Antonio Vicente Miguel Valero de Bernabé Pacheco (October 26, 1790 – June 7, 1863), a.k.a. The Liberator from Puerto Rico, was a Puerto Rican military leader. Trained in Spain, he fought with the Spanish Army to expel the French leader, Napoleon, from Spain and was promoted to colonel during these years. A variant of his name, Manuel Antonio Valero, has been adopted by some historians, but it is not present in official documentation nor was it used by him. Valero de Bernabé had recently graduated from the military academy when Napoleon convinced King Charles IV of Spain to permit the French leader to pass through Spain with his army to attack Portugal. When Napoleon later refused to leave Spanish soil, the government declared war. Valero de Bernabé joined the Spanish Army and fought as an official of the Murcia Division of Spain, and helped defeat Napoleon's army at the Siege of Saragossa (1808) in the Peninsular War, also known as the Spanish War of Independence. During this conflict, he was involved in the defense of the Arrabal, holding his post despite the French advance and being taken prisoner as a result. After this action, Valero de Bernabé was awarded many decorations and promoted to the rank of colonel at the age of 19. When Ferdinand VII assumed the throne of Spain in 1813, Valero de Bernabé became critical of the new king's policies towards the Spanish colonies in Latin America. He developed a keen hatred of the monarchy, resigned his commission in the army, and in 1821 emigrated to Mexico with his family. There he joined the Army of the Three Guarantees headed by Agustín de Iturbide, and was appointed as Chief of Staff. He successfully fought for Mexico's independence from Spain, achieved in 1821, after which the people proclaimed Iturbide the Emperor of Mexico, gaining the rank of Brigadier General. Since Valero de Bernabé had developed anti-monarchist feelings following his experiences in Spain, he led an unsuccessful revolt against Iturbide. He fled the country, but was captured by a Spanish pirate and handed over to the authorities in Cuba, where he was imprisoned. Valero de Bernabé escaped from jail with the help of a group of supporters of secessionists from South America. He joined Simón Bolívar to fight for the independence of the Central and South American colonies from Spain. He also supported the independence of Puerto Rico and