A Confederacy of Fear

David Lindwall is a former American diplomat who lived in Guatemala for more than 20 years. He served a 34-year career in the United States Foreign Service as a Political Officer in Colombia, Spain, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Paraguay, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sweden. Among his diplomatic assignments were serving as a liaison to the Nicaraguan Resistance (the Contras), helping negotiate peace between Ecuador and Peru following the Upper Cenepa River War of 1994-1995, and serving as Deputy Chief of Mission in Haiti during the devastating earthquake of 2010. He was the winner of the State Department's Baker-Wilkins Award for Outstanding Deputy Chief of Mission in 2010 and the Ryan Crocker Award for Outstanding Leadership in Expeditionary Diplomacy in 2016 for his service in Kabul. He is also the recipient of the Government of Afghanistan's state medal of Ghazi Mir Masjidi Khan, awarded by President Ghani in 2016. Mr. Lindwall is a graduate of the University of New Mexico's Latin American and Iberian Institute, where he received a Masters Degree in Latin American Studies.