The Río Piedras massacre of four Puerto Rican Nationalist Party members occurred on October 24 , 1935 . The Nationalist Party blamed these deaths on Elisha Francis Riggs , a former United States Army Colonel whom , at the time , was the top U.S.-appointed police officer on the entire island . Consequently , on February 23 , 1936 , Colonel Riggs was assassinated by Nationalists Hiram Rosado and Elías Beauchamp . This prompted U.S Senator Millard Tydings to introduce a legislation to grant independence to Puerto Rico . Dávila Monsanto was in favor of the proposal . However Luis Muñoz Marín objected because , in his view , Puerto Rico was incapable of independence without U.S. economic support
Río Piedras massacre
Río Piedras massacre
José M. Dávila Monsanto