The Gibraltar of the Caribbean at War! The Coastal Defenses of Puerto Rico during World War Two

Audio visual production from the Centro de Diseño y Producción de Recursos Instruccionales (CEDPRI) de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Humacao. The half-hour documentary film was made by Dr. Gerardo M. Piñero Cádiz in 2013 and tells the story of preparing the island of Puerto Rico for the coming of war. All kind of media allow the spectator to understand, examine and protect the surviving elements of these awesome defenses. The film aims to rescue from oblivion the defensive sites built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the island of Puerto Rico during the 1940s, and their relation to other military installations. We will also highlight their importance during the war emergency and briefly explain their operations.

Just months into World War II, the United States would grant Puerto Rico the same strategic importance that the Spanish Empire had given it in the past. The “Gibraltar of the Caribbean” had just become one of the most important parts of American defense system in the West Indies. Air bases, naval and ground systems, communications, roads, and all kinds of military installations transformed Puerto Rico into one of the most important strategic points in the Atlantic for the successful defense of commercial maritime routes, the Allied supply lines, troop movements, Caribbean oil transit, and the Panama Canal itself.

To protect the military facilities, already built or under construction, from ground, aerial or naval attack, or sabotage, it was agreed to start the deployment of defenses, such as the coast artillery. Aside from protection, these defenses would lend support to ships while approaching, in transit, or sailing away from Puerto Rico.