At a time when the Puerto Rican Socialist Party was growing and  developing—when the newspaper *Claridad* was being published and  circulated in Puerto Rico and the United States, and massive political  rallies were being held—the U.S. government and the FBI, which  operates in Puerto Rico by virtue of the colonial status of the local  government, used the Puerto Rican Police to carry out various forms of  repression, harassment, and persecution against independence activists.

From the very beginning, when news of Chagui’s death broke, the  general suspicion was that this was not a common crime but a political  assassination. The country was going through a historic moment amid the  atmosphere of institutional persecution of the independence movement  typical of the Cold War; Mari Brás was a prominent figure in the  movement, and he and his family had been the targets of multiple threats  and attacks, including the planting of explosive devices in their homes  and cars. This, combined with the fact that at that time the police were  controlled by a gang of corrupt and repressive officers under the influence  of the FBI, and that the Department of Justice committed a series of  irregularities in the investigation and prosecution of the only official  suspect in the crime, left the family and the independence movement  dissatisfied with the outcome of the investigation and the trial, in which  Henry Walter Coira Story was convicted.

The Department of Justice reopened the case in 1984 after concluding  beyond a reasonable doubt that Henry Walter Coira Story did not act  alone and that others were involved in the murder. The FBI is in  possession of documents containing information about the assassination  plot and its execution. The Puerto Rico Department of Justice and  Chagui’s family have requested these documents on several occasions,  but the FBI refuses to acknowledge that it has them or to declassify them  so they can be used to solve the case. The investigation has always fallen  short and has never been completed.

 

Director: Márel Malaret

SANTIAGO (CHAGUI) MARI PESQUERA was murdered on March 24,  1976. He was 23 years old. He had gone out to pick up his young nephew in his sister’s car. He never returned. He was found in the car the next day with a gunshot wound to the temple. Since then, the family has never  stopped searching for answers to this crime.

Santiago had obtained his pilot’s license and was working for a small  company. He had no enemies and was not involved in any illegal  activities. Nothing in his life should have provoked that level of violence.  There was only one possible explanation: he was the son of Juan Mari Brás, founder of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party and an advocate for  Puerto Rican independence.

Santiago had obtained his pilot’s license and was working for a small  company. He had no enemies and was not involved in any illegal  activities. Nothing in his life should have provoked that level of violence.  There was only one possible explanation: he was the son of Juan Mari  Bras, founder of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party and an advocate for  Puerto Rican independence.

Henry Walter Coira, a neighbor and friend of Santiago and his brothers,  was charged with the murder. Henry had mental health issues. He  pleaded guilty, was tried, and served his sentence. However, every  investigation has concluded that he did not act alone. To this day, no one  else has been charged with the crime—a crime that many, including  various political figures, have called a political crime.

The 1970s were marked by violence and political persecution throughout  Latin America. Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, was not immune to this  violence. Many were arrested and imprisoned for their political beliefs.  The murder of Santiago Mari is not the only unsolved case. The decade  culminated with the 1979 murder of Carlos Muñiz Varela—which remains  unsolved—and the killing of Carlos Soto Arriví and Arnaldo Darío Rosado,  two young independence activists, at the hands of the police in Cerro  Maravilla.

The context of politically motivated violence will serve as the backdrop for  this documentary project. However, its fundamental purpose is to shed  light on the tireless quest by Santiago Mari’s family to uncover the truth.  This quest stems not only from the outrage caused by injustice, but is also  a deeply human search born of love for a brother and the pain of loss  under circumstances that are difficult to erase from memory.

The documentary is also a commitment to society in the ongoing struggle  against the violence of those in power.

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March 24, 1976 - Kidnapping and murder of Chagui. He disappeared  while driving his sister’s car, which she had lent him so he could go to  work, on the condition that he pick up his nephew at 5:00 p.m. from  daycare and then pick up his sister from work.

March 25, 1976 – Early in the morning, his body was found inside the car  on the shoulder of Highway #PR-1, in the jurisdiction of Caguas, across  from the General Foods offices, near the intersection with Highway #175.

Following a private investigation, the Puerto Rican Socialist Party  classified the death of Santiago Mari Pesquera as a political assassination.

Forensic pathologist Rafael Criado told the press that the fatal shot was  fired from a foot away from the victim’s right temple with a .38-caliber  revolver. He concluded that the victim had struggled with the killer  because he had scratches, bruises, and contusions on his neck and  mouth. His shirt was torn. “In addition,” said Criado, “his right hand was  clenched into a fist, which is clear evidence that Santiago put up a fierce  struggle when he realized he was about to be killed.”

March 26, 1976 - Funeral of the murdered young man, where his father,  Juan Mari Brás, delivered a speech urging people not to succumb to  revenge.

Henry Walter Coira Story, 23, a neighbor and friend of Chagui and his  brothers, was arrested as a suspect in the murder. The police’s own  accounts suggested that the suspect did not act alone. Henry Walter  Coira’s father had him admitted to the Dr. Julia Psychiatric Clinic.

In an FBI memo dated March 26, 1976, which was later made public in  1996, the Puerto Rico Police formally requested that the FBI “in writing,  the Puerto Rico Police requested that all files, documents, or information  in any format that this agency has provided to the FBI be specifically  exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and its  amendments, and the Privacy Act of 1974. Consequently, any agency that  subsequently receives such information is bound by this request.”

March 28, 1976  - A judge filed charges of first-degree murder against  Henry Walter Coira Story, along with two charges of violating firearms  laws, and set his bail at $125,000 during a hearing at which the defendant  was not present. The judge allowed him to remain at the Dr. Juliá  Psychiatric Clinic.

March 29, 1976 – Henry Walter Coira was transported from the  psychiatric hospital to police headquarters for questioning. The press  reported that during the trip, Coira uttered some unintelligible words and  showed no emotion whatsoever. At a press conference, Colonel Héctor  M. Lugo reported that Coira had been taken to his office for questioning  regarding the murder and would then be brought before Judge Montañez  Delerme in Caguas so that the judge could decide whether to imprison  him or return him to the hospital. Colonel Lugo reported that Coira had  developed a phobia against independence activists and against Mari  Pesquera.

In a separate press conference, Representative Carlos Gallisá of the  PSP stated that they would conduct their own investigation because,  while it is known who pulled the trigger, they are not convinced that Walter  Coira acted alone. He reported that independence leaders know there are  other individuals who instigated Coira to commit the crime and took  advantage of his psychiatric condition.

The judge ordered the defendant to be admitted to the State Penitentiary in Río Piedras.

October 8, 1976 - The medical certificate regarding Henry Walter Coira  states: “Chronic paranoid-type schizophrenic reaction, mentally  incompetent,” signed by José R. Vigoreaux, M.D., Psychiatrist. The  defendant remains in custody but does not plead competent to stand trial,  and therefore no trial is held.

1976—Independent investigations by the Puerto Rican Socialist Party  point to the Cuban Edberto Berdut as a suspect. His car was seen at the  scene where Chagui was kidnapped and at the location where the car  with the body was abandoned.

January 2, 1981 - Carlos Romero Barceló was sworn in for a second  term as governor after winning (in the opinion of many, fraudulently) the November 1980 general election. Romero Barceló (PNP) defeated Rafael  Hernández Colón (PPD) for governor in November 1976. In this second  election (1980), he was trailing in the count when the power to the computerized system went out; when the system was restored, it appeared that he was winning. The Puerto Rican Senate remained in the  hands of the PPD term as governor after winning (in the opinion of many, fraudulently) the November 1980 general election. 

January 29, 1981 - Henry Walter Coira Story undergoes a new psychiatric evaluation at the Psychiatric Hospital at 10:00 a.m. and is declared fit to stand trial. The trial is expedited.

February 9, 1981 – At a court hearing, the defendant is declared fit to stand trial.

February 16, 1981 – Coira pleads guilty to second-degree murder.

March 17, 1981 – Coira is sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for murder, 1 to 3 years for illegal use of firearms, and six months for illegal possession of firearms. The trial was completed in 19 days, and the crime is “officially” resolved.

March 18, 1981 — Mari Brás’s attorney went to court and was surprised to find that the sentencing hearing had taken place the previous day. Mari Brás, who had not been notified of the trial and who, upon learning of it, had requested a hearing for the sentencing, had been summoned to appear on March 18. The hearing was held on March 17. Mari Brás denounced the trick and called it a cover-up.

1983 – The Puerto Rican Senate holds the famous Cerro Maravilla Hearings. These hearings concluded that the deaths of two young men, Carlos Soto Arriví and Arnaldo Darío Rosado, were the result of a sting operation carried out by the Puerto Rican Police under the direction of an undercover agent named Alejandro González Malavé, who had infiltrated the independence movement. During the hearings, prosecutor Emilio Duprey Tacoronte, who was in charge of the Santiago Mari Pesquera case at the time of the murder, stated that the Mari Pesquera case should be investigated more thoroughly because it could be similar to the Cerro Maravilla case. 

1985 - Following the Cerro Maravilla hearings and Governor Carlos Romero Barceló’s election defeat, the Department of Justice reopened the case under the supervision of prosecutor Crisanta Rodríguez, who concluded beyond a doubt that Henry Walter Coira Story did not act alone and that others were involved in the murder.

June 4, 1986 - Inmate Henry Walter Coira changed the list of people authorized to visit him. He removed the family members who had been visiting him and added a list of Cubans.

June 5, 1988 - Antonio de la Coba, a Cuban exile terrorist based in Puerto Rico, appears on the list of visitors Henry Coira received that day. Gloria Gil, a reporter for the Cuban exile newspaper La Crónica, also visited him that day and conducted an interview with him inside the Oso Blanco State Penitentiary, which she later published in La Crónica. The publication features photos of Henry Coira with Gloria Gil in the Oso Blanco courtyard. It is unknown how the reporter obtained permission to 

June 5, 1988 - Antonio de la Coba, a Cuban exile terrorist based in  Puerto Rico, appears on the list of visitors Henry Coira received that day.  Gloria Gil, a reporter for the Cuban exile newspaper La Crónica, also  visited him that day and conducted an interview with him inside the Oso  Blanco State Penitentiary, which she later published in La Crónica. The  publication features photos of Henry Coira with Gloria Gil in the Oso  Blanco courtyard. It is unknown how the reporter obtained permission to  interview him and to enter the prison’s inner courtyard.

1989 - A woman appears on the visitor list as Henry Coira’s wife. It is  unknown how they met or how they got married while he was in prison  since 1976.

September 8, 1989 - Henry Coira was released from prison. His wife  picked him up at Camp Zarzales and took him to live in Miami.

March 27, 1991 - Puerto Rico’s chief prosecutor, Pedro G. Goico  Amador, requests information from the FBI regarding Santiago Mari  Pesquera and Henry Coira. Specifically, he asks whether Coira was an  FBI employee, whether there are any reports or documents written by  Coira or referring to him, and under what circumstances they were  obtained.

May 23, 1991 - Prosecutor Goico Amador receives a response from the  FBI stating: “Please be advised that your request for information  regarding the FBI file on Santiago Mari Pesquera and Henry Walter Coira  is governed by the Privacy Act (Title 5, United States Code, Section 552).  The Privacy Act imposes specific restrictions and prohibitions on the  disclosure of information protected by the statute. These restrictions,  together with the FBI’s policies and procedures regarding the  discretionary release of information in our records, are strictly enforced in  accordance with the Privacy Act.”

1993 - The New York-based “Center for Constitutional Rights,” at the  request of Juan Mari Brás, submits a petition to the U.S. Department of  Justice asking it to disclose the information it has regarding the murder of  Santiago Mari Pesquera.

March 19, 1996 - The Center for Constitutional Rights writes to Juan Mari  Brás regarding the results of its efforts to have the Department of Justice  release the documents it holds concerning the murder of Santiago Mari  Pesquera. In the letter, they indicate that the FBI restricted the information  and that they intend to appeal this decision, although they believe the  appeal will not be successful. They include the FBI memorandum dated  March 26, 1976—two days after the murder—which has been redacted in  several places.

1993–2000 - Under the governorship of Pedro Rosselló González of the  New Progressive Party, the Department of Justice conducted no  investigation whatsoever. The case file was left to gather dust in the  Department’s basement. The newspaper *El Vocero* reported on the  memorial service held for him at the Old San Juan Cemetery and noted  that “federal authorities have not yet disclosed everything they know.”

January 2, 2001 - Sila María Calderón is sworn in as governor.

2001 - The Department of Justice appoints Prosecutor José Virella to  take charge of the case.

January 22, 2002 - The Puerto Rico Senate Judiciary Committee holds public hearings to investigate the murders of Santiago Mari Pesquera and  Carlos Muñiz Varela, among others. During the hearings, it comes to light  that Prosecutor José Virella received a death threat. Rosa M. Mari Pesquera, Chagui’s sister, presents a statement. There was no follow-up to the hearings.

January 2, 2005 - Aníbal Acevedo Vilá of the Popular Democratic Party  takes office as governor.

September 26, 2005 - Prosecutor José Virella asks Luis Fraticelli,  Director of the FBI in Puerto Rico, to cooperate in declassifying any  information they may have regarding the murder of Santiago Mari  Pesquera. The request went unanswered.

March 24, 2006 - As they have done every year since the murder took  place, family and friends went to the Old San Juan Cemetery to lay a  wreath and urge the U.S. government and authorities in Puerto Rico to  release the documents they have regarding this crime. That day marked  the 30th anniversary of the murder.

December 26, 2007 - Prosecutor Sarimar Andreu takes over the case  and sends a letter to David M. Hardy, head of the FBI’s Records  Management Division, complaining that the FBI had not responded to the  request for information made in 2005. She also asks for information about  Henry Coira. 

January 28, 2008 - Prosecutor Sarimar Andreu and the chief prosecutor  of the Puerto Rico Department of Justice, José M. Delgado Rodríguez,  write to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) requesting information on  any records they may have related to Santiago Mari Pesquera and Henry  Walter Coira.

May 7, 2008 - The chief prosecutor of the Puerto Rico Department of  Justice, José M. Delgado Rodríguez, sends information requested by the  Central Intelligence Agency and asks that they not close the request  made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

December 15, 2008 - Juan Mari Brás, father of Santiago Mari Pesquera,  requests from the Puerto Rico Department of Justice a copy of the entire investigation file on the murder, including communications with the FBI  requesting information and the FBI’s responses. No response has been  received to this request.

December 29, 2008 - Governor Acevedo Vilá sends a letter to U.S.  President-elect Barack Obama, asking him to intervene with the FBI to  have it declassify and send to the Puerto Rico Department of Justice all  the information it has on the case.

January 2, 2009 - Luis Fortuño of the New Progressive Party is sworn in  as governor.

November 29, 2009 - The Mari Pesquera family requests a meeting with  Attorney General Antonio Sagardía to provide information and submit a  series of declassified documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation  (FBI) that could shed light on the murder of Santiago Mari Pesquera. The  request is ignored by the attorney general.

December 2, 2009 - The Commission for Truth and Justice held a press  conference to release declassified documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirming that in January 1976, two months before  the assassination of Santiago Mari Pesquera, the FBI knew of a plot to  assassinate Juan Mari Brás, Chagui’s father. Mari Brás and his family  were never warned of the plot or the threats against their lives.

September 10, 2010 - Juan Mari Brás, the father of Santiago (Chagui)  Mari Pesquera, dies at the age of 82 of natural causes, with the case of  his son’s murder still unsolved.

January 2, 2013 - Alejandro García Padilla of the Popular Democratic  Party takes office as governor.

2014 - The Department of Justice, headed by César R. Miranda, Esq.,  appoints prosecutor Pedro Tomás Berríos Lara to continue the  investigation.

March 13, 2014 - Senator María de Lourdes Santiago writes a letter to  the Secretary of Justice, César R. Miranda Rodríguez, urging him to  continue the investigation into the murders of Santiago Mari Pesquera  and Carlos Muñiz Varela so that justice may be served.

March 25, 2014 - Secretary of Justice César R. Miranda Rodríguez, responds to Senator María de Lourdes Santiago’s letter, reiterating that  they will continue investigating the case and pledging not to remain  inactive.

November 24, 2014 - As part of the process of scanning the file compiled  by the Puerto Rico Police Intelligence Division on Juan Mari Brás, documents were found identifying FBI agents Arturo Rivera and Donald  Huppert, who were aware of the plans by Cuban terrorist groups based  on the island to kill the independence leader and socialist. The files were  handed over to Juan Mari Brás following the successful class-action  lawsuit Noriega v. Governor, which exposed the Puerto Rico Police  Department’s unconstitutional practice of gathering information on pro independence citizens in order to hinder their ideological activities. The  files on Juan Mari Brás cover the years 1947–1987.

November 28, 2014 - Santiago Mari Pesquera’s family met with  Secretary of Justice César R. Miranda and handed him FBI memos  mentioning the Puerto Rico Police Department’s request to keep the case  and the entire investigation exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

February 11, 2015 - The Superintendent of the Puerto Rico Police, José  L. Caldero López, sent a letter to James B. Comey, Director of the FBI in Washington, D.C., a letter stating that, 38 years after the crime, the  Puerto Rico Police Department sees no reason to justify continuing the  exemption under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in the Santiago  Mari Pesquera murder case. For this reason, he requests that the ban on  releasing the documents be lifted to allow for full access to the information  and to clarify the circumstances surrounding this historic case. He also wrote to the Attorney General to inform him of the request made to the  FBI.

August 26, 2016 - Given the lack of follow-up communication, a letter was sent to Secretary César Miranda demanding that the case not be  closed.

June 4, 2019 - The family sent a letter to Attorney General Wanda  Vázquez Garced, requesting a meeting to learn about the progress of the  investigation. The Attorney General did not respond to the letter.

March 17, 2021 - The family sent a letter to the newly appointed attorney general, Domingo Emanuelli, requesting a meeting to discuss the next  steps in the investigation and asking that the new administration demand  that the FBI hand over the documents in its possession that could lead to  the identification of those responsible for the murder.

April 12, 2021 - Mari Mari Narváez and Rosa Mari Pesquera, members of  the family, meet with Secretary of Justice Domingo Emmanuelli,  Undersecretary of Justice Wanda Casiano, Chief Prosecutor Melissa  Vázquez, Prosecutor Pedro Berríos, and prosecutors Néstor Acevedo and  Ángel García Rodríguez.

February 10, 2025 - Congresswomen of Puerto Rican descent, Nydia  Velázquez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, sent a letter to the directors of  the FBI and the CIA demanding that they declassify all documents and  information they have regarding the murders of Santiago Mari Pesquera  and Carlos Muñiz Varela.

 

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The research, development, production, filming, and editing phases are already complete.

All that remains is post-production, which is a very costly phase.

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