The Ambassador (review)

This Norwegian-produced documentary film examines the career of John D. Negroponte, the ambassador of the title. Director Erling Borgen made this film after Negroponte was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Iraq in 2004. Borgen raises the question whether Negroponte, instead of being an ambassador, should be persecuted for the war crimes he supposedly committed during his career as a United States diplomat. While the film starts with Negroponte in Vietnam, it focuses in on the time he spent as the Ambassador to Honduras during the early 1980s. Many Central American human rights activists are interviewed and all point their finger at Negroponte as one of the key architects of the systematic repression which occurred during this period. Though no hard evidence of Negroponte's direct involvement is presented, the film does raise many questions about his complicity in and covering up of many human rights abuses which occurred during his tenure as ambassador. At least 179 Hondurans "disappeared" during these years and the film claims that U.S. officials "decided who lived and who died."

Several times the film cuts to the same scene of Negroponte testifying in front of the U.S. Senate in which he states that, "One human rights violation is a violation too many." This becomes the theme of the documentary. The film implies that Negroponte was not only aware of the various abuses in Honduras and Central America but approved of them, and that this repression was part of the Reagan Administration's overall policy for the region. A number of moving examples of human rights violations are presented by interviewing both survivors and family members of the victims. One important case which is examined in detail is the disappearance of James Carney, SJ. Padre Guadalupe, as he was known, had moved to Honduras and was active in attempting to improve the lives of his poor parishioners. When he was disappeared in 1983 several of his relatives went to Honduras and met with Negroponte to ask for his assistance. Instead of the U.S. Embassy mobilizing to find this missing citizen, Carney's family was stonewalled. The embassy suggested that he had become a guerrilla and thus deserved whatever had happened to him. Carney's brother-in-law makes the interesting comparison to the current situation of the CIA "ghost" prisoners. Padre Guadalupe's body has never been found.

The film also examines the role that Honduras played in the contra war against the Sandinista government of Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan historian and former diplomat Alejandro Bendaña called Negroponte "the managing director" and "the boss" of the contras. Military aid to Honduras increased 20 times during the 1980s, and some of this money was funneled to the contras. However, in these examples the film falters since it does not present any evidence, beyond conjecture, of Negroponte's direct involvement. In the case presented by Dr. Juan Almendares there is much stronger proof. Dr. Almendares was rector of the National University of Honduras and an outspoken critic of U.S. policies in Central America. When he was reelected as rector, Negroponte directly intervened and demanded that Almendares be fired. Almendares did lose this job and stated that Negroponte "intervened in all aspects" of Honduran politics and life.

This is a well made, highly opinionated documentary. There is no attempt to be fair and balanced but instead it is a moving portrayal of the human rights violations which did occur in Honduras. While the filmmakers claimed to have contacted Negroponte for an interview, all those who are shown are very critical of U.S. policies. Although I was somewhat skeptical of the usefulness of the film as an educational tool, I did show it to my class on U.S.-Latin American Relations. The students were much more enthusiastic and overwhelmingly enjoyed the film. Thus The Ambassador does an excellent job for what it is, a polemic which accuses John Negroponte with deep involvement in human rights transgressions and suggests that instead of being...