Murder in the Jungle
An intuitive, yet contradictory, impression many Americans have of their government is that it is both full of untrustworthy, self-interested actors, and at the same time it’s the most powerful protection against the threat of other nations and foreign actors. We have little faith lawmakers will make good on promises to fix the economy or the healthcare system. But, every American also knows that at the first sign of trouble while traveling abroad, you should immediately find the closest U.S. embassy. Whenever an American journalist or missionary lands in a foreign prison, friends and family trust and pray the President can negotiate their release. The belief in government as protector likely peaked following 9/11. President George W. Bush embodied the role of guardian-in-chief and launched two foreign invasions in the name of keeping us safe. But like the false claims of WMDs, the idea the U.S. government is primarily dedicated to the safety and security of its citizens is a ruse – one exemplified by a tragic event that happened between – and was thus overshadowed by – the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The story centers around a mysterious massacre that involved teachers, a literal gold mine, and an international conflict in one of the most remote places in the world.
A PARTY ENDS IN TRAGEDY
It started with a picnic. On August 31, 2002, principal Edwin “Ted” Burgon hosted a back-to-school party for his staff at the only schoolhouse in Tembagapura – a town deep in the mountains of West Papua. He and many of the staff were American ex-pats. Patsy Spier worked there with her husband Rickey, both teachers from Colorado. She told producers of the 2003 documentary “Uneasy Allies” that West Papua “was like the last untouched area in the world where there was an American school, and we didn't mind at all being in isolated areas because we always had each other and we knew that.”
Tembagapura didn’t exist until 1961 – two years after European geologists discovered gold in its mountains. Now, it’s home to the largest gold mine in the world. That mine is owned by American mining company Freeport-McMoRan. Freeport also built the town. And the school.
Ted’s picnic ended early because of bad weather. He, Rickey, Patsy, the other teachers and their families loaded into two SUVs to head back into the heart of town. But not all of them would make it. At a steep turn on the mountain road, a group of armed men came running from the jungle and sprayed both SUVs. It was an ambush. And by the time the last shot rang, 71-year-old principal Ted Burgon was dead. So was 44-year-old fourth-grade teacher Rickey Spier. His wife Patsy and seven other Americans – including a 6-year-old child – were wounded. Bambang Riwanto, the school’s Indonesian teacher was also killed.
West Papuan authorities counted 135 bullet marks at the scene, the majority peppering the two SUVs. Patsy describes being “pinned down and I am on my hip and the shooting just continued. The glass was shattered and the shooting was poof poof poof...into our vehicles and screaming and people were trying to get out of the seatbelts to get down.”
U.S. officials pledged to find out who attacked the teachers and why. But over time, some victims and journalists began to question whether the U.S. was actually orchestrating a cover-up of the crime.
AN UNBREAKABLE BOND
To understand why the U.S. government might suppress an investigation into the murders of two Americans in West Papua, we must look back to the Cold War. The U.S. needed strategic allies against the USSR and China. JFK had his sights set on Indonesia, in part because of its close proximity to key shipping routes in the region. But at that time, Indonesia was preoccupied with expanding its territory – specifically taking over West Papua, rich in natural resources. So, the U.S. went to bat for Indonesia – sending financial aid and pushing the United Nations to approve the West Papuan takeover.
In exchange, Indonesia became a zealous fighter against Communism. Between 1965 and 1966, the government killed as many as 3 million of its own citizens accused of being Communist sympathizers. Declassified files reveal the U.S. government was well aware of the extermination campaign. The Guardian reports, “U.S. officials were ecstatic when conservative generals imposed martial law in Jakarta, seized state radio and set out to annihilate the country’s communist party on the pretext that it had tried to overthrow the government.” If you’ve seen the Oscar-nominated 2012 documentary, The Act of Killing, you know something of the story. The film’s director, Josh Oppenheimer, interviews several perpetrators of the genocide who brag about their sadistic and efficient methods of slaughter and torture, including strangling victims with wire. Oppenheimer compared the experience of filming in Indonesia to “wandering into Germany 40 years after the Holocaust, only to find the Nazis still in power.”
The Indonesian military also killed an estimated 300,000 civilians during its invasion and occupation of East Timor (now Timor-Leste) between 1975 and 1999. Soldiers committed numerous war crimes, including mass killing, rape, ethnic cleansing and starvation campaigns. But the Indonesian government largely escaped international condemnation because their military was fully supported and financially aided by the U.S.
The same can be said of Indonesia’s efforts to maintain its occupation of West Papua where some half a million people have been killed since the initial U.S.-backed invasion in 1962. Back then, JFK expressed personal “satisfaction...that the United States played, I think, a useful and helpful role in the early days when [Indonesia] was first becoming established.” Today, you can easily find videos online showing Indonesian soldiers engaging in the torture and killing of West Papuan rebels.
Yet, Indonesia remains a strong ally and boasts the 10th largest economy in the world. Several U.S. companies operate there: drilling for oil where villages once thrived, sourcing palm oil from plantations employing child labor, and mining for copper and gold in once pristine wilderness.
After 9/11, the Bush administration strengthened ties to Indonesia. The country is home to the largest Muslim population in the world, making it a key partner in the War on Terror. And as demonstrated by the signing of the Patriot Act and launching of two military conflicts, U.S. leaders were comfortable sacrificing life and liberty in pursuit of winning that war.
NEW QUESTIONS EMERGE
Immediately after the ambush of the school teachers, Indonesian officials blamed indigenous West Papuans – specifically members of the Free Papua Movement for independence. Authorities claimed a group led by freedom fighter Antonius Wamang shot and killed the educators. But the evidence was flimsy as officers failed to preserve crime scene evidence and couldn’t explain motive: what beef would Papuans have with teachers? Indonesian police admitted the Free Papua Movement “never kill white people” and didn’t have the bullets or weaponry to carry out the ambush. And, several witnesses of the ambush described attackers as wearing Indonesian military uniforms.
After a police report documenting these details was released – the Indonesian military shut down their investigation, saying the police didn’t have a legal right to investigate the Army. The move only heightened suspicion against them. Additionally, the FBI was conducting its own on-the-ground investigation and its agents also began to eye the military, in part because Indonesian soldiers provided security for the Freeport gold mine, which owned the school and employed the teachers. In the weeks before the ambush, Freeport revealed a plan to decrease security costs by cutting pay and potentially laying off soldiers. FBI investigators began to question whether a disgruntled group might have orchestrated the murders to extort Freeport by demonstrating the necessity of security and the risk of cutting staff and pay. The soldiers were reportedly trying to negotiate a raise amounting to 1% of the mine’s profits.
In one the most cryptic pieces of evidence, the Australian government intercepted a phone call between Indonesian military officials and sent it to the U.S. The transcript remains classified, but a senior Bush administration official who listened to it told the New York Times – quote – “there is no question there was military involvement. There is no question it was premeditated.”
Back in the U.S., lawmakers from both major parties began asking tough questions. Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo – who represented the district where Rickey and Patsy Spier were from – wasn’t shy about his suspicions: “I am convinced that the military, that some members of the Indonesian military played a role in this. I do not know how great a role, I don't know if they had total control over it and I don't know what the motivation was yet. Wisconsin’s Democratic Senator Russ Fiengold admonished the Bush administration at a Foreign Relations Committee hearing, stressing “real partners in the fight against terrorism do not murder American citizens. And they do not conspire to cover up such murders.” Some lawmakers in the House and Senate threatened to cut off federal aid to Indonesia.
All of this was coming at a bad time for Bush who saw Indonesia as an important ally against terrorism. But, lucky for him, the murder investigation was about to take a turn.
THE DOUBLE-CROSS
On January 13, 2006, twelve West Papuans who Indonesian authorities had accused in the ambush murders walked into a remote hotel building. They were there to meet two FBI agents who had delivered a message to the suspects: if you talk to us, we’ll fly you to the America where you’ll get a fair hearing – away from the corrupt Indonesian system. Agents told the group to meet them at the hotel on the outskirts of the region where a plane was standing by.
Eased by the promise of impartiality, accused ringleader Antonius Wamang admitted to FBI agents he was at the scene of the ambush but claimed he and his fellow rebels were chasing down and shooting Indonesian soldiers who were firing back at them. He believed it was conceivable the teachers were hit in the crossfire but insisted they weren’t the targets of the rebels. Wamang expressed eagerness to have his day in a U.S. court, but he would never get that chance. The FBI agents had hoodwinked the Papuan suspects. Instead of a plane, a truck was waiting outside the hotel to drive them directly into the hands of Indonesian authorities.
Eben Kirksey is an American anthropologist who spent years investigating the West Papuan ambush. He reviewed ballistic evidence from local police that determined 13 guns were fired from different angles at the scene. The evidence points to “another group of shooters, wielding enormous firepower,” Kirksey told the New York Times, which would support Wamang’s account of a firefight between rebels and soldiers. As to why this evidence didn’t have more of an impact on the investigation, Kirksey says “credible sources link Indonesian intelligence agents to the planning of this attack…But, Senior Bush Administration officials – including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, and FBI Director Robert Mueller – have covered up evidence of Indonesian military involvement in the murder of U.S. civilians."
If that’s true, it wouldn’t be the first or the last time the U.S. would be accused of helping to cover-up the crimes of an ally. In researching for this piece, I was struck by the similarities between Indonesia and Israel in how the U.S. helps shield both countries from international scrutiny, supporting the colonial aims and genocidal acts of each. As with Indonesia, the U.S. has also looked the other way when an American’s death has threatened its relationship with Israel:
In 2003, 23-year-old Rachel Corrie from Olympia, Washington was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer while nonviolently protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes in Gaza. Though the U.S. government expressed dissatisfaction with Israel’s investigation into Corrie’s death – which absolved itself of wrongdoing – officials didn’t make a strong effort secure justice for Corrie and her family.
The U.S. government also failed to intervene in the 2022 death of American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was wearing a bright blue press vest when she was killed by Israeli forces during a raid she was covering in the West Bank. Israel refused to launch a criminal investigation into her killing or cooperate with a U.S. probe. To this day, no one has been held accountable in the deaths of either woman.
The U.S. continues to support Israel in its genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza just as it supported Indonesia in its crusades against the Timorese, Papuans and communists.
HAPPY ENDINGS FOR SOME
Months after the FBI’s trick play, seven West Papuans were convicted in an Indonesian court of attacking the educators. In November 2006, Wamang was sentenced to life in prison. That same month, President George W. Bush would announce a new trade agreement with Indonesia, including supplying it with major weapons. Bush dared to call the Indonesian government – which was still slaughtering West Papuans – a democracy: “Our two nations continue to build strong trade and investment relationships…We support Indonesia’s growing global role...our democracy is making Indonesia strong and better able to play a positive role in southeast Asia and the world.”
Last year, the U.S. traded $43 billion in goods and services with Indonesia – a 5% bump up from the year before. And in June 2025, Freeport reported more than $25 billion in new revenue over the past year.
So far, no entity has looked any further into the evidence against Indonesia that the FBI uncovered during its ambush probe. And, West Papua remains under Indonesian control.
THE EXPENDABLES
Americans generally believe by virtue of their nationality they are protected from the worst consequences of imperialism, oppression, and global inequality. An American passport is a “get out of jail free” card. A U.S. consulate is safe sanctuary. As Americans, we’re closer to Western royalty than we are to the average global southerner. A mechanic in Michigan can more easily empathize with King Charles than he can with a Sudanese refugee in his same line of work. And that’s generally true – Americans enjoy a distinct privilege compared those living in the global south – but that privilege is quickly revocable once it conflicts with the U.S. government’s broader goal to maintain global dominance. In that instance, we’re just as expendable as a child in Yemen being hit with the bombs we sell to Saudi Arabia. Or as expendable as an immigrant illegally shipped from his home in Maryland to a torture prison in El Salvador while that country’s president chums it up with Trump at the White House.
There’s a persistent effort on the part of the powerful to perpetuate the lie that “it can’t happen to you.” You’re not like them: a criminal, a migrant, a trans person, an Arab. You’re an exceptional American – like Donald Trump or Elon Musk – and that’s why you should help protect their interests at the expense of the undesirables who are nothing like you. But the reality is unless Papuans are free, neither are we. Everything that’s used to persecute the oppressed can – and will – eventually be used against you. For example,
This week, federal agencies acquired Israeli spyware to hack smartphones and encrypted apps to use in investigations conducted here in the U.S. American police regularly exchange militarization and control tactics with Israeli forces. What the IDF uses to violate Palestinians ends up being used against American citizens by their own law enforcement.
The same tech companies polluting air and over-consuming water and energy in Africa are now building the same crpyto-mining and AI data centers responsible for the environmental degradation in American cities and towns.
The white American teachers in Tembagapura thought they were exempt from the brutality that threatened their Papuan neighbors every day. In the “Uneasy Allies” documentary, Patsy Spier admits “we were very aware of the dangers that were there but we didn't feel that danger in Tembagapura. We felt that we were protected there because of the mine and the security around the mine.”
Their Americanness was supposed to shield them from harm. But, there is no universal cover. We’re all expendables. Just some of us more than others.
