The demonstrations by Mujeres por Oscar: Hasta su Regreso ('Women for Oscar: 'Til His Return') concluded on Sunday afternoon with the appearance of Oscar López Rivera himself, who was welcomed by almost one hundred women at the Dos Hermanos Bridge in San Juan.

'I want all of you to know that I am extremely grateful for everything, for all the efforts you have all made to make my release possible,' López Rivera said when he addressed the crowd, most of which were dressed in pink, with light blue handkerchiefs tied around their necks.

This event, which used to be held on the last Sunday of every month at the same place, would have marked the 36th year of imprisonment for the political prisoner, whose sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama only days before leaving the White House last January. Oscar was set free on May 17, after carrying out the terms of his house arrest here in Puerto Rico.

The former political prisoner said he never lost hope that some day he would be free, and able to express his love for his people. 'My heart is full of love for everyone, regardless of their ideologies, professions, religions, identities, or sexual preferences. Every single one joined in to make my release possible. That speaks volumes of our people... We're more than an ideology,' López Rivera said.

Oscar speaks freely about the strike, the Puerto Rican parade, and the governor's statements

After giving his thanks to the collective, López Rivera addressed many of the controversial issues that have surrounded him since his release. Firstly, he made comments about the student strike at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), calling for support for the students, so they can achieve their goals.

'The future of Puerto Rico is in their hands, and we, regardless of what we want... we have to support those students. The future of our nation is in their hands,' he said.

Afterwards, he addressed the controversy surrounding the New York City Puerto Rican Day Parade. López Rivera said he has noticed 'an organized effort to discredit' the traditional parade this year, adding that it gathers Puerto Ricans from all over the United States.

He stressed that the parade's organizing committee decided to honor him, and that there are elements that have tried to take over the parade by withdrawing their support of the event. He stated he would be joining the parade, and extended an invitation for everyone to attend.

This past week, several corporations—including Goya, JetBlue, AT<><><><><><><><><><><><>&T, Coca Cola, the New York Yankees, Univisión, NBC, and Telemundo—withdrew their sponsorships for the parade due to López Rivera's history with the radical group, the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN, by its Spanish acronym). In response to this, Oscar called for a boycott against these companies, and remarked that he decided to cancel a JetBlue Airlines ticket he had acquired for his next trip to California./p

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He also said he would not be consuming Goya products—although he admitted he probably has some of their canned products in his pantry—and that he will not be supporting the Yankees team, except for their Puerto Rican players./p

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Oscar insisted that his judicial record is clear and that he was never accused of violent crimes. However, he claimed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched a disinformation campaign against him./p

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'Little by little, this has become a very dangerous game, where people show up with firearms, saying they're going to kill me. They've made comments saying I'm a terrorist, claiming they are opposed because I committed crimes that I didn't actually commit. They are opposed because of reasons that don't make much sense. There's no reason for this,' López Rivera asserted./p

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As for Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares's recent statements criticizing the homage to Oscar in the Puerto Rican parade, López Rivera upheld that these statements are based on politics, not on principles./p

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This is based on the fact that Rosselló Nevares had sent a letter to President Obama last December to demand the prisoner's release, insisting that he had not been accused of violent crimes. These statements are in contradiction with Rosselló's latest letter./p

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'He (the governor) can say whatever he wants and pleases; that's his prerogative. But someone with principles would not do what he is doing today. I guess it's a lack of principles, it's part of the game of politics,' López Rivera expounded, emphasizing that this change of heart illustrates Rosselló Nevares's lack of principles.