Category Archives: Torture

Links Around Latin America

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Colin M. Snider

Several stories of note from around the region lately: Last week, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Timochenko met in Cuba to finalize a peace plan that could finally end a struggle that’s lasted over 50 years. Boz … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Around Latin America, Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Civil Conflict in the Americas, Colombia, Corruption, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionárias de Colombia (FARC), Guatemala, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Latin America, Latin American Art, The Malvinas War, Torture | Comments Off on Links Around Latin America

Manuel Contreras, Head of Chile’s DINA, Dead at 86

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Colin M. Snider

Manuel Contreras, who headed the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (National Intelligence Directorate, or DINA) from 1973-1977, some of the most repressive years of Augusto Pinochet’s regime, has died at the age of 86. As head of DINA, Contreras was directly responsible for … Continue reading →

Posted in Augusto Pinochet, Chile, Deaths, Human Rights Violations, The "Disappeared", Torture | Comments Off on Manuel Contreras, Head of Chile’s DINA, Dead at 86

Get to Know a Brazilian – Ivens Marchetti

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Colin M. Snider

This is part of an ongoing series. Previous entries can be found here. As we continue our look at the lives of the fifteen political prisoners exchanged for US ambassador Charles Elbrick, whom armed leftist groups took hostage in September … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Get to Know a Brazilian, Guerrilla Movements in Latin America, Human Rights Violations, Torture | Comments Off on Get to Know a Brazilian – Ivens Marchetti

On This Date in Latin America – September 16, 1976: Argentina’s “Night of the Pencils”

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Colin M. Snider

Given the recent discussion of memory and military dictatorships, it seems worthwhile to recall one of the many horrific events of Argentina’s military dictatorship: La Noche de los Lápices, or “Night of the Pencils.” The Night of the Pencils had … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Buenos Aires, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Military Dictatorships, On This Date in Latin America, The "Disappeared", Torture | Comments Off on On This Date in Latin America – September 16, 1976: Argentina’s “Night of the Pencils”

The Brazilian Truth Commission after One Year

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

The truth commission investigating repression and state-sponsored violence during Brazil’s military dictatorship of 1964-1985 has recently completed a full year of work, and issued a report of some of its major findings after one year: Part 1. Hiding of Documentation from … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Human Rights Issues, Human Rights Violations, Impunity, Police Violence, The "Disappeared", Torture, Truth Commissions | Comments Off on The Brazilian Truth Commission after One Year

Around Latin America

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

-Yesterday, Chile marked the fortieth anniversary of the coup that overthrew democratically-elected president Salvador Allende and ushered in the 17-year military dictatorship that killed over 3000 people and tortured tens of thousands. Even while the date was commemorated, the search … Continue reading →

Posted in Argentina, Argentina's Military Dictatorship (1976-1983), Around Latin America, Augusto Pinochet, Brazil, Chile, Coups in Latin America, Cuba, Guatemala, Guatemala's Civil War, Guerrilla Movements in Latin America, Human Rights Violations, Indigenous Peoples, Labor in Latin America, Multinational Corporations in the Americas, Protests in Latin America, Racism, Strikes, The "Disappeared", Torture, United States | Comments Off on Around Latin America

Chiquita Trying to Shirk Responsibility for Aiding Terrorist Organizations

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

Banana companies have long had a horrible history in Latin America, based upon political corruption, economic exploitation, and even the overthrow of democratically-elected regimes. Yet the horrible practices of multinational fruit companies in the region is not a relic of … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict in the Americas, Colombia, Food, Human Rights Issues, Multinational Corporations in the Americas, Paramilitary Groups, Torture, Violence in the Americas | 2 Comments

What Force-Feeding Looks Like

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

Though reports on the story have been relatively slight in comparison to far more trivial matters that gobble up more TV time, for at least the past four months, detainees at Guantanamo have been on a hunger strike, protesting the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cuba, Human Rights Issues, Prisoners' Rights, Strikes, Torture, United States | Comments Off on What Force-Feeding Looks Like

When Public Anger & Political Frustration Ignore History

Posted on June 22, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

As readers of this blog know, I’ve written extensively about the Brazilian military dictatorship from a variety of angles, including how the military came to power amidst civilian calls for the military to remove constitutional president João Goulart. The idea of … Continue reading →

Posted in Brazil, Brazil's Military Dictatorship, Coups in Latin America, Democracy in the Americas, Governance in Latin America, Human Rights Issues, Latin American Militaries, Police Violence, Protests in Latin America, Social Movements, Torture | 4 Comments

The Legacies of Torture in Central America

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Colin M. Snider

As scholarship and human rights reports have repeatedly demonstrate, the effects of torture on the human mind and body have long-term ramifications, and many of those victims continue suffer from both the psychological and the physical effects of torture decades … Continue reading →

Posted in El Salvador, El Salvador's Civil War (1980-1992), Guatemala, Guatemala's Civil War, Human Rights Issues, Impunity, Torture, United States | 1 Comment