Juan Ríus Rivera

Juan Rius Rivera
General Juan Rius Rivera
Born	1848 Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Died	1924 Honduras
Allegiance	Cuban Liberation Army
Years of service	1869–1898
Rank	General
Commands held	General-in-Chief of the Cuban Liberation Army of the West
Battles/wars	Ten Years' War Cuban War of Independence

General Juan Rius Rivera (August 26, 1848 – September 20, 1924), was a native of Puerto Rico who participated in the Grito de Lares, a revolted against Spain in Puerto Rico. After the failure of the revolt, he traveled to New York City and joined the Cuban Revolutionary "Junta". In Cuba he became the General of the Cuban Liberation Army of the West upon the death of General Antonio Maceo. Rius became active in Cuban politics after the Spanish-American War when Cuba was granted its independence.

Ríus Rivera was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, to Eusebio Ríus and Ramona Rivera he was one of nine brothers. His family, owned a coffee plantation in the Río Cañas Abajo Barrio in Mayagüez, and were one of the wealthiest families in that town. There, he received both his primary and secondary education. Rius Rivera was sent by his parents, to study in Spain and earned his bachelor's degree in Barcelona. He then went to study law at the University of Madrid. As a young man, he met and befriended the Puerto Rican patriot Ramón Emeterio Betances. Convinced that the Spanish Crown was mistreating the people of Puerto Rico and inspired by the ideals of Betances, he joined the pro-independence movement on the island. He became a member of the Mayagüez revolutionary cell "Capá Prieto" under the command of Mathias Brugman.

On September 23, 1868, a group of Puerto Ricans revolted against Spain in an event known as the Grito de Lares ("The Cry of Lares"). Many of the revolutionaries were either killed, imprisoned or exiled. Rius Rivera, who had not participated directly in the revolt, was an avid reader of information pertaining to the Antilles and learned about the failed revolt. He then set his hopes on Cuba. He interrupted his studies in Spain, crossed the border to France, and from there he traveled to the United States. He arrived in New York City in 1869 and went to the Cuban Revolutionary "Junta" and offered his services. In December 1869, Colonel Francisco Javier Cisneros advised Rius to be ready to set sail for Cuba and a few days later the Mayagüezano (as the people from Mayagüez are known) sailed for Cuba aboard the "Anna", an American Steamship. There he participated in that country's Ten Years' War (1868–78) against Spain. In 1870 he joined the forces of Calixto Garcia and was wounded in the Battle of Las Villas while fighting under the command of General Máximo Gómez. The Ten Years' War came to an end with the Treaty of Zanjon, which resulted in the granting of more autonomous powers to Cuba.