Allan Nairn is an American investigative journalist, born in 1956, specializing in U.S. foreign policy and human rights abuses in the developing world, particularly in Latin America and Southeast Asia. He began his career in activism and journalism during high school, working for six years with consumer advocate Ralph Nader. In 1980, he traveled to Guatemala amid a violent counterinsurgency campaign and assassinations of student leaders. Nairn gained international prominence for his reporting on the Indonesian invasion of East Timor, where he was imprisoned by Indonesian military forces under the U.S.-backed Suharto regime. His work has appeared in outlets such as The Intercept, The Nation, and Common Dreams, and he has produced documentaries including 'Massacre: The Story of East Timor' (2002), 'Headline Today: Guatemala' (1983), and contributions to 'Days of Revolt' (2015) and 'Democracy Now!' (2001). Nairn has been a vocal critic of figures like Elliott Abrams, emphasizing accountability for U.S.-involved atrocities abroad, often at personal risk.