Who Is Oscar López Rivera? Militant Steps Aside As Honoree For Puerto Rican Day Parade

Puerto Rican nationalist Oscar López Rivera has stepped aside in his controversial status as an honoree for the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. He will instead play no “formal role” in the parade but march as a “humble Puerto Rican and grandfather.”

Lopez Rivera’s removal as an honoree comes after major sponsors pull out and boycotted the parade scheduled to take place June 11 on Fifth Avenue.

"I will be on Fifth Ave. not as your honoree but as a humble Puerto Rican and grandfather who at 74 continues to be committed to helping raise awareness about the fiscal, health care and human rights crisis Puerto Rico is facing at this historic juncture," Lopez Rivera wrote in an op-ed for the New York Daily News.

The decision to push Lopez Rivera aside as an honorary member has been debated since parade organizers chose to honor him as its first-ever "National Freedom Hero." This resulted in a backlash from groups who threatened to boycott the parade and the loss of major sponsors, including Goya Foods, Jet Blue, AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Univision, Telemundo and NBC4.

READ: Obama Pardons 2017 Full List: Chelsea Manning, Oscar Lopez Rivera And Others To Get Shortened, Reprieved Sentences

López Rivera is a former leader of the group Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (FALN), which translates to the Armed Forces of National Liberation. The FALN claimed responsibility for bombings in New York City, Chicago and other cities during the 1970s and 80s.

The Puerto Rican nationalist was a fugitive between the years of 1976 and 1979. He was arrested on May 29, 1981 and tried by the United States government for seditious conspiracy, use of force to commit robbery, interstate transportation of firearms, and conspiracy to transport explosives with intent to destroy government property.

On August 11, 1981, López Rivera was convicted and sentenced to 55 years in federal prison and was later sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison for conspiring to escape from the Leavenworth federal prison.

President Obama commuted his sentence before leaving office in January. On February 9, 2017, he was moved from to Puerto Rico, where he completed the last three months of his sentence under house arrest before being released on May 17, 2017.

READ: Puerto Rico Election Results: Could Commonwealth Become A State? Ricardo Rossello Vows To Make History

López Rivera was not charged with any of the bombings that are associated with the FALN, and his supporters and enemies have argued whether or not he should be labeled as a terrorist or as a political prisoner. His decision to march in the parade — in any capacity — after 36 years in custody has opened up new wounds surrounding his controversial status in the history of relations between Puerto Rico and America.

New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio praised his decision to step aside as an honorary marcher, saying it’s a "critical step forward in refocusing our city's attention on the more important issues facing Puerto Rico" and said that he would play no “formal role” in the parade.

Some groups like the FDNY Hispanic Society are continuing to boycott the event after it was announced that López Rivera’s role would be reduced. "We are not attacking Oscar," FDNY's José Prosper told NBC Latino in a recent interview. "We just do not want to be part of anything that is honoring the group FALN."