The episode was about the 1982 massacre in guatemala. Directed by ryan suffern, this harrowing documentary focuses on the december 1982 massacre perpetrated by the guatemalan military against the little village of dos erres, whose residentssome. Gilberto jordan, a former guatemalan special forces soldier, was deported back to guatemala on tuesday after serving a tenyear prison sentence in the u. Be sure to tune into nprs this american life this weekend or listen online at. Kaibiles and the massacre at las dos erres, a public domain information request response document of the u. Stown was downloaded 16 million times in its first week, setting a new record in podcasting, and is currently the number one podcast on itunes. Im researching the dos erres massacre in guatemala right now, for a history class. The twoway correspondents kelly mcevers and deborah amos were cited for detailed reportage, often from dangerous locations. One thing that i dont understand is why the rightwing governments the us backed. What happened at dos erres transcript originally aired 05. As usual your recent show what happened at dos erres was superbly executed radio. Polish language katyn forest massacre lesson from the association of polish teachers abroad.
Sebastian rotella is an awardwinning author, foreign correspondent and investigative journalist. On the morning of december 6, a kaibil unit of army. Jordan was participant in the massacre of over 250 civilians in dos erres, in the peten region of guatemala in november, 1982. She began her career in journalism reporting for outlets including npr, cbc, wbez, the new york times and vice, picking up awards along the way. Exkaibil officer connected to dos erres massacre arrested. Former soldier deported to face war crimes charges in. Former guatemalan special forces officer sentenced for. A commander of the dos erres massacre squad gets 10 propublica. Caminar is a prose poem relating the story of a boy who survives a similar massacre in his own village. Dos erres spanisch fur zwei rs ist ein guatemaltekisches dorf im norden des landes. This american life is produced for the ear and designed. The show revisited the village of dos erres, guatemala, where a ghastly massacre took. Interamerican court of human rights case of the las dos.
The radio story can be streamed from the podcasts page. Bhatt focuses on a popular and interesting national public radio npr show. The communitys inhabitants included children, women. Posts about dos erres written by lauren harper, emily willard, nate jones, and kate doyle. Soldiers grabbed babies and toddlers by their legs, swung them in the air, and smashed. The massacre that she was investigating happen in 1982, when oscar was three at a village called dos erres. In fact, one of the soldiers who participated in the dos erres massacre, pedro pimentel, who later was sentenced to 6,060 years in prison, was airlifted the day after the mass murder to the school of the americas, the u. Dos erres massacre guatemala human rights commission. Thirty years later, a guatemalan living in the us got a phone call from a woman who told him that two boys had been abducted during the massacre and he was one of them. Feb 10, 2014 a commander of the dos erres massacre squad gets 10 years in prison. Ironically, what happened at dos erres accomplished glasss. Aug 05, 20 mass media helps keep americans in the dark about u.
Jorge vinicio sosa orantes denies any role in the slaughter of 250 villagers at dos erres in 1982, but investigators say he. How the media got guatemalas dos erres massacre wrong. In 1982 amid guatemalas brutal civil war, 20 army commandos invaded the jungle hamlet of dos erres disguised as rebels. Nprs weekly program this american life received the peabody award for excellence in electronic journalism. May 22, 2012 five former soldiers have already been given long sentences for the dos erres massacre. Las dos erres massacre case advances with a new trial nisgua. Jul 25, 2011 guatemala las dos erres civil war massacre trial begins. November 2016 media mentions usc dana and david dornsife. Two novels translated into english this spring show the broad landscape of. Finding oscar is a documentary that tells the stories of. National security archive electronic briefing book no. Peabody awardwinning episode of npr s this american life, which aired a year ago. A former guatemalan special forces officer was sentenced today to serve 10 years in prison for covering up his involvement in a 1982 massacre at dos erres, guatemala. Gilberto jordan was deported from the united states to.
What happened at dos erres and finding oscar dart center. This american lifes harshest indictment against the u. Variety mentioned the usc shoah foundation and usc trustee steven spielberg produced a documentary, finding oscar, about the dos erres massacre in guatemala. In a comparable case in 2000, families who survived the 1982 las dos erres massacre were awarded a total of 1. And its just one part of a larger horrific series of events, that we the usa pretty much put into action, encouragedfunded, all while publicly denouncing it. Mar 27, 20 what happened at dos erres and finding oscar march 27, 20 by ana arana, krista kjellman schmidt, habiba nosheen, brian reed, sebastian rotella this american life, propublica and fundacion mepi collaborated to produce a stunning and powerful story in multiple formats that uncovers a 1982 massacre of a village in guatemala. The program will tell the harrowing, and still ongoing, story of the dos erres massacre that occurred in guatemala on 6 december 1982.
Mar, 2012 the sentence is largely symbolic as the maximum actual term is 50 years but it comes amid renewed moves to try those implicated in civil war atrocities. Stown is a new podcast from serial and this american life, hosted by brian reed, about a man named john who despises his alabama town and decides to do something about it. In 1982, the guatemalan military massacred the villagers of dos erres, killing more than 200 people. He confessed to the murder, rape, and torture of numerous men, women, and children, as well as throwing bodies, including live babies, down the village well. Guatemala is a mainly mountainous country in central america. The next day, one of guatemalas elite platoons entered a jungle village called las dos erres and killed 162 of its inhabitants, 67 of them children. The slaughter in dos erres was one of 600 mass killings in a 36yearlong war that left more than 200,000 people dead. Nisgua is a member of acoguate, a coalition of north american and european solidarity committees who provide international accompaniment to threatened guatemalan human rights defenders. The story that won them the award was titled what happened at dos erres. There it authored one of the signature atrocities of the bloody guatemalan civil war. The harrowing and heartrending story of guatemalas dos erres massacre, and the survivors whose lives were forever changed by it in 1982, at the height of guatemalas civil war, twenty soldiers from the armys commando unit, called the kaibiles, invaded the farming village of dos erres. May 15, 2018 the making of a massacre, a new investigative podcast from audible and propublica, is a twohour dramatic exploration of a 2011 massacre in allende, mexico, reported and narrated by ginger. Survivor of guatemala civil war learns true identity the. The name of the village, occasionally given as las dos erres, literally means two rs, originating from two brothers called ruano who received the original land grant.
An officer accused of participating in guatemalas dos erres massacre lost his appeal to block extradition to the us, while a former salvadorian general is fighting potential extradition to spain. He was living in a boston suburb in 2011 when he received a phone call from a prosecutor in guatemala who had been investigating war crimes, including the 1982 dos erres slaughter. Npr received a peabody award for their piece on the 1982 massacre, but they omit one important fact. Guatemala las dos erres civil war massacre trial begins bbc. On december 7, 1982, a unit of army commandos entered the guatemalan hamlet of dos erres. Finding oscar is nonfiction, an extension of what originated as a journalistic investigation of a massacre in the guatemalan village of dos erres. Mar, 2012 rios, 54, is the fifth member of the elite military force to be convicted for what has been known as the dos erres massacre in the northern guatemalan village during the 196096 civil war. Sosa orantes, 52, is a former commanding officer of the guatemalan special forces, or kaibil unit, which brutally murdered more than 250 men, women and children during the 1982 massacre in dos erres. Guatemala dos erres massacre soldier given 6,060 years bbc news. Still, bringing to justice alleged murderers like pimentel, who was a kaibil officer and instructor in the 1980s and who despite the dos erres massacre was invited to be an instructor at the u. This weekend, this american life on national public radio will air an hourlong edition entitled what happened at dos erres. Las dos erres massacre case advances with a new trial the following is a translation of an article originally featured in spanish on the acoguate blog. Mar 27, 20 npr wins peabody award for coverage of conflict in syria.
Santos lopez belonged to a patrol that committed the massacre in december 1982 in dos erres, on the border with mexico. Las dos erres massacre, it seemed obvious that this american life would. Gsn monday mailer june 12 2012 guatemala scholars network. Before, i thought the guerrillas and the army killed each other in the war. I know almost nothing about us anticommunist involvement in latin america during the cold war, mostly because i find it too depressing and shameful to think about. The launch featured a panel discussion moderated by npr s tom gjelten with. Npr is to be commended for airing this moving report, but i think it incumbent on npr to fully investigate and report on the extensive historical role of the u. The national security archive launched the guatemala documentation project in 1994, after peace negotiators seeking to end guatemalas 36year armed conflict agreed to establish a truth commission. He asks brian to investigate the son of a wealthy family whos allegedly been bragging that he got away with murder.
A commander of the dos erres massacre squad gets 10 years in. Sebastian rotella audio books, best sellers, author bio. Immigration officials said he was the fifth participant in the dos erres massacre living in the united. Dos erres soldier jailed for 6,060 years for massacre. Sosas actions as a commander of the squad that carried out the slaughter in the jungle hamlet of dos erres one of the. This massacre was performed by the specialized group within the armed forces of guatemala named kaibiles6. The dos erres massacre and the hunt for oscar guatemala city newspaper article the story can be found here in english as well as a link to the story which aired on npr this american life 3 year old boy guatemala city newspaper article american life old boys world history the past trees english. On january 18, 2011, jorge vinicio sosa orantes was arrested in alberta, canada on charges of naturalization fraud in the united states.
Before daybreak, 58 kabiles elite guatemalan special force soldiers disguised themselves as guerrillas and arrived. Exguatemalan soldier jorge sosa gets 10 years in u. Mass media helps keep americans in the dark about u. The next day, these soldiers massacred everyone in the village.
Asked if he had anything to say, gen rios montt told the hearing. The week mentioned the usc dornsifelos angeles times daybreak poll, which used a different methodology than other polls and consistently showed donald trump ahead of hillary clinton. Brian reed is the host and cocreator of the groundbreaking podcast stown, which is a production of serial and the public radio show this american life. The breaking point npr coverage of the breaking point. During the height of guatemalas bloody civil war in 1982, a squad of commandos stormed the hamlet of dos erres and killed more than 250 men, women and children. The abuses included burying some alive in the village well, killing infants by slamming their heads against walls, keeping young women alive to be raped over the course of three days. Reed is also the senior producer of this american life. Crowd favorites among this american lifes last 500 episodes. Judgment of november 24, 2009 preliminary objection, merits, reparations, and costs in the case of the las dos erres massacre, the interamerican court of human rights hereinafter the court or the interamerican court, composed of the following judges. His second novel, the converts song, was published in 2014. The projects first objective was to support the human rights investigations of the unsponsored historical clarification commission by forcing the declassification and release of.
Former guatemalan soldier wanted for war crime charges over 1982 massacre that left more than 200 villagers dead is deported from u. Pedro pimentel rios is the fifth former special forces soldier sentenced to 6,060 years or more for what became known as the dos erres massacre, named after the northern guatemala hamlet. Mar 12, 20 the following is a transcript of an episode of this american life, about an incident in guatemala during that countrys long dirty war. Npr wins peabody award for coverage of conflict in syria. May 26, 2012 finally, an appropriate npr show, a story about the dos erres massacre in guatemala. But then someone else ends up dead, and the search for the truth leads to a nasty feud, a hunt for hidden. A commander of the dos erres massacre squad gets 10 years in prison. Man falsified citizenship papers to hide role in 1982 guatemalan war crimes. What happened at dos erres in 1982, the guatemalan military massacred the villagers of dos erres, killing more than 200 people. Two small boys survived and were raised by two of the commandos involved in the massacre.
Nate jones will be doing a book signing for able archer 83. Guatemala exleader rios montt faces massacre trial bbc news. Abc news on wednesday march 27 won a george foster peabody award for its publicservice campaign built around good morning america anchor robin roberts recovery from a rare blood disorder. One example is the massacre of up to 300 civilians by government soldiers in the village of las dos erres on 7 december 1982. Separated by massacre, a father and son reunite three. Some might argue that the show, which puts great emphasis on personal narratives, is justified in excluding political context from its 60minute episode on the massacre.
Thirty years later, a guatemalan living in the us got a phone call from a woman who told him that two boys had been abducted during the massacre. This is the true story of oscar alfredo ramirez castaneda and genocide in guatemala. Apr 14, 2017 the brutal and unimaginable massacre at dos erres, guatemala is the subject of a wrenching and ultimately hopeful documentary, finding oscar, executive produced by steven spielberg. Hemingway, dos passos, and the murder of jose robles by stephen koch. They are, in one sense, an old story, brutal acts that were carried out long ago. Exsoldier sentenced to 5,160 years in prison for guatemala civil war massacre. You show us the profound role that serendipity can play in this journey that we all take.
At its center is the remarkable story of oscar ramirez. In 2012 brandel founded the groundbreaking audiencefirst series, wbezs curious city, and is spreading this publicpowered journalism model around the world via hearken. In fact, one of the soldiers who participated in the dos erres massacre, pedro pimentel, who. The dos erres massacre and the hunt for oscar guatemala city newspaper article the story can be found here in english as well as a link to the story which aired on npr this american life. A federal judge sentences jorge vinicio sosa orantes to the maximum term for lying on immigration forms about his role in the. Abdi and the golden ticket, which follows a somali refugee desperately trying to get to america. The more nefarious us foreign policy, the more it relies on media. You manage to move and engage the listener by exploring the humanity of the bad guys and the bravery of the good guys. They searched the entire village but they could not find any weapons. The corn, bean, pineapple and peanut plantations have disappeared and at the spot where the path leading to the village used to be, there is now. Today, dos erres, a village in the municipality of las cruces, in peten, guatemalas northernmost department, where one of the civil wars most brutal massacres occurred, is a vast grassland bordered by barbed wire, where cattle graze peacefully. Emmy and peabody awardwinning investigative journalist and filmmaker habiba nosheen 60 minutes, frontline joined the fifth estate as a new cohost in january 2017.