History of the bunkers

DURING WORLD WAR II the small island of Vieques was nearly completely overtaken by American naval forces who occupied either end of the narrow stretch of land, and today the hidden bunkers they built still remain, abandoned and full of detritus.  

Lying just off the coast of Puerto Rico, Vieques sits in a position that became of strategic importance after America joined WWII. Purchasing 2/3 of the island in 1941, the US Navy built a training facility on the Eastern end and a series of hidden concrete bunkers on the Western end, leaving the middle of the island for civilian use. The bunkers were used to store weapons and ammunition, and they were built right into the natural contours of the island so that anyone viewing the complex from the air would simply see a series of hills. 

The military continued to use the island to store, and far more devastatingly, test on the East end of the island their armaments, causing untold damage to the ecology and communities on the island. Thanks to repeated protests the armed forces agreed to pull out of the island in 2003, leaving behind not only their permanent bunker system on the West end of the island but countless unexploded bombs on the East end of the island that is still being cleaned up today.

The bunkers now stand empty and abandoned. Some of them are locked, but many lie open exposing piles of computer monitors and other remnants of their operation. The military sections of the East end of the island are still largely restricted due to the prevalence of the hazardous munitions, but the bunkers remain, waiting to be explored. The cleanup on the East end of the island is currently being taken care of by the US National Fish & Wildlife Services. 

Back in 2018 Malcolm Wright the President of Vieques Aquaponics visited the island and was shown the Bunkers by Israel (Izzy) Troche. Due to the food and water shortages that the island experienced during hurricane Maria they discussed turning the bunkers from items built for war to items that could grow food giving the island Food Security from future hurricanes as well as reducing local unemployment. In addition, they could help reduce the main islands dependence (approx. 85%) on importing its food some of which comes from California.

It took until October 2021 for the project to become a reality via the signing of a long lease for the 61 Bunkers owned by the Municipality with a plan to employ 400 local people over the next 5 years and to grow aquaponic food - Fish, Prawns, Vegetables, Salad, Herbs, and Medicines, etc., powered by Cat5 renewable energy (wind and solar) 24/7. This will offer not only food security for the island but food will be exported back to Puerto Rico with a view to reducing the main islands dependence on imported food from the United States and thus reducing the carbon footprint of the transportation costs and offing more nutritious fresh food to the families of Puerto Rico.