James Allen da Luz (21 December 1938 – disappeared 24 March 1973) was a Brazilian guerrilla, member of the far-left organization Palmares Armed Revolutionary Vanguard (VAR-Palmares), which participated in the armed fight against the military dictatorship in Brazil between 1964 and 1985.

He was son of Cassiano Diniz Filho da Luz and Rolandina Martins da Luz.

His death is unknown and his remais were never delivered to his family.

Life
One of the main militants of VAR-Palmares, member of the Red Wing, the most radical of the organization, Allen participated in many armed action leaded by the guerrilla in that period, going to exile in Uruguay and Cuba, always returning to Brazil to take part in new acts against the government. He is most known as being the leader of the Cruzeiro do Sul Flight 114 hijacking to Cuba in January 1970 and for being the sole survivor of Quintino Massacre, occurred in Rio de Janeiro in March 1972, where his partner Lígia Maria Salgado Nóbrega, two months pregnant, was killed by government agents along with other members of the guerrilla.

Fake names
The use of some codenames for James Allen was pointed out, such as Ciro, Roberto and Goiano.

Final destination
Considered a political disappeared, his final destination is not known officially, with many contradiction of informations along with hidden ones. The only consensus is about the death place, the city of Porto Alegre.

The Eremias Delizoicov Documentation Center states his disappearance on 16 November 1977. However, another version tells that James died in a car crash on 24 March 1973, four years before his disappearance, according to a National Information Service classified report discovered after redemocratization. The Volume III of the National Truth Commission report determined that there is responsibility of the State in hidding the corpse of James Allen, adding also, that he suffered many violations by the State agents of the military dictatorship. Until today, his body was never found and the Armed Forces have no registry to add about the case.

James Allen remains were never delivered to his family and his burial place is still unknown.

Car accident
According to facts published by the State's repression agencies, James Allen would have died in a car crash in Porto Alegre. It would have happened on 24 March 1973. As the authorities informed, along with an autopsy, his death date was on the following day. The document was signed by coroners Edson M. Dutra and Marco Aurélio Barros da Silva and registered under the name of James Allen. The forensics expert also stated that the accident occurred on 24 March and informed that James was taken in serious condition to Clínica Stefani, in the same city.

In an article published 11 days later, on 5 April 1973, the newspaper Folha da Tarde reported that the police couldn't unravel the reasons of the rollover of a Volkswagen Variant, in Estrada do Lami, which caused the death of a man. Adds to this, also, that the Department of Political and Social Order (DOPS) was helping the police to unveil the case, informing the possible involvement of a political militant in the accident.

According to statements given to the Special Commission about Political Deaths and Disappearances (CEMDP) by people who were with James during the accident, he hadn't die during the event, being taken to a hospital, where he was under vigillance of police authorities. Besides that, there are no information about what really happened to James body after he was admitted to the hospital. Some testimonies given by doctors state that he would have arrived dead at the medical station and his body was taken to morgue.

Newspapers
On 6 April 1972, an article published by O Globo reported that his death was caused by a shootout with the security forces. However, at the end of the same year, on 22 November 1972, an unknown military officer reported that James Allen was still alive and at-large. The inquiry that investigates the Front's actions has James' name on it.

See also
 List of people killed by and disappeared during the Brazilian military dictatorship
 List of people who disappeared

References

1938 births
1970s missing person cases
Brazilian guerrillas
Dead and missing in the fight against the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964–1985)
Missing person cases in Brazil
People declared dead in absentia