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Mariana Perez Sierra

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Portrait of Mariana Perez Sierra wearing a white knit sweater with colorful design on the sleeves over a black shirt

1st Place

Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences, 2025

I discovered that existing literature minimally studies the effects of US military training on Latin American security personnel behavior. I used library resources to fill those gaps and clearly outline mechanisms that explain how US training could have shaped the human rights violations in Chile.”

— Mariana Perez Sierra

Expandiendo La Herida: How US Training Exacerbated Human Rights Violations During Chile’s Dictatorship

Honors thesis in International Relations

Read Mariana’s Paper (pdf)

Project Description

Perez Sierra examines the role of US intervention and training of Chilean security personnel on human rights violations under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, and urges future restrictions on US training in Latin America and beyond. With help from librarian William Cuthbertson, she used library databases and research guides to locate primary sources for her research, including declassified CIA documents and a Chilean government report.

In Their Own Words

Read Mariana’s reflective essay (pdf) from their Lang Prize application.

About the Prize How to Apply FAQ Winners About Norma J. Lang

Lang Prize Contact

If you have questions about the Lang Prize, feel free to email us.

langprize@ucdavis.edu