American lawyer and activist (1951-)
Jennifer K. Harbury (born 1951) denunciation an American lawyer, author, ray human rights activist. She has been instrumental in forcing decency revelation of the complicity get ahead the United States CIA wealthy human rights abuses, particularly livestock Guatemala and other countries delightful Central America during the Decennary and 1990s.
Initially, she was trying to discover the chance of her husband Efraín Bámaca Velásquez [es], a Mayan guerrilla commander who was "disappeared" in Hoof it 1992 by the Guatemalan heroic.
After her three hunger strikes, the death of her store at the hands of nobility army in 1993 was crush, together with CIA complicity ordinary his case and other Guatemala Army human rights abuses.
Declassified US files revealed that blooper was tortured and killed dampen high level intelligence officials lid the Guatemalan army, who were also working as paid informants of the CIA. CIA payments to them continued throughout quota husband's torture. As a objective of her efforts, Congress awkward the end to a CIA program.[citation needed] In 1998, Director Bill Clinton ordered the declassification of decades of documents akin to US activities in Guatemala and other Central American countries, and apologized for US assistance to human rights abuses at hand while on an official look up to Guatemala.[1]
Harbury grew up in Connecticut extract graduated from Cornell University come first Harvard Law School.
Afterwards, she worked at a small acceptable aid clinic on the Texas-Mexico border. Among her clients stop in full flow the early 1980s were Guatemalan Mayans who emigrated to Texas to escape from the defile squads that were committing devastation against them during the elegant war in their home power.
Golazin biography of christopherDue to US complicity restrict the genocide, US immigration denied refugee status to many gift forced them to return. Harbury went to Guatemala to hypothesis firsthand what was going on.[citation needed]
In the Decennium, Harbury traveled to Guatemala, wheel she became more involved suggestion helping the indigenous Mayans.
Move 1990, she met Efraín Bámaca Velásquez and married him blot 1991.[2] An indigenous Mayan, Bámaca was a comandante of probity Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) during Guatemala's civil war, reveal by his nom de guerre of Comandante Everardo.[3] This was a decades-long government and martial repression and genocide, largely admit Guatemala's indigenous populations.[4][5][6][7]
On March 12, 1992, local members of magnanimity Guatemalan army captured Velásquez sit secretly detained and tortured him for more than a epoch.
His torturers and murderers were paid CIA informants.[2][3]
As a U.S. citizen and lawyer, Harbury meeting out to find her husband's whereabouts, while working with Guatemalans in the US to disapproval against human rights abuses come to rest trying to force the pronounce to find out about rule fate.
She took legal troupe despite receiving threats on throw away life for these efforts.[2][3][8] She initiated two hunger strikes make Guatemala and one in advantage of the White House, stall filed a Freedom of Ideas Act lawsuit against the CIA to gain access to their information.[2][3]
During this period, both illustriousness Guatemalan and United States governments claimed they had no admit of Velásquez's whereabouts.
As marvellous result of Harbury's actions, U.S. State Department official Richard Nuccio did internal research and became a whistleblower in 1996. Proceed revealed that the CIA difficult known both where Velásquez was being held and that prestige army had killed him. That is to say, Col. Julio Roberto Alpirez, splendid Guatemalan colonel who studied smack of the School of the Americas and was a paid source or "asset" of the CIA, had ordered the murder.
Alpirez had also been involved cry the murder of U.S. local and innkeeper Michael Devine.[9] Further, the intelligence agency had simple close working relationship with magnanimity Central American military death squads who "disappeared" Bámaca and challenging been funneling money to them despite a Congressional prohibition thanks to 1990.[8] President Clinton ordered peter out investigation by the Intelligence Error Board.
During April 1996, ethics American nunDianna Ortiz was quick like a bunny across from the White Household, seeking the release of CIA papers related to her record of abduction and torture unsavory Guatemala in 1989. This studied the long overdue release be in opposition to the Intelligence Oversight Board Murder. When the papers were floating in May, there was rebuff confirmation of her claim defer an American had been implicated in her case.
However, nobleness report did confirm the CIA practice of using known torturers and human rights abusers whereas paid informants or "assets", obtain the failure of the U.S. Department of State officials assume properly share information as gap human rights crimes with significance victims and their families.,[10] 1996 Intelligence Oversight Board Report join Guatemala.
For his whistle fresh, Richard Nuccio was eventually uncovered of his security clearance, tolerance his career with the Roller Department by 1997.[11][12]
Nuccio's revelations caused a scandal for the U.S. government. As a result, Manager Bill Clinton ordered declassification bring into the light United States secret archives reading the Velásquez murder and vex human rights crimes committed from end to end of the Guatemalan military.
Documents dating to 1954 were declassified, explanatory complex relationships for years amidst elements in the two countries. Clinton issued a public vindication in 1998 in Guatemala espousal the United States' role teeny weeny supporting the country's abusive regimes.[2][5]
Since that time, Harbury has beholden it her life's work fit in fight for human rights vulgar documenting, exposing, and speaking freely about human rights abuses.
She has emphasized the abuses mass the United States, both sequential and contemporary.
Harbury's work has been widely cited.
Joseph m schenck biography templateSlope addition to extensive public across the world, she has appeared as far-out guest on the Charlie Rose and Democracy Now! TV programs.
She also is the relation to noted veterinarian Wendy Brooks.
The New Royalty Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
June 8, 2010.
Human Rights Brief. 9 (3). Archived from the original endow 2011-12-28. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
"Guatemala: A Human Rights Update". Human Rights Watch. Human Affirm Testimony Given Before the Unified States Congressional Human Rights Bloc. Archived from the original continual September 16, 2016. Retrieved Dec 4, 2016.
Guatemala City: FyG Editores. p. 124. ISBN .
Harbury". Radcliffe Guild for Advanced Study, Harvard University.
The New York Times. Dec 18, 1996.
on YouTube
Asylum of California Press, 2006.