Category Archives: Torture

Links Around Latin America

Posted on September 27, 2015 by

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

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

Posted on August 8, 2015 by

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

Get to Know a Brazilian – Ivens Marchetti

Posted on June 14, 2015 by

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

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

Posted on September 16, 2014 by

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

The Brazilian Truth Commission after One Year

Posted on December 3, 2013 by

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

Around Latin America

Posted on September 11, 2013 by

-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

Chiquita Trying to Shirk Responsibility for Aiding Terrorist Organizations

Posted on August 26, 2013 by

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