The U.S. Navy spent over $1.6 million on PR work to influence a vote on whether part of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques would continue to serve as a bombing range, the Associated Press reports. Documents obtained by Judical Watch [3] show The Rendon Group [4] was contracted by the Navy in 2001 to "develop methods and tracking procedures to increase support among citizens in Vieques to support and vote in the 6 November 2001 referendum for the option of continued Navy training at Vieques." The Rendon Group has assisted a number of U.S. military interventions in nations including Argentina, Colombia, Haiti, Kosovo, Panama and Zimbabwe. Rendon's activities also include organizing the Iraqi National Congress [5] in 1992 as part of a covert CIA plan to foment the overthrow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The secretive firm has been paid over $40 million by the Defense Department since September 11, 2001.