Major General Juan Rius Rivera (August 26, 1848 – September 20, 1924), was a soldier and revolutionary leader from

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 ...

who served in the Cuban Liberation Army and reached the highest military rank in the army. He held Cuban ministerial offices after independence and In his later years he also became a successful businessperson in Honduras.

Early years

Rius Rivera was born in

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is the ninth-largest Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Township of Virgin of Candelaria, Our Lady of Candelaria), and is also ...

, to Eusebio Rius from

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

and Ramona Rivera from Puerto Rico. He was one of nine brothers. His paternal grandparents were Vicente Ríus and Francisca Rubio. His maternal grandparents were José Eusebio de Jesús de Rivera from

Galicia, Spain Galicia ( ; or ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain and nationalities and regions of Spain, historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest Iberian Peninsula, it includes the provinces o ...

and María Manuela de Rivera from Mayagüez. His family owned a coffee plantation in the Río Cañas Abajo barrio in Mayagüez,''Historia de Mayagüez 1760-1960''; by Subcomite de la Historia de Mayaüez (Author); Pages: 321–326; Publisher: Talleres Graficos Interamericanos (1960); Language: Spanish and were one of the wealthiest families in that town. There he received both his primary and secondary education. Rius Rivera was sent by his parents to study in Spain and earned his bachelor's degree in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

.''Genealogias Biografias e Historia del Mayagüez de Ayer y Hoy y Antologia de Puerto Rico''; by Martin Gaudier (Author); Pages: 245–249; Publisher: Imprenta "El Aguila", San German (1959); Language: Spanish He then went to study law at the University of Madrid, but he did not graduate."Historia militar de Puerto Rico"; by Hector Andres Negroni (Author); Page: 475; Publisher: Sociedad Estatal Quinto Centenario (1992); Language: Spanish; ; ''Mayagüez; Notas para su Historia''; by Silvia Aguilo Ramos (Author); Page: 76; Publisher: Model Offset Printing, San Juan (1984); Language: Spanish As a young man, he met and befriended the Puerto Rican patriot Ramón Emeterio Betances. Convinced that the Spanish Crown was mistreating the people of Puerto Rico and inspired by the ideals of Betances, Rius Rivera joined the pro-independence movement on the island. He became a member of the Mayagüez revolutionary cell "Capá Prieto" under the command of Mathias Brugman.

Cuban Liberation Army

On September 23, 1868, a group of Puerto Ricans revolted against Spain in an event known as the Grito de Lares (The Cry of Lares). Many of the revolutionaries were either killed, imprisoned or exiled. Rius Rivera, who had not participated directly in the revolt, was an avid reader of information pertaining to the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

and learned about the failed revolt. He then set his hopes on Cuba. Rius Rivera interrupted his studies in Spain, crossed the border to France, and from there he traveled to the United States. He arrived in New York City in 1869 and went to the Cuban Revolutionary Junta and offered his services. In December 1869, Colonel Francisco Javier Cisneros advised Rius to be ready to set sail for Cuba and a few days later the mayagüezano (as the people from Mayagüez are known) sailed for Cuba aboard the "Anna", an American steamship. There he participated in that country's

Ten Years' War The Ten Years' War (; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. On 10 October 1868, sugar mil ...

(1868–78) against Spain. In 1870 he joined the forces of Calixto García and was wounded in the Battle of Las Villas while fighting under the command of General

Máximo Gómez Máximo Gómez y Báez (November 18, 1836 – June 17, 1905) was a general of Dominican origin in the Cuban Wars of Independence (1868-78 and 1895–98). He was known for his controversial Scorched earth tactics, which entailed dynamiting pa ...

. The Ten Years' War came to an end with the Treaty of Zanjón, which resulted in the granting of more autonomous powers to Cuba. Rius Rivera did not agree with the treaty, and moved to Trujillo, Honduras in 1884. In 1887, he married a native Honduran named Aurora, the sister of

Tomás Estrada Palma Tomás Estrada Palma (; July 9, 1835 – November 4, 1908) was a Cuban politician, the president of the Republic of Cuba in Arms during the Ten Years' War, and the first President of Cuba, between May 20, 1902, and September 28, 1906. His colla ...

, future president of Cuba. In Honduras he dedicated himself to commerce and prospered economically. The Spanish Crown did not keep its part of the treaty with Cuba, and on February 24, 1895, insurgents rose against the Spaniards in the provinces of Oriente, Santa Clara and Matanzas in what became known as "El Grito de Baire". Rius Rivera joined the Cuban Liberation Army as one of its generals. The Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Liberation Army of the West, General Antonio Maceo, was wounded and surrounded in a place called "La Trocha". In September 1897, Rius Rivera under General Enrique Collazo was sent with Cuban troops aboard the schooner ''Three Friends'' to rescue General Maceo. They were able to break through the Spanish blockade and reach General Maceo. On December 7, General Maceo was engaged in a fierce fight against the troops of Spanish Major Cirujedas when he was killed. On December 20, General Rius Rivera was promoted to Commander-in Chief of the West at General Maceo's request. In 1897, Antonio Mattei Lluberas, a wealthy coffee plantation owner from Yauco, visited the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee in New York City. There he met with Ramón Emeterio Betances, Juan de Mata Terreforte and Aurelio Méndez Martínez and together they proceeded to plan a major coup. The uprising, which became known as the Intentona de Yauco was to be directed by Betances, organized by Aurelio Méndez Mercado and the armed forces were to be commanded by General Juan Rius Rivera from Cuba. On March 28, 1897, Rius Rivera engaged in combat at Cabezedas in the Occidental Province, where he was then overpowered by Spanish General Hernández Velasco. He and 250 of his men were captured and imprisoned. General Juan Rius Rivera was gravely injured and was transported to the hospital of San Ambrosio in Havana. Later, he was deported to Castillo Presidio de Montjuïc in Barcelona, Spain where he remained until the end of the war. On February 15, 1898, the United States declared war against Spain in what is known as the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. On April 19, 1898, the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

passed a resolution recognizing Cuba as a "free and independent" nation. Spain surrendered and signed the Treaty of Paris on December 10, resulting in Puerto Rico becoming a U.S. territory. Cuba gained its independence in 1902, but remained under heavy American influence until the

communist revolution A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, the term socialism can be used to indicate an intermediate stage between ...

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

in 1959.

Political career

General Rius Rivera was soon active in the young nation's politics. Among the political positions which he held were: * Member of the Assembly of Pinar del Río * Secretary of the President of the Republic * Civil Governor of Havana, named by General John E. Brooke * Secretary of Agriculture, named by General Leonardo Wood General Rius Rivera was one of the few members of the Cuban Assembly (legislature) who rejected the imposition of the Platt Amendment, which gave the United States the right to intervene unilaterally in Cuba as a precondition for independence in 1902. In 1902, Tomás Estrada Palma was elected

president of Cuba The president of Cuba (), officially the president of the Republic of Cuba (), is the head of state of Cuba. The office in its current form was established under the Constitution of 2019. The President is the second-highest office in Cuba and ...

. He, in turn, named Rius Rivera Secretary of the Treasury of Cuba in May 1902. When Estrada Palma's government fell he chose not to join the new government even though he was offered a position. In May 1907, Rius Rivera returned to Honduras, homeland of his wife. There he founded and was president of the Banco Atlántico and first president of Hospital D'Antonio. Rius Rivera was representing Cuba at a conference held in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

in 1924 when he suddenly died of heart failure. His remains were returned to Cuba and he is buried in the Colón Cemetery located in Havana, Cuba.,

Monument in Mayagüez, PR

In 2013, the township of Mayagüez unveiled an equestrian statue of Ríus Rivera on a little park to the side of the Balboa Bridge. The cast, made by the Puerto Rican artist, Salvador Rivera Cardona, presents the patriot from Mayagüez in Cuba in his role of a military leader with the machete held high. The site has attracted tourists and history fans.

Brigade

There is a "brigade" named after Juan Ríus Rivera.

Honors

The National Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) named its newly founded

chapter after Rius during a visit by the organization's leader José Daniel Ferrer in May 2016.

References

External links

General Juan Rius Rivera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rius Rivera, Juan 1848 births 1924 deaths Finance ministers of Cuba People from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of Catalan descent Puerto Rican Army personnel 19th-century Puerto Rican people People of the Ten Years' War People of the Cuban War of Independence Puerto Rican military officers Cuban independence activists 19th-century Cuban military personnel