U.S. Parole Commission Denies Lopez Parole Application

Chevy Chase, MD – The United States Parole Commission has denied parole to Oscar Lopez Rivera, announced Commission Chairman Isaac Fulwood, Jr.

Lopez, who has been incarcerated for 30 years, was sentenced to 55 years’ imprisonment following his August 11, 1981 conviction for seditious conspiracy, use of force to commit robbery, interstate transportation of firearms and ammunition to aid in the commission of a felony, and interstate transportation of stolen vehicles. The offenses arose out of his role in Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (“FALN”), a Puerto Rican nationalist group whose activities included over 100 bombings in which six (6) people were killed and others maimed.

He was sentenced to an additional fifteen years’ incarceration on February 26, 1988, for his activities in conspiring to escape from the Leavenworth federal prison. Lopez solicited unincarcerated supporters to obtain weapons, grenades, and C-4 explosives for use in breaking him and fellow inmates – to whom Lopez had boasted about his leadership role in the FALN – out of prison.

In 1999, President Clinton offered clemency to Lopez on condition that he renounce violence and serve an additional ten years in prison with clear conduct. Lopez rejected the offer.

Chairman Fulwood noted, “We have to look at whether release would depreciate the seriousness of the offenses or promote disrespect for the law, whether release would jeopardize public safety, and the specific characteristics of the offender.”

For more information, please call Johanna Markind at (301) 492-5821 ext. 238.