Specialized Agencies - Harvard Model United Nations

JCC: Special Reunion of
the School of the Americas
Character Biographies
Dear Delegates,
Welcome, once again, to the Specialized Agencies of Harvard Model United Nations 2013!
Our staff continues to work tirelessly to ensure that this sixtieth session of Harvard Model United Nations is truly the best yet.
We aim to provide the most imaginative committees and innovative crises, and we would like to make your preparation process
as painless as possible. To that end, your committee staff has prepared the following list of character biographies, a valuable
(and often amusing) supplement to the information contained in the committee Study Guide. We hope that these biographies
will serve as yet another resource in your preparation before conference.*
If you have any questions regarding your committee specifically, or if you would simply like to introduce yourself, you may
directly contact your committee director, Tyler Keefe, at jccsoa@ harvardmun.org. Other questions or concerns may be
directed to me at the address below.
Yours ,
Samuel H. Leiter
Under-Secretary-General for the Specialized Agencies
Harvard Model United Nations 2013
sa@harvardmun.org
* Other resources may be found online at harvardmun.org, under the Preparation tab.
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JCC: Special Reunion of the School of the Americas
Please Note: The following character biographies are intended to serve as additional source materials that delegates may draw
upon in their portrayals of their assigned characters. Though the biographies are not strictly factual, the information contained
within them is to be treated as canon for the duration of the conference.
Leopoldo Galtieri — Argentina
Leopoldo Galtieri was an Argentine army general and civil engineer who rose to power after the 1976 Argentine military coup.
Born in 1926 in Caseros from a family of poor Italian immigrants, he enrolled in the National Military Academy at 17 and
became an officer in the engineering branch. He attended the American-run School of the Americas in Panama in 1949. Early in
his career Galtieri gained a reputation for believing that violence could resolve any territorial dispute. After 25 years of working
as a combat engineer, Galtieri became the head of the Argentine engineering corps in 1975. He rose quickly through military
ranks in the following years, helped by his strong support for the 1976 military coup and the resulting junta that seized control
in Argentina. He became a high-up general in charge of the Second Army Corps in Rosario in 1978, in which he strongly stifled
dissent about the new regime. In this role he was also responsible for Battalion 601, the intelligence unit in charge of what is
called the “dirty war” in Argentina which killed and/or made vanish thousands of Argentinians. He became army commanderin-chief
in late 1979, a position with the rank of a lieutenant-general. Alongside the other members of the military junta, Galtieri
is in control of the Argentinian government.
Jorge Videla — Argentina
Jorge Rafael Videla was the de facto president of Argentina beginning in 1976 when he gained control through the military coup
as head of the junta. Born in 1925 in Mercedes, Videla came from a prominent family in San Luis Province, with many relatives
having held high political office. Following in the footsteps of his army colonel father, Videla graduated from the National
Military College in 1944 and joined the Argentine Army. His success in the army led him to become a brigadier general by 1971
and chief of the Army General Staff in 1973. President Isabel Peron appointed Videla as commander in chief of the military
in 1975 due to pressure from the military, and from this position he reorganized the military, getting rid of those sympathetic to
Peron. In the same year he led an army campaign against the People’s Revolutionary Army (ERP), which resulted in the death
of hundreds of Marxists. Videla led the March 24, 1976 military coup that ousted President Peron and in the process became
president of Argentina as leader of the governing three-man military junta. Videla vested all powers in the hands of the military
and presided over the arrest, execution, torture, and/or kidnapping of thousands of left-wing guerillas, political opponents,
and later journalists, educators, and intellectuals in Argentina’s “dirty war”. He instituted a free-market economy in Argentina
but elicited strong international criticisms for his oppressive practices towards those on the left. While mostly involved in the
economic sphere of government, Videla alongside the other members of the military junta was in control of the Argentinian
government.
Emilio Massera — Argentina
Emilio Massera was a member of Argentina’s three-man junta that gained power after the 1976 military coup d’état and head of
the country’s largest and notorious political prison. He was born in Buenos Aires in 1925 and attended Argentina’s elite naval
academy in 1942 at age 16, becoming a midshipman in 1946. He attended the American School of the Americas, then in Panama,
due to his strong opposition to Communism. By 1974 he was a full admiral and naval commander in chief under President
Isabel Peron; Massera used this position to urge Peron to strongly fight guerilla groups and maintain public order. After the 1976
military coup, Massera controlled the military arm of the junta until 1978. As head of the navy he also oversaw and operated the
Naval Mechanics School (ESMA), a clandestine prison camp in Argentina’s “dirty war” where mysterious kidnappings, torture,
rape, and ultimately execution were used against political prisoners and newborn babies of prisoners were trafficked. Massera
was known for his oratory skills and his ambition to rise to great political prestige. He was the political face of the military junta,
and alongside the other two members in control of the Argentinian government.
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Hugo Banzer — Bolivia
Hugo Banzer was dictator of Bolivia from 1971-1978, withstanding multiple coup attempts and leading a government criticized
for many human rights abuses. Banzer was born in 1926 in Concepcion, Bolivia and attended the Bolivian Army Military High
School in La Paz, from which he graduated as a cavalry lieutenant. He attended the School of the Americas in Panama, also
traveling to Fort Hood, Texas to receive more training from the American Army and later going to Washington as a military
attaché from 1967-1969. After serving in various government posts as minister of education and director of the military academy
throughout the 1960’s, Banzer was exiled to Argentina in 1971 after leading a failed coup against leftist president General Juan
Jose Torres. In August 1971, Banzer snuck back into Bolivia and led a military coup that ousted General Torres; he then declared
himself president and instituted military rule. As president, Banzer presided over strong and violent censorship and repression
of political opponents, culminating in his 1974 ban of political activity. During his dictatorship, tens of thousands of people
are alleged to have been arrested and sought political asylum elsewhere. Banzer was overthrown in 1978 by his opponent in
presidential elections and was exiled to Argentina. In 1979 Banzer returned to Bolivia and founded the powerful National
Democratic Action (ADN) political party.
Luis Arce Gomez — Bolivia
In 1958 Luis Arce Gomez attended the American School of the Americas, taking courses as a communications and tactical
officer. Arce Gomez was an ambitious army officer who was suspected of having close ties to Bolivian Drug Cartels. Arce-
Gomez was appointed minister of the interior and was intimately involved with supporting and profiting from the cocaine
trafficking industry in Bolivia; some gave him the nickname “Minister of Cocaine” because of this. Arce Gomez has also been
known to favor economic liberalization within Bolivia.
Raul Iturriaga — Chile
Raul Iturriaga was a Chilean army general and member of the DINA (Directorate of National Intelligence), the Chilean secret
police, under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Born in 1938 in Linares, Chile, Iturriaga attended the Military
School of the Americas in 1965 for Basic Airborne courses and later became a counter-insurgency strategy instructor. He joined
the DINA in 1973 shortly after Pinochet’s successful military takeover and was named head of the Department of Foreign
Affairs. In this role, he was involved in Operation Condor, a joint coalition with leaders in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay,
and Uruguay to get rid of political opponents and dissidents. After once again attending the School of the Americas in Panama
in 1976, he became assistant director of intelligence for DINA in 1977 and later head of its Economic Department in charge of
DINA firms. Iturriaga controlled Operation Colombo, the program which “disappeared” political opponents to Argentina while
claiming they had committed suicide. He was also the director of the clandestine jail known as “The Sexy Blindfold” and “The
Discotheque” because of the sexual abuse used on blindfolded prisoners while loud music masked their screams. As the head
of Pinochet’s coercive apparatus, Iturriaga is a trusted representative of the Chilean government, still must consult Pinochet on
most matters when it comes to international action.
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Guillermo Rodriguez — Ecuador
Guillermo Rodriguez was the military dictator of Ecuador from 1972-1976. Rodriguez was born in 1924 in Pujili, Chile. He
studied at Eloy Alfaro Military School of Quito and later studied engineering. He taught at College Eloy Alfaro, at the School
of the Americas in Panama in 1964, and in 1966 joined the staff of the Military Academy with honors from the President. In
1971 Rodriguez was appointed commander in chief of the Army under the presidency of Jose Velasco. In 1972, Rodriguez
overthrew the government of President Velasco after he was appointed chairman of the Military Council of Government;
he then exiled Velasco to Argentina. Rodriguez took power at the time of a large oil boom in Ecuador and used oil profits
to fund infrastructure construction. He announced military control, though many held out hope that his reinstitution of the
1945 Constitution would lead to constitutional order once more. In 1974 Rodriguez withstood the attempted coup of General
Gonzalez Alvear. Weakened from that attempt, the military peacefully removed Rodriguez from power in 1976. Rodriguez
maintains a lot of political power in Ecuador, and holds the ear of most of the military and political elite within in the country.
Roberto D’Abuisson — El Salvador
Roberto D’Abuisson was a major in the El Salvadorian army and right-wing opponent of the Revolutionary Government Junta
(JRG). He was born in 1944 in Santa Tecla and graduated from the military academy in 1963, becoming a rightist National Guard
officer. In 1970 and 1971 he studied in Washington, D.C. at the International Police Academy (which was later closed due to
claims of it teaching torture techniques). In 1972 he attended the School of the Americas, taking courses in communications.
D’Abuisson joined the Salvadorian military intelligence and became part of the armed forces general staff in El Salvador in 1975.
In following years he staunchly opposed pushes for land redistribution in El Salvador, particularly from Roman Catholic leaders.
He formed the Union of White Warriors just before the start of the 1979 El Salvadorian civil war; this group was believed
to be a death squad because of its role in the killing and torture of many, including a Roman Catholic bishop. As the head of
paramilitary groups, and a talented officer, D’Abuisson is a trusted representative of the El Salvadoran government.
Policarpo Paz Garcia — Honduras
Paz has been President of Honduras since 7 August 1978, when he took control of the country in a bloodless coup d’état.
Before that, he was a general and had recently been made head of the armed forces. Until a new president is elected, Paz will be
the interim head of state. If these plans go ahead, it will be the end of 20 years of military rule in Honduras. These seemingly
noble aims seem at odds with the reality of the actions of Paz’s government. There has been a marked increase in the use of
state force in assassinations and torture of political opponents, and corruption permeates the highest levels of government. A
drug lord financed the 1978 coup, and the current administration takes a cut of all the cocaine and marijuana trafficked through
the country from Colombia. Policarpo Paz Garcia has the complete control of the Honduran government, and amicable
relationships with drug cartels within Honduras.
Efrain Rios Montt — Guatemala
Ríos Montt attended the School of the Americas in 1951. He went on to play a role in the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état
organized by the CIA, which replaced the left wing President Jacobo Argun Guzman with the inept Colonel Castillo Arnos. This
led to a series of coups, which ended in Guatemala breaking out into Civil War in 1960, in which it remains today. Ríos Montt
was made Chief of Staff for the military in 1970, during the midst of the war. He is currently in charge of all military operations
for the government, and holds tremendous political power within the country.
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Otto Perez Molina — Guatemala
Molina is a graduate of the School of the Americas who is currently a member of the elite counter-insurgency Kaibil unit in the
Guatemalan army. This unit is highly selective and contains the best soldiers in the entire army. As the head of counter-insurgency
operations, Molina is incredibly powerful within the country that is fighting a counter-insurgency civil war. His Talents as a
military officer have not gone unnoticed by the chief of staff, and he is therefore a trusted advisor to the government, as well
as a successful field commander.
Manuel Noriega — Panama
Noriega was born in Panama but has been trained in most of his military knowledge in the United States. He supported Omar
Torrijos in his 1968 coup and was rewarded by the role of head of military intelligence as Torrijos took his current place as
de facto leader of Panama. As the head of military intelligence, Noriega has been successful in suppressing almost all political
opposition within Panama, and has formed strong relationships with the leaders of many Latin American Drug Cartels. While
Torrijos is the ruler of Panama, Noriega has been known to act out on his own before receiving the blessing of Torrijos.
Vladimiro Montesinos — Peru
Vladimiro Montesinos is a graduate of the School of the Americas, was a Captain in the Peruvian army and from 1973-5 he
was the military aide to the Prime Minister of Peru and Captain of the Armed Forces, General Jarrin. As the head of Peru’s
Intelligence Service, SIN, he has been in charge of identifying and limiting political opposition within the country, as well as
identifying foreign and domestic threats to the current regime. In this position, Montesinos has been able to develop a web
of contacts with foreign intelligence services, and Peruvian cartels. After being released in 1978, he gained a law degree and
currently works as a lawyer representing drug lords and corrupt officials.
Juan Velasco Alvarado — Peru
Velasco was the ruler of Peru from 1968 to 1975. He started out as a private in the Peruvian Army, before rising up to Chief
of the Armed Forces by 1968. The government and congress in Peru in 1968 were unstable and had lost much public support.
When a particular scandal erupted over oil fields, the army took the opportunity to seize power and Velasco was instated as ruler
in a bloodless coup. Velasco was moderately left and during his rule Peru soon stood out as the only left-leaning government in
South America. He instituted various social justice reforms and economic programs, which have so far been working, but seem
to be slowing down. He aided Castro in Cuba and was a keen ally of the Soviet Union. As time went on, his administration also
became less tolerant of dissent, cracking down on political activists and banning newspapers. Alvarado controls the government
of Peru, with the help of advisors, particularly his head of intelligence, Vladimiro Montesinos.
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