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| Peoples Temple Agricultural Project | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Leaders | |
• Leader | Jim Jones |
| History | |
• Established | 1974 |
• Massacre | 18 November 1978 |
| Population | |
• 1978 estimate | 1,005 |
The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, commonly known as Jonestown, was a settlement in Guyana created by the USA-based Peoples Temple cult.
History[edit | edit source]
Background[edit | edit source]
In the 19th century, a preacher named Smith led a group of natives to northwestern Guyana, promising them "lands of boundless fertility." He then told them that they had to die in order to be resurrected as whites.[1]
Jim Jones initially founded his cult in Indianapolis, Indiana and moved it to Ukiah, California, and then San Francisco.[1]
Foundation[edit | edit source]
In the mid-1970s, the Peoples Temple bought and cleared land in the jungle of Guyana. In 1978, in order to avoid negative media coverage, Jones relocated his followers to the settlement. Guyanese Prime Minister Forbes Burnham met with Jones and supported the project because he believed it would help Guyana develop its sparsely populated southern regions. Jonestown produced cassava and built a sawmill. In 1978, the U.S. State Department increased its aid to Guyana from $500,000 to $31.5 million.[1]
Leo Ryan assassination[edit | edit source]
U.S. Congressman and CIA critic Leo Ryan went to investigate Jonestown in 1978. A man who was not from Jonestown shot and killed him along with Jonestown defector Patricia Parks and reporters Bob Brown, Don Harris and Greg Robinson. They used shattering dum-dum bullets, which were banned by the Geneva Convention.[1]
1978 massacre[edit | edit source]
On 18 November 1978, Jones murdered 913 of his followers with cyanide. Many victims had blisters on their necks, indicating that the poison had been injected. Guns were also found at the scene. Leslie Mootoo, the chief medical examiner of Guyana, determined that at least 700 of the victims were murdered even though the media reported that it was a mass suicide. U.S. Green Beret Scott Hooker told a defector that he was ordered to kill any survivors and inject them with cyanide.[1]
Investigation[edit | edit source]
The CIA notified the Defense Department of the massacre at 3:29 a.m. on 18 November. Hours later, the Guyanese Defense Forces arrived and sent C-131 planes to Jonestown that could move hundreds of bodies in a short time. However, many bodies were embalmed or left to rot so no autopsies could be conducted. Forensic samples sent by Mootoo to the U.S. embassy in Georgetown disappeared, and identification bracelets were removed from remaining victims. Six leading medical examiners said that U.S. soldiers were incompetent in their handling of the bodies. Three victims were found in 1986 in a storage facility in southern California.[1]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Jeremy Kuzmarov (2022-11-18). "Was the CIA Behind the Jonestown Massacre?" CovertAction Magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-06-24.