Dianna Ortiz (1958–2021), nun who survived kidnapping and founded anti-torture group

Dianna Ortiz was a Catholic nun who was abducted and tortured while serving as a missionary in Guatemala, and later foundedtheTorture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International(TASSC).

• Died:February 19, 2021 (Who else died on February 19?)
• Details of death:Died in Washington, DC of cancer at the age of 62.
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Terrifying ordeal

Ortiz traveled from the U.S. to Guatemala in 1989, working with the poor there and teaching children to read. Guatemala was then embroiled in a violent civil war, with the U.S. supporting its military as it fought Marxist guerrillas. She began receiving threatening letters, and in 1989, she was kidnapped. She was tortured by captors who insisted she was working with subversives and demanded names. Ortiz was later removed from her captivity by a man she claimed was a U.S. government operative, and she escaped from his car when he said he was taking her to a safe location.

After returning to the U.S., Ortiz demanded answers about U.S. involvement in her kidnapping specifically and in Guatemalae28099s civil war generally. She began a hunger strike and vigil outside the White House, and her efforts eventually led to the release of classified documents about U.S. involvement in Guatemala. In 1998, she founded the organization that would become TASSC, which advocates for victims of torture and helps them cope. Ortiz later wrote the memoir, e2809cThe Blindfolde28099s Eyes: My Journey From Torture to Truthe2809d

Ortiz on forgiveness

e2809cI leave that in Gode28099s hands. The fact that Ie28099m a Catholic nun and Ie28099m not able to forgive, that makes me feel all the more guilty. Ie28099m not sure what it means to forgive.e2809d e28094from a 1996 interview for NPR

Tributes to Dianna Ortiz

Full obituary: The Washington Post

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