Incident Summary:
11/16/1982: Four members of the Macheteros robbed a supermarket in Carolina, Puerto Rico and then forced all of the customers and employees into the rear of the store. Ten minutes later, a Wells Fargo armored truck arrived at the supermarket. The Macheteros held one of the truck drivers at gunpoint and forced him to give up the keys to the cash vault stored in the truck. Simultaneously, a white van with two more Macheteros members arrived at the scene and the money was transferred into the vehicle. $12,000 was stolen from the supermarket and $300,000 was stolen from the armored truck. During this incident, some members of the Macheteros got into a confrontation with the owner of a gas station adjacent to the supermarket. When the owner of the gas station attempted to brandish his gun he was shot and killed.
Overview
GTD ID:
198211160011
When:
1982-11-16
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Puerto Rico
City:
Carolina
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Barricade Incident) |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Business |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Wells Fargo Bank |
| Specific Description |
Wells Fargo armored truck in Puerto Rico |
| Nationality of Target |
Puerto Rico |
| Target Type: Business |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Supermarket |
| Specific Description |
Supermarket in Carolina, Puerto Rico |
| Nationality of Target |
Puerto Rico |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
Yes |
| Number of Hostages |
1 |
| US Hostages |
1 |
| Hours of Kidnapping |
0 |
| Outcome |
Unknown |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
| Value of Property Damage |
$312,000.00 |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Handgun |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| handguns |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
No |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Additional Information |
This incident began around 8:50 AM. |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Macheteros |
Unknown |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
6 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
1 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
| Total Number of Injured |
0 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Ronald Fernandez, "Los Macheteros: The Wells Fargo Robbery and the Violent Struggle for Puerto Rican Independence," Prentice Hall Press, 1987. |
| "FBI Analysis of Terrorist Incidents in the United States 1982," Terrorist Research and Analytical Center, Terrorism Section Criminal Investigative Division, FBI, 1982. |
| 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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