exchange for a promotion to the rank of general only. He would preside a session with his masons where he actively plotted to assassin the emperor. Itúrbide opted not to directly attack the logias, concerned with the influence that Valero de Bernabé ejected trough them. The empire infiltrated the logias by planting spies within them. Itbúrbide schemed to quell the assassination attempt by making the masonic conspiracies public and immediately promoting Valero de Bernabé to the rank of brigadier general, planting suspicion that he had published the information himself. The plot was successful, forcing Valero de Bernabé to leave the country, after learning that his co-conspirators planned to turn on him and convinced that they would not believe that he was innocent. He confronted the emperor and requested his passport, revealing that he was aware of the imperial influence among the republicans, and calling Itúrbide a "common tyrant". When responding to the reason why he was leaving, Valero de Bernabé stated that "[Itúrbide] knew [the motive] better than even himself and insisted that he only wanted his passport as "reward" for his services. He then left Veracruz accompanied by another Puerto Rican, a man named Hernáiz who was a Spanish navy lieutenant. They left towards Jamaica, but where intercepted by a corsair near Havana, where they had to disembark. Despite remaining hidden in the Spanish colony, Valero de Bernabé was eventually discovered and imprisoned in a fort. There he redenvouzed with Vives, then governor, who officially ordered his transport to Spain and the issue of a passport for this purpose, but also relaxed the security of the jail. Helped by a group of dissidents, he escaped and managed to travel to board a vapor ship leaving towards New York by using a passport that bore a signature supposed to belong to Vives. From there, he embarked to La Guaira. Due to the nature of this event, its authenticity was questioned until his son, José Valero, certified it during the 20th century. Afterwards, he would criticize Itúrbide, not only for his imperial ambitions, but also for what he felt were vestiges of "Neron and Caligula", citing a "political and religious Inquisition" that led to the use of deception against the republicans and calling him a hypocrite for allying with the Borbones. Despite the political critic, Valero de Bernabé lamented leaving "a country that owes [him] a few sacrifices for its political