Documents prove US aware of torture during dictatorship

The National Archives have disclosed documents which prove that the United States were aware of torture and forced disappearances of political prisoners in Brazil during the military dictatorship. The set of digital documents was sent by the US government at the request of the National Truth Commission (CNV), endorsed by the Brazilian government, based on the US Freedom of Information Act.

The files, released for reference Thursday (July 9), include information on the disappearance of Stuart Angel Jones (son of the late fashion designer Zuzu Angel and former deputy Rubens Paiva, whose bodies were never found), and the murder of communist leader Carlos Marighela in São Paulo, among others. An excerpt from a telegram sent in May 1973 by the US Consulate in São Paulo to the US Department of State in Washington contains reports of incarceration and torture in Brazil. “Interrogation of political prisoners is often accompanied by torture, i. e. the parrot' s perch, electric shocks, starvation, etc.,” the document read.

Jaime Antunes, managing director of the National Archives, explained that three shipments with information on DVD media were sent to Brazil. The first of them, with 43 files, was received in June 2014, personally handed over by US Vice-President Joe Biden. They had already been made available for reference on the CNV website.

According to Antunes, CNV has not been able to examine the second shipment consisting of 113 documents, received in December, and the third, with 538 documents, delivered on June 30. He says the material was selected and formatted by the US government. “The passages that they still regard as confidential have been blacked out,” he said.

The material was released as it was provided by the Americans: in English language and split into three batches. The National Archive will now systematize the information, translate the titles and descriptions for easier reference. “Having these documents is a major achievement, because we all know that the US have a very strong presence in Latin America and closely supported these movements in countries that experienced dictatorship periods,” he said.

For Antunes, “any sources of information that shed light on tortuous periods will help establish the facts so that everything becomes known and never happens again. For the research community and human rights agencies, this is exemplary. If any other countries have information about this period of military dictatorship in Brazil, I hope they are so kind as to share it with the Brazilian people.”

Translated by Mayra Borges