“Las Carpetas” of Puerto Rico: History and Impact
Between the 1950s and the 1980s, the Puerto Rico Police Department’s Intelligence Division, in collaboration with U.S. federal agencies such as the FBI, conducted widespread surveillance of Puerto Ricans on the island. Those targeted included young people, college students, workers, parents, and even elders.
Throughout the mid-twentieth century, Puerto Rico became the site of one of the most extensive surveillance operations in U.S. territorial history. Known as Las Carpetas (“the folders”), these invasive documents monitored thousands of Puerto Ricans whose political beliefs—especially support for Puerto Rican independence—were viewed as threats to the colonial status quo. The history and impact of Las Carpetas reveal not only the suppression of civil liberties but also the enduring scars of state surveillance on a colonized population.
The roots of political repression in Puerto Rico stretch back to the U.S. takeover of the island in 1898, following centuries of Spanish colonial rule. For more than 400 years, Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony after Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493. Spanish rule was marked by the exploitation of Indigenous Taíno people, the forced importation of enslaved Africans, and Puerto Rico’s use as a strategic military outpost. By the 1800s, independence movements were spreading across Latin America, and Puerto Ricans also sought liberation. The most famous early uprising was El Grito de Lares in 1868, when revolutionaries declared Puerto Rico a free republic. Though quickly suppressed, it became a symbol of Puerto Rican resistance. Political reforms followed, including the Autonomic Charter of 1897, which granted the island limited self-government under Spain.
However, after U.S. colonization in 1898, Puerto Rico’s brief autonomy ended. Surveillance practices became especially systematic in the 1940s and 1950s, during the Cold War and a heightened crackdown on leftist and nationalist movements. The Puerto Rico Police created detailed dossiers—carpetas—on individuals and organizations considered subversive. These files included personal data such as family, religion, and employment; records of attendance at meetings; monitored travel; and reports from informants.
The consequences of being “carpeteado” (“to be foldered”) were severe. Many individuals were denied jobs, scholarships, or promotions if their names appeared in a carpeta. Fear and mistrust spread within activist groups and even families, weakening solidarity and discouraging political expression. For many Puerto Ricans, warnings like “Cuidado, te van a carpetear” (“Careful, they’re going to folder you”) became a common way of describing the risks of political participation.
The system was finally exposed in the 1980s after years of protest, investigative journalism, and legal action. In 1987, under public pressure, the Puerto Rican government admitted to maintaining the files. Courts ordered that many of the dossiers be returned to the individuals targeted, and the archives became publicly accessible.
The revelation of Las Carpetas left deep and lasting effects. Beyond loss of privacy and suppression of dissent, the legacy includes social stigma, distrust in institutions, and a pervasive culture of fear. The term carpeteo itself entered common usage to describe political persecution or state harassment.
In conclusion, Las Carpetas were not simply bureaucratic files but a systematic program of political repression designed to silence dissent and maintain colonial authority. Their history reflects how power, ideology, surveillance, and fear intertwined to curtail civil liberties. The continued resonance of these files in memory, activism, literature, and social discourse confirms that the wounds remain. Remembering Las Carpetas is essential for understanding not only Puerto Rico’s colonial past and political struggles, but also the broader dangers of unchecked surveillance in any society.
To learn more about las carpetas, check out:
Las Carpetas (2011) - A documentary by Maite Rivera Carbonell that follows four Puerto Ricans as they come face to face with their past when the government uses illegal methods to monitor them.
FBI Records: The Vault - Contains some declassified documents relating to Puerto Rican independence movements.
