In June 1982, the
Guatemalan Army kidnapped and murdered her father, Francisco Tuyuc. Three years later, on 24 May 1985, her husband suffered the same fate. In 1988, she founded the National Association of Guatemalan Widows (CONAVIGUA), which has become a leading Guatemalan human rights organization. In 1994, Tuyuc was decorated by the French
Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur for her humanitarian activities. On 6 July 2004
President Óscar Berger appointed her to chair the National Reparations Commission
(Comisión Nacional de Resarcimiento). In 2011, she publicly criticized the Commission for its failure to adequately address the damage caused by the war. She was elected as a member of
Congress for National List for Democratic Front New Guatemala party in
1995 general election. She took office on 14 January 1996, along with Aura Marina Otzoy and
Manuela Alvarado became one of the first Maya women to win a seat. The Niwano Peace Foundation of Japan awarded their 2012
Niwano Peace Prize to Tuyuc "in recognition of her extraordinary and dogged work for peace as a courageous human rights activist and leader." ==See also==