School Of Assassins
The U.S. army School of the Americas
(SOA) was established in Panama in 1946 , but moved to Fort Benning, Georgia in 1984. Panama's President , Jorge Illueca, called SOA the "biggest base for destablization in Latin America," and a major Panamanian newpaper dubbed it "The School of Assassins."
History supports these accusations. Hundreds of thousand of Latin Americans have been tortured , raped, assassinated, disappeared, massacred, and forced into refuge by those trained at the school. SOA graduates target educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, the poor, and others who work for the rights of the poor.
Over it's fifty plus years, the SOA has trained 60,000 Latin American soldiers in combat skills, commando tactics, millitary intelligence, and torture techniques. These graduates have left a trail of blood and suffering in every country where they have returned. Today, the School of the Americas trains 900-2,000 soldiers a year.
In September 1996-- under intense pressure from religious and grassroots groups-- the Pentagon released seven Spanish Language training material used at the SOA until 1991. The New York Times reported, " Americans can now read for themselves some of the noxious lessons the United States Army taught thousands of Latin Americans....
[The SOA manauals] reccomended interrogation techniques like torture, execution, blackmail and arresting the relatives of those being questioned."
One Soa graduate maintains that homeless people were taken off the streets in Panama to use as guinea pigs for the torture training. SOA supporters declare the schools mission is to impart democratic values to Latin American military. Clearly the Pentagon has subverted that mission by teaching decidedly undemocratic techniques.
SOA ENROLLMENT
Consistently the Latin American nations with the worst human rights records have sent the most soldiers to the School of the Americas. Bolivia under general Banzer; Nicaragua under the Somozas; EL Salvador during the bloodiest years of Civil War -- were all top SOA clients in the heyday of their military abuse. Shortly after the 1994 indigenious resistence began in Chiapas, Mexico became the largest
SOA client-- now accounting for one-third of all trained there.
SOA HALL OF SHAME
The SOA's lack of concern for human rights is dramatically illustrated by those whom it chooses to honor in its hall of fame photo gallery or invite as speakers and guest instructors. For Example:
Gen.Herman Jose Guzman Rodriguez
1993 SOA Hall of Fame. Rodriguez protected and aided the Colombian paramilitary death squad, "MAS," which was resposible for the deaths of at least 149 people. He commanded the soldiers who detained, tortured, gang raped, and executed Yolanda Acevedo Carvajal.
GEN Hector Gramajo
1991 SOA Guest Speaker. Architect of genocide policies from 1980-1991 which resulted in the murder, rape, torture, and displacment of hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in Guatemala. Gramajo was found guilty by a U.S. court of numerous war crimes six weeks before speaking at the SOA graduation ceremonies.
COL. Pablo Belmar
1987 Guest instructor. Directly implicated in the 1976 torture and murder of UN official, Carmelo Soria, whose neck was broken after he was arrested and tortured by Chilean DINA personnel.
In 1998, the SOA developed an additional list of prominent graduates. "However, many of these "cream of the crop" students have been cited for human rights abuse including torture, massacres, and "disapperances". One example is Columbian MAJ. GEN. Manuel Sammiguel Buenaventura who was implicated in the 1998 massacre of two banana workers.
(D-MA)
Recent Pentagon figures reveal that the SOA costs U.S. taxpayers approxiametly $20 million dollars a year.
SOA Graduates Cited in Human Rights Reports
United Nations Truth Commision Report:
The UN truth commision report on El Salvador, released March, 15 1993 cited over 60 Salvadoran officers for the worst atrocities during that country's brutal civil war. Over 2/3 of those named were alumni of the US Army School of the Americas. For example:
State terrorism in Colombia:
This 1993 report is the definitive work on Colombian military officials responsible for violations in that country. Of the 247 cited, 124 were SOA graduates. For example:
"Nunca Mas" -- Never Again!
This 1998 report ( for which bishop Gerardi was recently assassinated) is published by the Archidose of Guatemala. It chronicles the violence of 36 years of Civil War. Numerous military officials cited in the report are SOA graduates. For Example:
Join the call to close the SOA:
" In the past Cold-War era, the United States needs to promote the development of democracy and human rights, not militaries that view their own citizens as the enemy."
--Sen. Richard Durbin, IL
" The School of the Americas is a cold was dinasour and should be closed."
-- Major Joseph Blair, former SOA instructor
"We urge the President, the secretary of defense, and the Congress to close the SOA as an act of solidarity with the poor and marginalized of Latin America."
--United Methodist council of Bishops, 1998 Resolution
"For fifty years the school has participated in the training of foreign despots and mercenaries operating way outside the bounds of freedom, democracy and decency."
--Veterans for Peace, National Convention Resolution
"SOA graduates have been hostile to workers and union organizers.. creating an enviroment in Latin America that is hostile to many of the democratice values and freedoms we take for granted..."
--Basil Hargrove, President Canadian Auto Workers Union
" The NAACP supports measures introduced by Rep. Kennedy to close down the SOA."
--NAACP, 1998 national resolution
Here's what you can do:
Write your representatives only if you want to waste your time.
Instead just get more information:
SOA Watch:
6367 Overbrook ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19151
Telephone number: 215-473-2162
