Alejandro González Malavé (May 20, 1957 – April 29, 1986) was a Puerto Rican undercover agent who gained infamy with the

Cerro Maravilla Cerro Maravilla is Puerto Rico's fourth highest peak at . It is located on the northern edge Barrio Anón in Ponce, close to the border with the municipality Jayuya, and is part of the Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Range). It is known ...

case scandal. In 1973, still a High School student, Malavé was recruited as an undercover agent. González from a poor family, he grew up with his parents and a younger brother in the Monacillos neighborhood of

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras () (Spanish language, Spanish for ''stones river'') is a highly urbanized commercial and residential district in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the capital Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico. Adjacent to th ...

, an outspoken university political leader, graduated as a police officer in 1979 in the

Puerto Rico Police The Puerto Rico Police (PPR; , ), officially the Puerto Rico Police Bureau (, ), is a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the entire Puerto Rico, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a division of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safe ...

, the same year he went to work undercover. He infiltrated an organization of radical pro independence students and was the driver when

Carlos Soto Arriví The Cerro Maravilla murders, also known as the Cerro Maravilla massacre, occurred on July 25, 1978, at Cerro Maravilla, a mountain in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Rafael Torrech San Inocencio. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 18 October 2010. Retr ...

and Arnaldo Darío Rosado were murdered during a police set up at Cerro Maravilla. When the ''Cerro Maravilla'' inquest was televised all over

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

González, one of the accused, gained widespread infamy all across the island. His face became a common sight on Puerto Rican newspaper covers, and he received constant air time on television, because he had to take the stand many times during the trial. Although the scandal played a role in squashing the reelection plans of Governor

Carlos Romero Barceló Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló (September 4, 1932 – May 2, 2021) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1977 to 1985. He was the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party (PNP). He als ...

, the alleged conspiracy was never proven. González was tried, but

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

on all charges. On the evening of April 29, 1986, just two months after his acquittal, González was assassinated in front of his mother's house in Bayamón. He received three gunshot wounds while his mother was slightly injured. A few hours later, a group calling itself the "Volunteer Organization for the Revolution" called local news agencies claiming responsibility. In their statements they swore to kill, "one by one", all the police officers involved in the deaths in Cerro Maravilla.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malave, Alejandro Gonzalez 1958 births 1986 deaths 1980s murders in Puerto Rico 1986 crimes in Puerto Rico 1986 murders in North America Assassinated police officers Assassinated Puerto Rican people Deaths by firearm in Puerto Rico People from San Juan, Puerto Rico People murdered in Puerto Rico Puerto Rican police officers

See also

References