In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

ELEVEN During moments when they had let their hopes soar, the Filártigas allowed themselves to imagine that Peña would truly be brought to justice, complete with a confession finally revealing to them how Joelito had died. At the least, winning meant holding onto Peña, getting his deposition, keeping the initiative and publicity, especially since the Caso Filártiga had been reopened in Paraguay. But now, with Peña safely back in Paraguay, as everyone gathered at the Center for Constitutional Rights, they confronted a whole new set of concerns. ‘‘Oh Mamá, Papi,’’ Dolly worried. ‘‘What will they do to you, after all the trouble we’ve caused. Peña will seek revenge. Like when they arrested Mamá and me.’’ ‘‘Perhaps not,’’ Joel reflected. ‘‘The dictatorship rescued him only because of national pride. To the regime Peña is not important. No longer does he count with the kind of backing that he had after Joelito’s murder. In fact, he is a much worse embarrassment than when they kicked him out of the police, after the Caso Filártiga became an international scandal. No, I do not think Stroessner will allow Peña to create further problems by indulging his vengeance.’’ ‘‘Well, anyway,’’ Nidia said, ‘‘all is lost.’’ ‘‘I realize it may be of little comfort at this moment,’’ Peter told them, ‘‘but the legal battle is not over. Our Supreme Court’s ruling permitting Peña’s deportation does not prejudice the rest of your case. ‘‘We have not yet begun litigating our basic appeal to the Circuit Court, to rule in favor of jurisdiction and allow Peña to be tried for torturing Joelito to death. Even Judge Nickerson recognized the strength of our argument. And we are lining up more amicus briefs from international law experts. We even have been talking with some sympathetic lawyers in the State Department. It is not inconceivable that they, too, could submit an amicus brief supporting us.’’ ‘‘Yes, of course, you are right. That is very important,’’ Nidia said. But only out of politeness, for in her heart learning the truth about Joelito’s murder and punishing Peña was what really mattered. ‘‘All that will take months and months,’’ Dolly protested. ‘‘Mamá and Papi can’t stay here, like me. They have to go back to their work, to the clinic.’’ ‘‘Of course, we will do all that we can from here,’’ Rhonda Copelon promised. ‘‘And in Paraguay, from what we’ve heard of Ambassador White’s recent public statements , I’d say it’s safe to say he’s on our side.’’ 240 兩 B R E A K I N G S I L E N C E ‘‘It’s true,’’ Dolly acknowledged, ‘‘Ambassador White has always helped us. But what are we going to do here, right now?’’ ‘‘We are going to Washington,’’ Joel said. ‘‘Richard is in the hospital.’’ 1 On Thursday, May 24, I had already packed a bag before leaving for the annual COHA board of directors meeting. As their coup of the year, the Peña case topped the agenda, and the board members were looking forward to a firsthand account of the inside story. Yet, even after arriving late and delivering a somewhat disjointed presentation, everyone understood when I begged off early to catch a cab to the Washington Hospital Center. Joel and Nidia came Monday afternoon. Even though emotionally wrung out, before anything else they insisted on a detailed update of my medical condition. Only after listening to me gripe about the sadistic spinal tap technician, and the night nurses’ truly evil delight at my detox miseries, did we turn to their situation. Peña’s deportation had transformed the already-bewildering events into a morass. The complexity of the crisis made any attempt at long-term planning futile; at best, we could deal only with the next, immediate steps. ‘‘It seems to me,’’ Joel said, ‘‘that Stroessner must realize now is not the time to take reprisals against us. Consider the cost to Paraguay’s international reputation he paid for arresting Domingo Laino.’’ ‘‘And,’’ I agreed, ‘‘you’ve built up an enormously influential base of supporters. Among university and religious groups, the human rights NGOs, in Congress, and now the legal community with all their contacts.’’ ‘‘Yes, even before we left New York to come here,’’ Joel added, ‘‘Amnesty, CCR, and the others already began organizing the campaign. Letters to the State Department and the embassy in Asuncio...

Share