Freedom fighter

Latin America | He may not look like one, but Thor Halvorssen is a warrior when it comes to human rights | Jonathon M. Seidl

Handout

NEW YORK—Try pigeon-holing Thor Halvorssen, 32, as a conservative and he'll fly the coop. Try counting him among liberal elites and he'll break rank. In fact, try putting any politically charged label on him and nothing will stick. Should you ever meet him, there's only one nametag that he would like to wear: Hello, my name is freedom fighter.

As the founder, president, and CEO of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF), Halvorssen is particularly concerned about the "heartbreaking lack of interest in what is going on in Latin America. There are hundreds of millions living under governments that don't care about human freedom." He learned that while a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, when his dad, who had exposed international drug trafficking by high-ranking Venezuelan government and banking officials, was arrested and spent 74 days in jail before the government released him.