| The School of the Americas (SOA), in 2001
renamed the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation,” is a
combat training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning,
Georgia.
There is national movement to close the SOA.
Initially established in Panama in 1946, it was kicked out of that country
in 1984 under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty. Former Panamanian
President, Jorge Illueca, stated that the School of the Americas was the
“biggest base for destabilization in Latin America.” The SOA, frequently
dubbed the “School of Assassins,” has left a trail of blood and suffering in
every country where its graduates have returned.
Over its 59 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers
in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological
warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics.
These graduates have consistently used their skills to wage a war against
their own people. Among those targeted by SOA graduates are educators, union
organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others who work for the
rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been
tortured, raped, assassinated, “disappeared,” massacred, and forced into
refugee by those trained at the School of Assassins. |
SOA Watch
National website. Background, events and more.
Close the SOA Vigil
Fort Benning in Georgia
November 20-22, 2009
Siena Campus
Action trip to Fort Benning |
