Andres Thomas Conteris

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Andres Thomas Conteris (born September 5, 1961) is a United Methodist missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church. Based in Washington, DC, he served with the Christian Commission on Development (CCD) in Tegucigalpa, Honduras from 1994-1999.

[edit] Background and bio

A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Conteris earned a B.A. in Peace and Global Studies from Earlham College in 1984. He also holds an M.A. in religious studies from Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C.

As a community development consultant, his profession involved facilitating work camps and educational seminars for visitors who came to support and learn about the ministry of CCD.

In 1997, Earlham College named him the recipient of its prestigious Peace Award. He was also selected as a member of the Commission of Guarantors, assigned to monitor compliance of the 1997 accord between the Honduras government and the indigenous people of the country. The objective of this accord is to grant land, protect human rights, provide social services and initiate a comprehensive legislative plan on behalf of the indigenous of Honduras.

In addition to coordination of educational seminars with the CCD, Conteris serves as president of the board of the Sustainable Development Networking Program (SDNP) in Honduras, an electronic communication network initiated by the United Nations. since 1998, he has also served on the faculty of the new regional University created by the partnership between the Latin American Biblical University (formerly Seminary) of Costa Rica and the Christian Reformed Church of Honduras.

He was formerly employed as a seminar designer by the Women's Division of the General Board of Global Ministries and the General Board of Church and Society's joint program, the United Methodist Seminars on National and International Affairs. He served as chairperson of the Fellowship of Reconciliation Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean, and has participated in delegations with Witness for Peace. Prior to becoming a missionary, he was active in his community and local church, Calvary-Casa del Pueblo UMC in Washington, D.C.

[edit] Notoriety

He gained both fame and notoriety through his demonstrations during a Senate hearing on John Negroponte's appointment as Director of National Intelligence.

He was handcuffed and detained at this hearing and later defended his actions:

"John Negroponte is an expert at covering up for torture. He did it while he was ambassador to Honduras, he did it as torture in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere continued while he was ambassador to Iraq. Now, if he is confirmed he will be in charge of the most massive intelligence apparatus in the world. It's an apparatus that produces torture manuals and engages in torture -- that trains people from other countries on how to torture, as we have seen from the School of the Americas. Negroponte is a death squad diplomat. He is associated, rightly, around the world with human rights violations. He supported death squads in Honduras, like Battalion 316. I lived in Honduras for five years, I know the impact Negroponte's policies had there in the early 1980s."Accuracy.org press release