General Alfredo Stroessner's dictatorship in Paraguay lasted 35 years, a period about which very little is known. There are few articles from the newspapers of the day, apart from some brief items announcing that the "President" had been re-elected. During this period, the country developed on its own, cut off from the world, playing a major role in Operation Condor – the collaboration between the various dictatorships in South America, whose aim in the 1970s was to track down anyone who opposed their regimes. Discovered in 1992, the archives of this operation, nicknamed "the archives of terror", remain for the moment – and this is the paradox - largely unused.
However, as Maya Kandel emphasizes, it is a matter of urgency because the archives are constantly being pillaged.be It is also urgent to compile first-hand accounts of the dictatorship while memories are still fresh. Finally, it is a matter of urgency to meet (who knows?) the heart and mind behind the system, Alfredo Stroessner, before he dies; he has taken refuge in Brazil and is suffering from skin cancer.
Having specialized in Latin American affairs from the beginning of her studies (at the Institute of Political Science in Paris, the Catholic University of Santiago in Chile and later at Columbia University in New York), Maya sees this investigation as both the logical corollary to her commitment (she has been a reporter in New York, Colombia and Cuba) and the starting point for a new direction, triggered, she says, by the decision to become a freelancer and one that "would eventually be confirmed by working on this investigation." Maya, who makes good use of her dual French and American nationality, has had a richly varied career. Among her many accomplishments – besides a diploma from the Institute of Political Studies, a postgraduate diploma in International Economics and Finance and a Master's degree in Journalism and International Relations – are numerous investigative reports for the press (Libération, Technikart, Bronx Beat) in both Paris and New York, as well as regular contributions to projects in the multimedia and Internet sectors (Amazon.com, Montparnasse Multimédia), and in publishing (Editions des Arènes). The common thread – the one that will run throughout her journey – remains her passion for Latin America. And her concern, in her investigations in Paraguay, "to take part in the duty of remembering".

Achievements since winning the grant
In 2001, Maya Kandel worked regularly on Le Point's Society columns and wrote a report on the pilgrimage to El Rincon in Cuba, for Géo.
In 2002, Le Journal du Dimanche published the report for which she was awarded the talent grant from the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation.