Spanish colonial monuments fuel race strife in US Southwest

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — A decades-long fight between some Hispanics and Native Americans over the removal of statues honoring Spanish colonial figures in New Mexico and California is boiling over again. Hispanics who venerated Spain’s historical ties to the U.S. say the monuments celebrate their cultural heritage. Native Americans say that history ignores the pain of colonialism. The historical markers highlight a complicated past that has spanned centuries. Spain’s enduring ho