Before the torture debates about Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, there was the School of Americas -- a U.S. military training school in Fort Benning, Georgia, which has trained some of the worst human rights abusers in Latin America.
As Facing South reported yesterday, two of the leaders of the Honduran coup -- General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, leader of the armed forces, and Gen. Luis Javier Prince Suazo, head of the Air Force which transported the president to Costa Rica -- were trained at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas.
The Honduran coup leaders are just two of over 60,000 Latin American graduates of the school, which since 1984 has been headquartered at Fort Benning, Georgia. The SOA Watch database lists 3,566 graduates of the school from Honduras alone.
As watchdog groups like School of Americas Watch have documented, many of the school's trainees have been directly linked to death squads, killings of clergy and other aid workers, kidnappings and other gross violations of human rights.
The School of Americas/WHISC has also been linked to torture. In 1996, Dana Priest of The Washington Post broke the story about use of training manuals at the school that taught students many controversial techniques:
Torture techniques were introduced at SOA after Vietnam, when the U.S. used lessons from the counterinsurgency experience in that war to create course materials for the school. The practice was halted under the Carter administration in 1976 due to human rights concerns -- the same year that General Vasquez first attended SOA.
The second time General Vasquez was trained at SOA in 1986, the torture techniques had been re-introduced into the school's lesson plans and training manuals under the Reagan administration. An in internal investigation, the DoD later concluded that the inclusion of torture techniques in violation of international law was a mistake. An internal memo dated March 10, 1992 stated [pdf]:
We're not aware of any evidence that General Vasquez was directly involved in torture, and the Obama administration has strongly condemned the military coup. But such history is an important backdrop to current events, which are vividly remembered in Honduras.
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As Facing South reported yesterday, two of the leaders of the Honduran coup -- General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, leader of the armed forces, and Gen. Luis Javier Prince Suazo, head of the Air Force which transported the president to Costa Rica -- were trained at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas.
The Honduran coup leaders are just two of over 60,000 Latin American graduates of the school, which since 1984 has been headquartered at Fort Benning, Georgia. The SOA Watch database lists 3,566 graduates of the school from Honduras alone.
As watchdog groups like School of Americas Watch have documented, many of the school's trainees have been directly linked to death squads, killings of clergy and other aid workers, kidnappings and other gross violations of human rights.
The School of Americas/WHISC has also been linked to torture. In 1996, Dana Priest of The Washington Post broke the story about use of training manuals at the school that taught students many controversial techniques:
U.S. Army intelligence manuals used to train Latin American military officers at an Army school from 1982 to 1991 advocated executions, torture, blackmail and other forms of coercion against insurgents, Pentagon documents released yesterday show.General Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, widely credited with spearheading this week's military coup, appears to have been trained at SOA when torture was part of the curriculum.
Used in courses at the U.S. Army's School of the Americas, the manual says that to recruit and control informants, counterintelligence agents could use "fear, payment of bounties for enemy dead, beatings, false imprisonment, executions and the use of truth serum," according to a secret Defense Department summary of the manuals compiled during a 1992 investigation of the instructional material and also released yesterday.
Torture techniques were introduced at SOA after Vietnam, when the U.S. used lessons from the counterinsurgency experience in that war to create course materials for the school. The practice was halted under the Carter administration in 1976 due to human rights concerns -- the same year that General Vasquez first attended SOA.
The second time General Vasquez was trained at SOA in 1986, the torture techniques had been re-introduced into the school's lesson plans and training manuals under the Reagan administration. An in internal investigation, the DoD later concluded that the inclusion of torture techniques in violation of international law was a mistake. An internal memo dated March 10, 1992 stated [pdf]:
It is incredible that the use of the lesson plans since 1982, and the manuals since 1987, evade the system of doctrinal controls.And who was Secretary of Defense when these warning signs about U.S. involvement in torture practices in Latin America came to a head? Dick Cheney, whose leadership in national security policy as Vice President would bring torture back into the media spotlight.
We're not aware of any evidence that General Vasquez was directly involved in torture, and the Obama administration has strongly condemned the military coup. But such history is an important backdrop to current events, which are vividly remembered in Honduras.
Thanks for this article. Over the years I have made several referrals to Pentagon/CIA torture at SOAW.org, once to our local paper. It took two weeks before they published it; SOA was a tough pill to swallow.
Keep up your excellent vigilance.
June 29, 2009 10:15 PM | Reply
Couple of questions: When did Gen. Vasquez attend the SOA and what did he take? What does that have to do with him now?
I could ask the same about all these SOAWatch talking points. The truth is, not one person has ever been found to have used what he learned at the school to commit any crime--not even one! Saying so with no evidence is a libel of those people who served there.
When Pres. Clinton closed the school nearly nine years ago, his signature on the National Defense Authorization Act for FY01 created the WHINSEC to carry on the security cooperation this country has enjoyed with its partners for more than 60 years. In that time, all the countries we work with have developed elected civilian governments. They continue to send students because they see the value of improving the skills and knowledge of their security forces to protect their citizens, those people they hope will elect and re-elect them.
Lee A. Rials
Public Affairs Officer
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
June 30, 2009 10:30 PM | Reply
I am not sure that this qualifies as a coup. The Legislative and Judicial branches of the government are in agreement, the President was trying to overstep his autority and violate the constitution. The defence forces defended their country against a domestic enemy and will cretainly allow for the deomcratic process to return, once the threat of agitation from outsiders (Chavez)subsides. It's a shame our President doesn't recognize the civility and restraint that has been shown by the military.
July 1, 2009 8:43 AM | Reply
So it is the military, and not the democratic pricess, which determins the polittical outcome of Honduras? Is it the Generals job to determin what is "agitation from outsiders" and what is the will of the people?
And what makes a coup a coup? Is it not a coup so long as the other branches of government support it? It just makes them part of the takeover.
There are no legitimate military takeovers. It doesn't matter how you label it, it doesn't matter if it's restrained, it doesn't matter what side who's on. This is a violation of international laws and should be condemed accordingly.
July 1, 2009 12:28 PM | Reply
The Honduran Constitution of 1982 is still the law of the land and it does not provide for military kidnapping and exiling the President to resolve a constitutional crisis. The correct procedure was to impeach the President through Congress, and have him removed after he was found guilty, not have Congress rubber-stamp the coup (a fake resignation letter was read in Congress and approved, at the same time that President Zelaya was in Costa Rica indicating that he had been kidnapped by the military).
Could you imagine the U.S. Chief of Staffs kidnapping Clinton and sending him to Canada, or Mexico, because he had committed perjury back in 1998? Civility and restrain? Would you let the US military kidnap and exile civilian politicians because they have committed a crime? Amazing how doublespeak has become commonplace these days. Civility and restrain? They acted like thugs.
With his actions of last Sunday, the Honduran military just confirmed that Honduras, instead of being a modern democratic country, is still and old-fashioned little banana republic.
July 1, 2009 2:06 PM | Reply
Two big mistakes -coup leaders - the military - wrong. The military at the request of the other branches of govt were asked to help and escort Zelaya out. Coup?..wrong again...Zelaya broke the law.
July 1, 2009 5:49 PM | Reply
Cheney and Bush were vigilantes that said the end justifies the means. That is why they need to be put on trial to expose their incredible stupidity. They spent 5 years and $12 TRILLION losing a war to a 3rd rate nation like Iraq. Any other administration could have won the war in 5 months for $0.05 TRILLION. Now our economy has collapsed, our major banks and auto companies have been nationalized, we are running out of oil, we owe the BRIC nations $3 TRILLION, middle east nations, $2 TRILLION, and still counting, we have 10% unemployed, California is bankrupt handing out ious instead of paychecks.
July 2, 2009 11:49 PM | Reply
Hey Lee Rials you finally learned to read. Excellent you really like that old torture curriculum. By your analogy Hitler was a saint. Look up the definition of school. A SOA school trains students to kill innocent women and children, torture students and people you don't like, assassinate political leaders. These are evil sick deranged maniacs like Hitler was and you are promoting these atrocities. You are as guilty as any Gestapo henchman Hitler ever trained. You should be placed on trial as an accomplice to these tortures, rapes, and murders. Your name will be listed in the history book of horrors. The SOA has done so much damage to America it may never recover. You will never wash the blood off your bloodstained hands.
July 3, 2009 12:04 AM | Reply
Billy Bear, perhaps you can read but can you discern? Do your own personal investigation of WHINSEC and see what you find. There is nothing hidden or secret here, just people of many nations working together to make this region better and safer.
July 27, 2009 12:05 PM | Reply