Incident Summary:
1/19/1978: Unknown Puerto Rican nationalists bombed an Water Resources Authority substation in Villamar, Puerto Rico, leaving large sections of San Juan without electricity. It is unknown whether any injuries or fatalities resulted from the blast; however, the explosion caused 30,000 people to lose electrical service. The bombing coincided with a wave of sabotage against the state-owned Water Resources Authority and the electric workers' strike, which was politically motivated and led by a member of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party.
Overview
GTD ID:
197801190006
When:
1978-01-19
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Puerto Rico
City:
Villamar
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Bombing/Explosion |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Food or Water Supply |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Water Resources Authority |
| Specific Description |
Water Resources Authority substation, Villamar Puerto Rico |
| Nationality of Target |
Puerto Rico |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Unknown Explosive Type |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | Yes |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Additional Information |
This is part of a multiple attack with 197801190007 and 197801190008. The bombing coincided with a wave of sabotage against the state-owned Water Resources Authority and the electric workers' strike, which was politically motivated and led by a member of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. Within a five day period, there were two other bombings directed against electric utilities in Puerto Rico (197801140009 and 197801200001). |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Puerto Rican Nationalists |
No |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
Unknown |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
Unknown |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
Unknown |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
Unknown |
| Total Number of Injured |
Unknown |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
Unknown |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
Unknown |
Sources
Sources
| William Sater, "Puerto Rican Terrorists: A Possible Threat to U.S. Energy Installations?," RAND, October 1981. |
| "Around the Nation: Bomb Blasts Knock Out Power in San Juan," New York Times, January 20, 1978. |
| Christopher Hewitt, "Political Violence and Terrorism in Modern America: A Chronology," Praeger Security International, 2005. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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