Dupont Plaza Hotel

The Dupont Plaza Hotel located in San Juan, Puerto Rico was famous for various things: It was so huge that it could be seen even from the insides of airplanes. This hotel was notorious among entertainers and sports stars (particularly boxing) This second paradise hosted many New Years Eve parties.

On the night of December 31st of 1986, the Dupont Plaza became famous for something else: bombs. These were placed around the casino area, where the New Year's party always took place, causing a blast that killed 97 persons and injured hundreds of others. FACT: No bombs were place at the hotel, it was caused by flammable liquid placed in a storage room on the ground floor of the hotel. Networks from many countries such as CNN and Headline News.

During 1986, tourism industry workers in Puerto Rico had been in dispute with the government about their salaries. Police investigation in the Dupont Plaza Hotel case led to three Dupont Plaza workers. These three individuals later admitted that they wanted to terrorize foreign tourists away from coming to Puerto Rico, as a pay back to the Government. They had used very flammable materials to make the bombs that they placed around the casino area. They were convicted in connection with the bombing and jailed.

The reality is that flammable materials were used instead of bombs. One last note, many Puerto Ricans also helped save the lives of visitors in the hotel that night, one of these courageous persons was author and former reporter, Professor Norma Valle de Ferré who today teachers in the University of Puerto Rico.