Young female soldier's death in Texas sparks calls for congressional investigation
Mayra Guillén has said she believes the US army is “following their own agenda” as it investigates the circumstances that led to the death of her sister, Vanessa Guillén, the young Fort Hood soldier whose killing has sent shock waves across the country.
Vanessa Guillén, 20, disappeared from the Texas military base on 22 April, prompting a protracted search that ended with the discovery of her remains on 30 June.
The army specialist Aaron David Robinson, a suspect under watch, escaped from Fort Hood later that day and died by suicide as law enforcement closed in. His girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, a civilian, was taken into custody and has been accused of helping Robinson dispose of Guillén’s body after he bludgeoned her. Aguilar pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to tamper with evidence and was denied bail earlier this month.
“Nothing’s ever going to be the same,” Mayra, 22, told the Guardian. “There is that presence of absence here at home, and especially in my mom’s heart, my dad’s and of course all of my siblings.”
Guillén’s family has said her sister was being sexually harassed by Robinson, and her death has sparked outcry over rape culture in the military. Veterans and current service members have shared their experiences of sexual violence with the social media hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillen.
Her death has resonated deeply with the Latinx community and highlighted the growing Hispanic population in the military, but the issue is not just a Latinx one, said Lupe Guillén, Vanessa’s younger sister. “This could happen to anyone.”
In response to growing public pressure, the army announced a raft of investigations examining the failures of multiple military procedures following Guillén’s disappearance. But her family is still waiting for a simple demand to be met: a congressional investigation into Fort Hood, which has long been criticized for failing to protect soldiers.
The Guillén family’s calls have been echoed by more than 4,000 service members and veterans who signed a petition circulated the weekend Guillén’s remains were positively identified. “At this point, I won’t settle for less,” Mayra Guillén said.
Yet the family has felt sidelined. On 10 July, the army secretary, Ryan McCarthy, announced that he would direct an independent review of the “command climate” at Fort Hood after a meeting with the Texas congresswoman Sylvia Garcia and the League of United Latin American Citizens (Lulac). The meeting was capped off with a photo on the steps of the Pentagon posted to McCarthy’s Twitter account, which he captioned with a vow “to listen in order to create enduring change”.
The meeting should have marked a turning point as one of the highest-ranking members of the army, Guillén’s congressional representative and the nation’s oldest Latinx civil rights organization teamed up to confront the killing of a Mexican American soldier. But no representative for the Guillén family was there.
“We’re having a really hard time trying to process everything. I would understand why they would exclude myself, my mom, etc, but not Natalie. I just don’t feel that it was right,” Mayra Guillén said, referring to the family’s lawyer, Natalie Khawam.
“So you know, honestly, I feel like they’re following their own agenda. At this point, I don’t know exactly what their goal is,” she added.
Khawam says she only learned of the meeting the day it was taking place, when a source in the secretary’s office texted her asking if she would attend.
Billed as an opportunity to discuss “how to increase diversity and inclusion in the army” in addition to Guillén’s death, the meeting also addressed renaming Fort Hood, in honour of the Texan military hero Roy Benavidez.
Using the meeting to discuss the longstanding requests hasn’t sat well with the Guillén family. “I think that should be one of the least important factors at the moment with everything going on in the base,” said Mayra.
David Cruz, the Lulac communications director, told the Guardian that Khawam and Mayra had been aware of the meeting, but the family had not received information to attend. “Even if they wanted to just discuss [Vanessa] for 10 minutes, somebody from the family or the attorney should have been invited or notified,” Khawam said.
Tom Rheinlander, Fort Hood director of public affairs, said: “It would be inappropriate for Fort Hood officials to comment while there is an ongoing case with the US attorney’s western district office.”
The army’s civilian review will appoint an independent panel of civilian consultants, chosen in collaboration with Lulac. The panel will visit Fort Hood for five to 10 days to conduct interviews and will review “historical data” to assess the base’s culture around sexual harassment and assault.
The Guillén family remains unimpressed. “I feel anyone can play nice for five to 10 days, and then they’ll just go back to their normal routine. For me, it’s just honestly a waste of time,” said Mayra.
“What we have been asking for is a congressional investigation. Not a meeting or an independent review by the army,” Khawam added. “They act like they gave us a gift. It was a Trojan horse.”
In addition to the army secretary’s review, three other investigations are under way: one into Guillén’s disappearance and death, another into experiences of sexual harassment Guillén confided to friends and family, and a third into Fort Hood’s sexual harassment/assault response and prevention program (Sharp).
However, all these investigations remain in the hands of the military. The family instead wants to see a congressional investigation that would issue subpoenas to base officials and conduct interviews, including with past victims of sexual misconduct.
According to her family, Guillén never reported incidents of sexual harassment involving two men, including Robinson, out of fear of retaliation. About one in three service members report sexual assault, according to the Department of Defense.
Khawam is also authoring legislation to create an independent agency for service members to report sexual harassment and assault that she will present to lawmakers on 30 July. The family will meet with Donald Trump at the White House the day before.
“I’m talking about the whole place gets turned upside down, every person has a voice,” said Khawam, who says she gets emails every day recounting disturbing episodes at Fort Hood dating back years.
A letter sent in early July from Congresswoman Garcia’s office with the signatures of 87 lawmakers calling for another investigation by the defense department inspector general received a lukewarm response from the Guillén family. But the prospect of a congressional investigation has recently gained momentum, and Khawam spoke with the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, on Sunday.
Garcia’s office told the Guardian: “I won’t stop investigating this matter until we get to the bottom of the truth … As I have assured the family, Congress will continue to move with diligent speed to provide oversight and fully investigate this case.”
But trust remains fragile for the Guillén family, whose relationship with the military quickly soured when Vanessa disappeared. Mayra says her family wasn’t notified about her sister’s disappearance until they called to inquire after an uncharacteristic period of silence. The sisters had talked every day.
When she went to the base the following day, Mayra was greeted by Robinson, alongside other soldiers. She said she “instantly felt that he had something to do” with her sister’s disappearance, and the feeling intensified as the day went on. She said he burst out laughing as she was filling out missing persons paperwork.
The army remained tight-lipped throughout the two-month search, while the Guillén family cobbled together details on their own. The family gave Robinson’s name to army authorities multiple times, but investigators didn’t disclose he had been a main suspect until after the day he died.
Mayra says the family understands the sensitivities of the investigation, but “I feel if they would have at least told us … it would have been helpful, in a way, for us to take things in.”
Mayra said she appreciated what Garcia and others have said and done over recent months, but she felt there was so much more that could be done to deliver justice for Vanessa.
“If anything did happen inside the base, more than ever, I feel that we need a congressional investigation to figure out who and what exactly, and why. That’s one of my biggest questions – why would anyone do that to my sister?”