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Cerro Maravilla murders

SOLVED1978Cerro Maravilla, Ponce, Puerto Rico3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
File:Cerro Maravilla Incident Memorial Stone.JPG
File:Cerro Maravilla Incident Memorial Stone.JPG — Credit: Ratzer1 · CC BY-SA 3.0

On July 25, 1978, Carlos Enrique Soto Arriví (18) and Arnaldo Darío Rosado Torres (24), members of the pro-independence Armed Revolutionary Movement, were killed at Cerro Maravilla, a mountain in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in what Puerto Rico Police initially described as a shootout following a terrorist attack on communication towers. An undercover police officer, posing as a fellow activist, had accompanied the two men and a taxi driver they had taken hostage in Villalba to drive them to the mountain, where police were waiting. Both activists were killed; the undercover officer suffered a minor wound and the taxi driver was largely unharmed.

Officers said they fired in self-defense after ordering the men to surrender. The taxi driver initially said he could not see who fired first, but in follow-up interviews with local media he described hearing the activists surrender and then being beaten by roughly ten armed men before a second round of gunfire. Then-Governor Carlos Romero Barceló publicly praised the officers as heroic. Successive investigations by the Puerto Rico Justice Department, the FBI, and the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division between 1978 and 1980 concluded the officers had acted properly, despite inconsistencies in testimony.

Beginning in 1981, new investigations by the Puerto Rico Legislature, journalists, and a renewed U.S. Justice Department inquiry produced testimony from officers granted immunity describing a plan to kill the activists and a subsequent falsification of events. Witnesses, including the taxi driver, revised earlier accounts to state that the two men had been alive and disarmed when police approached, and that a distinct second volley of gunfire followed. These revelations led to demotions, resignations, and public accusations of a cover-up involving local and federal officials.

Ten Puerto Rico Police officers were indicted; in 1985 all ten were convicted in federal court on 45 counts of perjury, receiving sentences from six to 30 years (one conviction was later overturned on appeal). Eight officers were subsequently tried on murder charges in Puerto Rico state courts; most pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and related charges and received sentences up to 30 years, one was acquitted, and one was convicted of second-degree murder. All convicted officers were eventually paroled, the last in 2013, though the Parole Board's failure to notify victims' families of that release was only discovered in 2015.

The undercover officer who had accompanied the activists, granted immunity for his testimony, was acquitted in February 1986 of kidnapping the taxi driver but was not reinstated to the police force. He was fatally shot in front of his mother's house in April 1986; a group calling itself the "Volunteer Organization for the Revolution" claimed responsibility, vowing to kill other officers involved. That killing remains unsolved.

In 1990 and 1992, federal officials, including former FBI Director William S. Sessions and former Civil Rights Division chief Drew S. Days III, acknowledged that the original federal investigations had been conducted negligently. In 2003, Romero Barceló acknowledged it had been an error to publicly praise the officers, while continuing to deny any personal role in a cover-up.

Key facts

Victims
Arnaldo Darío Rosado Torres, Alejandro González Malavé, Carlos Enrique Soto Arriví
Date
1978
Location
Cerro Maravilla, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1978-07-25

    Carlos Enrique Soto Arriví and Arnaldo Darío Rosado Torres are shot and killed by Puerto Rico Police at Cerro Maravilla after being entrapped by an undercover officer.

  2. 1978-07-29

    Puerto Rico Justice Department investigation concludes there was no wrongdoing beyond the shootings themselves.

  3. 1980

    U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and FBI investigations conclude officers acted in self-defense.

  4. 1980-11

    Governor Carlos Romero Barceló is re-elected by a narrow margin; his party loses control of the legislature.

  5. 1983

    Senate Investigations Committee hearings produce immunized testimony describing a plan to kill the activists.

  6. 1983-11-29

    Three prosecutors are relieved of duty after a Senate report finds 101 deficiencies in earlier investigations.

  7. 1985

    All ten indicted officers are convicted in federal court of 45 counts of perjury, receiving sentences from six to 30 years.

  8. 1986-02

    Undercover officer Alejandro González Malavé is acquitted of kidnapping the taxi driver.

  9. 1986-04-29

    González Malavé is shot and killed outside his mother's house in Bayamón; a group claims responsibility and the killing remains unsolved.

  10. 1987

    Eight officers face state murder charges; most plead guilty to second-degree murder, one is acquitted, and one is convicted of second-degree murder.

  11. 1990

    FBI Director William S. Sessions acknowledges in writing that the federal investigation should have included key witness interviews.

  12. 1992

    Former Civil Rights Division chief Drew S. Days III tells the Puerto Rico Senate the federal investigation was handled negligently.

  13. 2001-03

    A judge rules four paroled officers were released early in error and orders them returned to prison.

  14. 2003

    Former Governor Romero Barceló publicly calls his praise of the officers an 'error of judgment.'

  15. 2013-07-19

    Rafael Moreno Morales, the last officer still serving time, is paroled without the Parole Board notifying victims' relatives, a fact discovered in 2015.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Jaime Quíles Hernández

    CONVICTED

    Lieutenant; convicted federally of perjury (12 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 30 years.

  • William Colón Berríos

    CONVICTED

    Officer; federal perjury conviction (12 years) overturned on appeal; later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of perjury.

  • Ángel Pérez Casillas

    CONVICTED

    Head of Puerto Rico Police Intelligence Division; convicted federally of perjury (20 years); acquitted at state murder trial.

  • Arnaldo Darío Rosado Torres

    VICTIM

    Pro-independence activist killed by police at Cerro Maravilla on July 25, 1978.

  • Nelson González Pérez

    CONVICTED

    Lieutenant; convicted federally of perjury (24 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 30 years.

  • Luis Reverón Martínez

    CONVICTED

    Officer on disability leave; convicted federally of perjury, sentenced to 25 years.

  • Alejandro González Malavé

    VICTIM

    Undercover police officer involved in the entrapment; granted immunity for testimony, acquitted of kidnapping in 1986, and later shot and killed in an unsolved murder.

  • Rafael Moreno Morales

    CONVICTED

    Officer; convicted federally of perjury (30 years) and convicted at trial of second-degree murder of Carlos Soto Arriví, sentenced to 22 to 30 years; last officer paroled, in 2013.

  • Rafael Torres Marrero

    CONVICTED

    Officer on disability leave; convicted federally of perjury (20 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 30 years.

  • Jose Ríos Polanco

    CONVICTED

    Officer; convicted federally of perjury, sentenced to 10 years.

  • Juan Bruno González

    CONVICTED

    Officer; convicted federally of perjury (16 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to up to 13 years.

  • Carlos Enrique Soto Arriví

    VICTIM

    Pro-independence activist killed by police at Cerro Maravilla on July 25, 1978.

  • Nazario Mateo Espada

    CONVICTED

    Officer; convicted federally of perjury (6 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 30 years concurrent.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Archival records

  • File:Cerro Maravilla Incident Memorial Stone.JPG

    archival location

    File:Cerro Maravilla Incident Memorial Stone.JPG

    Credit: Ratzer1 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

Places

Cerro Maravilla, Ponce, Puerto Rico

18.0086, -66.6141

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
On July 25, 1978, Puerto Rico Police officers ambushed and killed two young pro-independence activists at Cerro Maravilla after entrapping them with an undercover agent; initial investigations cleared the officers, but later inquiries uncovered perjury and a cover-up, leading to convictions of ten officers.
Where did the murders happen?
Cerro Maravilla, Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Who was convicted?
Jaime Quíles Hernández (Lieutenant; convicted federally of perjury (12 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 30 years.), William Colón Berríos (Officer; federal perjury conviction (12 years) overturned on appeal; later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of perjury.), Ángel Pérez Casillas (Head of Puerto Rico Police Intelligence Division; convicted federally of perjury (20 years); acquitted at state murder trial.), Nelson González Pérez (Lieutenant; convicted federally of perjury (24 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 30 years.), Luis Reverón Martínez (Officer on disability leave; convicted federally of perjury, sentenced to 25 years.), Rafael Moreno Morales (Officer; convicted federally of perjury (30 years) and convicted at trial of second-degree murder of Carlos Soto Arriví, sentenced to 22 to 30 years; last officer paroled, in 2013.), Rafael Torres Marrero (Officer on disability leave; convicted federally of perjury (20 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 30 years.), Jose Ríos Polanco (Officer; convicted federally of perjury, sentenced to 10 years.), Juan Bruno González (Officer; convicted federally of perjury (16 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to up to 13 years.), and Nazario Mateo Espada (Officer; convicted federally of perjury (6 years) and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, sentenced to 30 years concurrent.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in Puerto Rico

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICCerro Maravilla murdersWikipedia · 2026-07-05
  2. PRESSPolice Agent in Puerto Rico Deaths Is AssassinatedThe New York Times · 2026-07-05
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage of the Cerro Maravilla caseTIME · 2026-07-05

Record history

First published
JUL 05, 2026
Last verified against sources
JUL 05, 2026