A pioneer in the movement for human rights in Honduras, Zenaida Velasquez Rodriguez is the sister of Manfredo Velásquez, who was abducted and disappeared by Honduran security forces. Manfredo Velásque On September 12, 1981, Manfredo was kidnapped in broad daylight in the parking lot of a movie theater in downtown Tegucigalpa. He was never seen again. At the time of his abduction, Manfredo was thirty-five years old, a graduate student, and a teacher. He was also the Secretary-General of the Student Union and a well-known political activist. The Honduran security forces frequently targeted such community leaders who were perceived as threats to the regime. Zenaida did not limit her efforts solely to Manfredo’s death. In 1982, she founded the Committee for the Families of the Detained & Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH), an organization that provides support for families whose loved ones have been abducted or murdered by security forces and death squads. Between 1981 and 1989, more than 180 civilians were disappeared by the security forces. Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel   Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, an Argentine who had come to Honduras to investigate human rights abuses, was visiting Honduras in 1984, Zenaida wanted [...]