SOA Watch Takes the U.S. Government to Court
On February 5, 2012, SOA Watch activists filed an administrative appeal in federal court to force the release of the names of graduates and instructors of the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC).
The Pentagon continues to shroud its infamous School of the Americas (renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) in secrecy, but calls for transparency and accountability are getting louder.
SOA Graduates Hold Top Posts
In a major cabinet shakeup, El Salvador’s President Mauricio Funes has effectively removed all high-ranking members of his public security cabinet who are linked to the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). Their replacements, including several high-ranking military officers, indicate a disturbing trend toward the militarization of El Salvador’s public security force, which has remained a civilian agency since the signing of the 1992 Peace Accords twenty years ago. Many of the officers assuming leadership of these “civilian” security posts were trained by the US at the infamous combat training facility for Latin American military, the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC).
No Más Sangre - No More Bloodshed
Mexico has become a pivot point in the global movement against
militarization and human rights abuses under the so-called “war on
drugs.” In recent months, a citizens’-based Movement for Peace with
Justice and Dignity (MPJD) has emerged, calling for an immediate end to
the drug war and a new model of citizen security.
Interview with Father Fausto Mila in Honduras
SOA Watch participated in the International Human Rights Encuentro in Honduras in February 2012. Laura Jung spoke with Father Fausto Milla, a religious leader in the Honduran movement who has been persecuted by the State of Honduras.
M.E.Ch.A. and SOA Watch
The National Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlan (M.E.Ch.A.), a national student movement that promotes higher education, culture, and history endorsed the SOA Watch campaign.
By Nelly D., Sisters of Mercy Associate from Honduras
I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the SOA Watch vigil this year.
Over the next months, the 2012 election campaigns will heat up, providing us with the opportunity to speak out at campaign events and to educate the candidates and the public about the reality of the militarized U.S. foreign policy. What’s your take on the elections?
Resistance to Militarization
People’s movements in the Americas are working together to confront U.S. militarization and to shut down the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC).
Looking Back to Move Ahead
I was asked to write a piece about people of color organizing to attend the 2009 SOA Watch vigil and about our plans for 2010. I believe everything happens for a reason.
pre·sen·te
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There never was a good war or a bad peace. - Benjamin Franklin |
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A challenging new documentary has quickly become one of the
widest-reaching films to encapsulate the history of the SOA Watch
movement.
An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.
Joel Pett, winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning, created the "Empire in Decline" cartoon that was published in the Fall 2011 issue of Presente. 
Taxi to the Dark Side
