Jennifer Harbury
Encyclopedia
Jennifer K. Harbury is an American lawyer, author, and human rights activist.
Her personal story, writing, and activism are significant in revealing the complicity of the CIA
in human rights abuses, particularly in Central America
.
Harbury grew up in Connecticut, graduating from Harvard Law School and Cornell University. In 1990, Harbury met her husband Efraín Bámaca Velásquez (whose nom de guerre was Commandante Everardo). Bámaca was a Mayan commandante of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity
(URNG) during Guatemala's civil war
, a period of brutal repression and possible genocide
against Guatemala's indigenous populations at the time.
In 1992 Bámaca was "disappeared
" by the Guatemalan government. As a U.S. citizen and lawyer, Harbury set out to find her husband's whereabouts by protesting and through legal action despite receiving threats on her life and safety for these efforts.
Among the actions she took were two hunger strikes in Guatemala, one in front of the White House
, and a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the CIA.
During this period, both the Guatemalan and United States governments claimed they had no knowledge of Bámaca's whereabouts. However, as a consequence of Harbury's actions, U.S. State Department official Richard Nuccio ultimately became a whistle blower and revealed the fact that not only did the CIA know of his whereabouts, but that it had a close working relationship with the Central American death squads that were involved with his disappearance.
It was revealed that on March 12, 1992, the local Guatemalan army captured Efraín Bámaca Velásquez alive, that the army had secretly detained and tortured Bámaca for over a year before killing him in September 1993 without trial, and that his torturers and murderers were paid CIA informants. For his whistle blowing, Mr. Nuccio was stripped of his security clearance and effectively purged from the CIA and the State Department.
The revelations caused a scandal for the U.S. government. As a result, in 1998 then-President Bill Clinton
ordered declassification of secret archives on the Bámaca murder and other human rights crimes committed by the Guatemalan military. Clinton also issued a public apology in Guatemala for the United States' role in supporting the country's abusive regimes.
Since that time, Harbury has made it her life's work to fight for human rights by documenting, exposing, and speaking publicly about human rights abuses, with special attention given to abuses perpetrated by the United States
both historical and contemporary.
Harbury is the author of three books:
Her story is also the subject of the film:
In 1995 Harbury received a Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award
, and in 1997 the Cavallo Award for Moral Courage, which she shared with Nuccio.
Harbury's work has been widely cited, and she has appeared as a guest speaker on Charlie Rose
and Democracy Now!
.
Her personal story, writing, and activism are significant in revealing the complicity of the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
in human rights abuses, particularly in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
.
Harbury grew up in Connecticut, graduating from Harvard Law School and Cornell University. In 1990, Harbury met her husband Efraín Bámaca Velásquez (whose nom de guerre was Commandante Everardo). Bámaca was a Mayan commandante of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity
The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity is a Guatemalan political party that started as a guerrilla movement but laid down its arms in 1996 and became a legal political party in 1998 after the peace process after the Guatemalan Civil War.-Formation:Since the CIA-backed...
(URNG) during Guatemala's civil war
Guatemalan Civil War
The Guatemalan Civil War ran from 1960-1996. The thirty-six-year civil war began as a grassroots, popular response to the rightist and military usurpation of civil government , and the President's disrespect for the human and civil rights of the majority of the population...
, a period of brutal repression and possible genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
against Guatemala's indigenous populations at the time.
In 1992 Bámaca was "disappeared
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
" by the Guatemalan government. As a U.S. citizen and lawyer, Harbury set out to find her husband's whereabouts by protesting and through legal action despite receiving threats on her life and safety for these efforts.
Among the actions she took were two hunger strikes in Guatemala, one in front of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, and a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the CIA.
During this period, both the Guatemalan and United States governments claimed they had no knowledge of Bámaca's whereabouts. However, as a consequence of Harbury's actions, U.S. State Department official Richard Nuccio ultimately became a whistle blower and revealed the fact that not only did the CIA know of his whereabouts, but that it had a close working relationship with the Central American death squads that were involved with his disappearance.
It was revealed that on March 12, 1992, the local Guatemalan army captured Efraín Bámaca Velásquez alive, that the army had secretly detained and tortured Bámaca for over a year before killing him in September 1993 without trial, and that his torturers and murderers were paid CIA informants. For his whistle blowing, Mr. Nuccio was stripped of his security clearance and effectively purged from the CIA and the State Department.
The revelations caused a scandal for the U.S. government. As a result, in 1998 then-President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
ordered declassification of secret archives on the Bámaca murder and other human rights crimes committed by the Guatemalan military. Clinton also issued a public apology in Guatemala for the United States' role in supporting the country's abusive regimes.
Since that time, Harbury has made it her life's work to fight for human rights by documenting, exposing, and speaking publicly about human rights abuses, with special attention given to abuses perpetrated by the United States
Torture and the United States
Torture in the United States includes documented and alleged cases of torture both inside the United States and outside its borders by U.S. government personnel...
both historical and contemporary.
Harbury is the author of three books:
- Bridge to Courage: Life Stories of Guatemalan Compañeros & Compañeras (1995)
- Searching for Everardo: A Story of Love, War, and the CIA in Guatemala (1997)
- Truth, Torture, and the American Way (2005)
Her story is also the subject of the film:
- Dirty Secrets: Jennifer, Everardo & the CIA in Guatemala (1998)
In 1995 Harbury received a Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award
Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award
The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award is awarded annually by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies. It is awarded to those advancing the cause of human rights in the Americas. The Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award commemorates Orlando Letelier and Ronni Moffitt, who in 1976...
, and in 1997 the Cavallo Award for Moral Courage, which she shared with Nuccio.
Harbury's work has been widely cited, and she has appeared as a guest speaker on Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
and Democracy Now!
Democracy Now!
Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
.