1984 - MARITZA RUIZ (Leader of El Salvador's Comadres)


Maritza Ruiz was invited to the U.S. to receive the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award for her work in documenting disappearances in El Salvador. Her visa was denied amidst claims that the Comadres had ties to guerilla fighters. Ruiz denied these allegations. She had planned to offer evidence of human rights abuses in El Salvador that contradicted the Reagan administration's position.