Avelino González-Claudio
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Avelino González-Claudio (October 8, 1942,
Vega Baja, Puerto Rico Vega Baja () is a Vega Baja barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located on the coast of north central Puerto Rico. It is north of Morovis, Puerto Rico, Morovis, east of Manatí, Puerto Rico, Manatí, and west of V ...
– July 9, 2019) was a Puerto Rican
independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
activist who served time in a U.S. federal prison for his participation in the more than million (equivalent to more than $million in ) Águila Blanca armored truck robbery planned by Los Macheteros. Although the robbery took place in 1983, González-Claudio was not apprehended until 25 years later, in 2008. After pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, González-Claudio was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2010. He was released three years later, in 2013.


The robbery

On September 12, 1983, a
Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...
armored truck in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
, was robbed of more than million (equivalent to more than $million in ). The robbery, code-named " Águila Blanca" ("White Eagle"), was "the largest cash heist in U.S. history" at the time of its commission.Filiberto Ojeda Ríos (obituary)
''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'', September 29, 2005. Accessed April 5, 2006. (''The Economist'' Printed edition: October 1, 2005; Vol. 377; Issue 8446; Page 82.)''The Hartford'' (Connecticut, USA) ''Courant''. February 8, 2008. "Wells Fargo Fugitive Captured: Suspect Allegedly Transported Cash From $7 Million Robbery To Mexico" By Edmund H. Mahony, Courant Staff Writer
Retrieved November 30, 2009.


Arrests

In 1985, González-Claudio was accused in absentia of having planned the robbery as a member of Los Macheteros. González-Claudio was apprehended in 2008, after more than 20 years as a
fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...
and during which time he had adopted an alias that allowed him to work as a teacher in Puerto Rico. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy for robbery and, in 2010, was sentenced to seven years in prison. Prosecutors argued for the necessity of a substantial sentence in spite of González-Claudio's age and
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
, fearing that he could still be influential in the Los Macheteros organization, as authorities had found in February 2008 "documents in Gonzalez-Claudio's home that they say showed he was still involved with the group." Gonzalez-Claudio was released from prison on 5 February 2013. During his time as a fugitive he communicated with his wife via correspondence. In May 2011, his brother Norberto González-Claudio was arrested for his participation in the robbery. Norberto was released on January 15, 2015.


Death

Avelino Gonzalez-Claudio died on July 9, 2019.


See also

* Oscar López Rivera * Carlos Alberto Torres * Juan Enrique Segarra-Palmer *
Edwin Cortes Edwin Cortes was a Puerto Rican nationalist and member of the FALN who received a sentence of 35 years for seditious conspiracy and other charges. He was sentenced on October 5, 1985, and incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison. However, he was ...
*
Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (June 29, 1893Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and a leading figure in ...
*
Oscar Collazo Oscar Collazo (January 20, 1914 – February 21, 1994) was a Puerto Rican militant of the Nationalist Party. He and Griselio Torresola were responsible for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Harry S. Truman in Washington, D.C. ...
*
Lolita Lebrón Lolita Lebrón (November 19, 1919 – August 1, 2010) was a Puerto Rican nationalist who was convicted of aggravated assault and other crimes after carrying out an armed attack on the United States Capitol in 1954, which resulted in the wou ...
*
Puerto Rican independence movement Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to gain independence for the Geography of Puerto Rico, island, first from the Spanish Empire until 1898 and since then from the United States. ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez-Claudio, Avelino 1942 births 2019 deaths History of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican nationalists People from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico Imprisoned Puerto Rican independence activists Boricua Popular Army members Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government