For the last ten years the life of Sister Dianna Ortiz has been shaped by a single day.

On that day she was abducted from a religious retreat in Antigua, Guatemala and subsequently tortured by men she believes were members of the Guatemalan security forces.

But, she says, that as terrible as that day was ... The knowledge she has carried with her all of those years has been even worse ... That an American called "Alejandro" was present in her torture chamber ... and that her government may have known and even sanctioned her torturers.

Over the last ten years, Sister Dianna Ortiz has become a vocal defender of the rights of survivors of torture, and a living symbol of the dark side of U.S. Involvement with the repressive military regimes in Guatemala.

In this first of two special reports, Latino USA's Maria Martin has our story about the ordeal of Sister Dianna Ortiz, and what the years following her abduction have meant for her and the country of Guatemala.

"Who Were The Torturers?: The Betrayal Of Sister Dianna Ortiz" was made possible with funding from The Paul Robeson Fund, The Fund for Investigative Journalism and by The Kiplinger Public Affairs Program at Ohio State University.

Related Sites:

Guatemalan Human Rights Commission
Amnesty International
Jennifer Harbury
Kovler Center for Survivors of Torture
Canadian Center for Victims of Torture
Torture Survivors Network