Today is Saturday, March 21st, 2020.

On this day in 1937, police in Ponce Puerto Rico

opened fire on a peaceful nationalist parade.

The resulting bloodshed killed at least 19 people and wounded around 200 more.

Upon investigation, the entire massacre had been ordered

by none other than Blanton Winship,

the US appointed governor of Puerto Rico.

Welcome to today in True Crime, a parcast original. Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes,

listener discretion is advised. Extreme caution is advised for listeners under 13.

Today we're covering the Ponce Massacre in Puerto Rico. Let's go back

to the quiet city of Ponce in the early morning hours of March 21st,

1937.

Two members of Puerto Rico's Nationalist Party ascended the staircase leading to the offices of Jose

Tormos Diego, mayor of Ponce.

They'd waited a week for Diego to return from vacation, so they could ask him a simple favor.

They wanted a parade permit.

Planned for later that day, it was intended to be a peaceful march commemorating the abolishment of

slavery in Puerto Rico, an event that it happened nearly 70 years ago under

Spain's colonial rule.

But the celebration had a double entendra.

By celebrating the anniversary of freedom

for Puerto Rican slaves, the nationalists

...