Puerto Rican citizenship
In 1994, Puerto Rican activist Juan Mari Brás flew to Venezuela and renounced his US citizenship before a consular agent in the US Embassy in Caracas. Mari Brás, through his renunciation of U.S. citizenship, sought to redefine Section VII as a source of law that recognized a Puerto Rican nationality separate from that of the United States. In December 1995, his denaturalization was confirmed by the US State Department. Among the arguments that ensued over his action was whether he would now be able to vote in elections in Puerto Rico. On November 18, 1997, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico through its ruling in "Miriam J. Ramirez de Ferrer v. Juan Mari Brás" reaffirmed the Puerto Rican citizenship by ruling that U.S. citizenship was not a requirement to vote in Puerto Rico. According to the court's majority opinion, the Puerto Rican citizenship is recognized several times in the Puerto Rican constitution including section 5 of article III, section 3 of article IV, and section 9 of article V. In a 2006 memorandum, the Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico concluded, based on the Mari Brás case, that the Puerto Rican citizenship is "separate and different" from the United States citizenship.
List of Puerto Rican military personnel
Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. Upon the outbreak of World War I, the U.S. Congress approved the Jones–Shafroth Act, which gave Puerto Ricans American citizenship with certain limitations. For example they were, and still are, not permitted to vote for the President of the United States, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, while residing on the island. However, with American citizenship, many Puerto Ricans, with the exception of women, became eligible for the military draft.