NAMES ASSOCIATED WITH HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE

NAMES ASSOCIATED WITH HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE

Virtual Truth Commission

Lamas Portugal, 1LT Jose (Brazil). School of the Americas Notorious Graduate Linked to repressive forces in Brazil, 1960's and 1970's. Instructor, SOA, 1990.

Lansdale, Maj. Gen. Edward G., CIA. Under Lansdale's pioneering strategies, psy-war was a new spin to the old game of breaking the will of a target population. The idea was to analyze the psychological weaknesses of a people and develop "themes" that could induce actions favorable to those carrying out the operation. While psy-war included propaganda and disinformation, it also relied on terror tactics of a demonstrative nature. An Army psy-war pamphlet, drawing on Lansdale's experience in the Philippines, advocated "exemplary criminal violence -- the murder and mutilation of captives and the display of their bodies," according to Michael McClintock's Instruments of Statecraft. In his memoirs, Lansdale boasted of one legendary psy-war trick used against the Huks who were considered superstitious and fearful of a vampire-like creature called an asuang. "The psy-war squad set up an ambush along a trail used by the Huks," Lansdale wrote. "When a Huk patrol came along the trail, the ambushers silently snatched the last man on the patrol, their move unseen in the dark night. They punctured his neck with two holes, vampire-fashion, held the body up by the heels, drained it of blood, and put the corpse back on the trail. When the Huks returned to look for the missing man and found their bloodless comrade, every member of the patrol believed the asuang had got him." [See Lansdale's In the Midst of Wars.] Peter Dale Scott, "Two Indonesias, Two Americas", June 9, 1998, site 1 or site 2 The Consortium for Independent Journalism, a paid subscription service.

Latell, Brian.

CIA's leading analyst of Latin American affairs, when reporting to Congress in July 1992, described Haitian coup leader Lieut. Gen. Raoul Cedras as one of "the most promising group of Haitian leaders to emerge since the Duvalier family dictatorship was overthrown in 1986." he also reported that he "saw no evidence of oppressive ruel" in Haiti. Yet the State Department annual human-rights report for the same year stated: Haitains suffered frequent human rights abuses throughout 1992, including extra-judicial killings by security forces, disappearances, beatings, and other mistreatment of detainees and prisoners, arbitrary arrests and detention and executive interference with the judicial process. "
In October 1993, at about the time that Cedras was to step down and Aristide return, Latell characterized Aristide as mentally unbalanced, "paid little mind to democratic principles", and had urged supporters to murder their opponents with a technique called "necklacing", in which gasoline-soaked tires are placed around victims' necks and set afire. Neither Latell nor anyone else has provided any evidence of Aristide engageing in an explicit provocation. "He [Latell] made it the most simplistic, one-dimensional message he could -- murderer, psychopath," said an administration official familiar with Latell's briefing.
William Blum, Haiti 1986-1994: Who Will Rid Me of this Turbulent Priest?" excerpted from the book, Killing Hope: U. S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II.

Lauriani, LTC Fernando. Chile. 1971, Combat Arms Orientation Course School of the Americas. Implicated in the 1974 kidnapping and disappearance of brothers Juan Carlos and Jorge Elias Andrónico Antequera, Lauriani's was one of the few cases of military crimes to be tried after Pinochet's brutal dictatorship. Unfortunately, Pinochet brought all of his influence to bear and the case was finally handed to a military court, which, absolved Lauriani and closed the case.

Lepe Orellana, COL Jaime. Chile.

Lopez Grijalva, COL Juan (Honduras). School of the Americas Graduate, 1963, 69, 75. Key Member of Battalion 3-16, organized death squad activity during the arly and mid 1980's. 1991, 1992 SOA Guest Speaker.

Lopez Ortiz, General Juan.

SOA class of 1959. One of the most notable of the first 90 officials and military soldiers who arrived at the School of the Americas (SOA) between 1953 and 1960. Then a lieutenant, he studied weapons and infantry tactics. Triunfo Elizalde II, "Mexico is Now the Country Which Sends the Greatest Number of Forces to United States Military Schools", La Jornada ( Spanish Language original), August 16, 1998. Translated from the Spanish by Nuevo Amenecer Press Email address
Commander of 1994 Ocosingo, Mexico operation: suspected Zapatista sympathizers rounded up and shot in town's market. Lopez Ortiz remains involved in Chiapas. Congressman Kennedy's call for closure of the SOA, Jan 12, 1998

Latorre Gamboa, Paucelino. Notorious SOA graduate; commander of infamous 20th Brigade, which was implicated in the February 1998 murders of three human rights activists: attorney Eduardo Umana, Medellin Human Rights Committee Chairman Jesus Maria Valle, and political activist Maria Aranga. The Colombian government disbanded the unit in late May after it acknowledged the brigade's involvement in those murders as well as other grave human rights violations, including the May 1998 illegal assault on the offices of the Catholic human rights group Justicia y Paz during which solders held guns to the heads of nuns and other workers and ransacked office files. "Colombian Human Rights Abuses Tied to School of Americas Graduates, Wednesday, July 29, 1998

Lumintang, Lt. Gen. Johny. Indonesia. Trained by U.S. in 1989. Consistent pattern of torture and human rights abuses in Indonesia during following decade.

Lutin, Teniente Coronel Tanches. Guatemala. Identified by witness known to Jennifer Harbury, June 25, 1998, as member of Jaguar Avengers death squad.

Lutz, GEN Augusto. Chile. 1966, Comando y Estado Mayor School of the Americas. Lutz was one of the military officials who participated with Pinochet in the coup against the Allende government.

Martens, Robert J., formerly a political officer in the U. S. Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, referring to 1965 coup events. "I probably have a lot of blood on my hands, but that's not all bad. There's a time when you have to strike hard at a decisive moment." Martens described how U. S. diplomats and CIA officers provided up to 5000 names to Indonesian Army death squads in 1965, and checked them off as they were killed or captured. Kathy Kadane, reporter who interviewed Martens; article was in San Francisco Examiner (5/20/90) and Washington Post (5/21/90). Michael Wines of the New York Times did a damage control effort (7/12/90) which caused this story to die down. U. S. Policy / Indonesia. This is one of 90 files from Public Information Research, non-profit publisher of NameBase
that are organized by subject category.

"Martin", Mayor Carlos. Guatemala. Identified by witness known to Jennifer Harbury, June 25, 1998, as member of Jaguar Avengers death squad.

Matta Ballesteros, Juan Ramon, "rap sheet dates back at least to 1970 when he was arrested at Dulles Airport on drug-related chargtes and was sentenced to five years in prison. Bhy 1975, Matta had linked Mexican and Colombian traffickers. 1978 Matta financed a coup d'etat by the military in his native Honduras. Bhy 1983, Matta identified by U. S. Customs as a Class I DEA violator, linked to airline called SETCO. 1983-1985, SETCO hired by contras as principal company used to transport supplies and personnel. Despite Matta's tie to 1985 murder of star DEA agent Enrique Camarena in Guadalajara, Mexico, State Department in 1986 renewed SETCO's contract to supply the contras. Jerry Meldon, Contra-Crack Guide: Reading between the lines," in The Consortium (paid internet service)

Matta Galvez, Roberto.

McCarley, Eugene. Captain, U. S. Army, Commander of Operation Tailwind. Told CNN he equipped all his men with M-17 gas masks, designed to protect against nerve gas. Source: CNN study: U. S. used nerve gas during Vietnam War: Mission targeted American defectors in Laos: CNN Interactive, posted June 7, 1998, took 8 months and was based on interviews with 200 people, including dozens who fought or flew on the mission, called Operation Tailwind. AP reports, however, that McCarley denies that Operation Tailwind's mission was to kill defectors.

McFetridge., Col. Charles. U. S. Defense Intelligence Agency attache in Jakarta, May 1998.'Our Men in Jakarta' by Allan Nairn, 30 May 1998

McVeigh, Timothy, on October 20, 1991, wrote his sister Jennifer that "he and nine other soldiers had been taken to a private intelligence briefing at Fort Bragg, where they were told they could be required to particiapte in government-sanctioned assassinations and government-sponsored drug trafficking. The government has always denied it carries out such assassinations and drug trafficking. "Why would Tim (characteristically nondrinker), super-successful in the Army (private to sergeant in 2 years) (Top Gun) (Bronze Star) (accepted into Special Forces) all of a sudden come home, party HARD, and just like that, announce he was not only 'disillusioned' by SF (Special Forces) but was, in fact, leaving the service?" he asked. The answer, he wrote, lay in what he learned at Fort BRagg, where he and the nine others were told they might be ordered to help the CIA "fly drugs into the U. S. to fund many covert operations," and to "work hand-in-hand with civilian police agencies" as "government-paid assassins." He wrote, "Do not spread this info, Jennifer, as you could (very honestly, seriously) endanger my life." New York Times News Service, "McVeigh calls government 'evil king' in letter to sister", Baltimore Sun, July 1, 1998, p. 14A.

Mejia Henao, GEN Jose Nelson (Colombia). School of the Americas Notorious Graduate, 1961. 1991 received $40.3 million from U. S. Congresss for anti-narcotics aid, and then used it in northeastern Colombia, where narcotics are neither grown nor processed, for counter-insurgency. 1989, SOA Hall of Fame.

Mena, Odlanier. Chile. 1970, Comando y Estado Mayor School of the Americas. Luz Arce, a political prisoner who was tortured by DINA officials, testified that Mena offered her freedom in exchange for working three years as a spy for the DINA.

Menesus, Norvin. Nicaraguan drug trafficker. Reported by LA times to have donated "no more than $50,000 of his street sales to the contras." Gene "Chip" Tatum, "LA Times 'spins' CIA Drug Involvement, Big Sky Patriot, November 6, 1996

Merlo "Mateo" y "Francisco". Mayor Echevarria. Guatemala. Identified by witness known to Jennifer Harbury, June 25, 1998, as member of Jaguar Avengers death squad.

Mosqueira Jarpa, LTC Manuel Rolondo. Chile. 1970, Combat Arms Orientation graduate, School of the Americas. Mosqueira was active in the Villa Grimaldi concentration camp in which more than 4500 people were held.

Moorer, Thomas. Vietnam-era Chief of Naval Operations; former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Told CNN that the Nixon White House's national security team had to approe use of the sarin nerve gas for Operation Tailwind in 1970, and that the CIA had partial responsibility for it. Moorer confirmed that target of Operation Tailwind was American defectors. Moorer is quoted in the magazine version as saying the gas was "by and large available" for high-risk search-and-rescue missions and that "this is a much bigger operation than you realize." Source: CNN study: U. S. used nerve gas during Vietnam War: Mission targeted American defectors in Laos: CNN Interactive, posted June 7, 1998, took 8 months and was based on interviews with 200 people, including dozens who fought or flew on the mission, called Operation Tailwind.

Nixon, Richard. President of the United States. On September 15, 1970 ordered coup in Chile. Handwritten notes taken on this date by CIA director Richard Helms, "record the orders of the President of the United States, Richard Nixon, to foster a coup in Chile. Helms' notes reflect Nixon's orders: l in 10 chance perhaps, but save Chile!; worth spending; not concerned; no involvement of embassy; $10,000,00 available, more if necessary; full-time job--best men we have; game plan; make the economy scream; 48 hours for plan of action. This presidential directive initiates major covert operations to block Allende's ascension to office, and promote a coup in Chile. Peter Kornbluh, National Security Archive, CHILE: DECLASSIFIED U.S. DOCUMENTS ON PINOCHET AND THE 1973 COUP

Noriega, General Manuel. Panama. School of the Americas Notorious Graduate.Serving a 40-year prison sentence in a U.S. prison after being convicted of drug trafficking. Father Roy Bourgeois Gets Peace Award

North, Oliver.

In 1991, a DEA General File was opened on an Oliver North in Washington D.C. (GFGD-91-9139) "smuggling weapons into the Philippines with known drug traffickers."
October, 1994, The Washington Post reported that former Government Officials, including the DEA, CIA, State Department, US Customs and White House officials were quoted as saying that Lt. Col. Oliver North did not advise them of his knowledge that the Contras were involved in drug trafficking.Written Statement for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, April 27, 1998 of Celerino Castillo III (DEA, Retired), author of Powderburns: Cocaine, Contras and the Drug War
One of the most shocking lies by a military officer in recent history was told by Marine Col. Oliver North before a Senate investigating committee on the Iran-Contra scandal. He openly admitted that he had lied to Congress, a felony offense for which he did not spend one hour in jail nor pay one dollar in fines. Charles J. Liteky, "a Vietnam veteran who lives in Columbus", Special to the Columbus Ledger-Inquirer "School of the Americas foes have their turn", Friday, October 16, 1998.

Ortiz "Kaibil", Especialista Irineo. Guatemala. Identified by witness known to Jennifer Harbury, June 25, 1998, as member of Jaguar Avengers death squad.

Osolo, Arano, known as "the butcher of Zacape" was invited to the Reagan inauguration. Allan Nairn, "Reagan Administration's Links to Guatemala's Terrorist Government", Covert Action Quarterly, Summer, 1989

Ovalle "Don Chando", Capitan. Guatemala. Identified by witness known to Jennifer Harbury, June 25, 1998, as member of Jaguar Avengers death squad.

Titles "Virtual Truth Commission" and "Telling the Truth for a Better America" © 1998, Jackson H. Day. All Rights Reserved.
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Updated November 26, 1998