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THE SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS
One of their trainees explained "They taught us psychological methods - to study the fears and weaknesses of a prisoner. Make him stand up, don't let him sleep, keep him naked and in isolation, put rats and cockroaches in his cell, give him bad food, serve him dead animals, throw cold water on him, change the temperature." This man went on to torture and murder 120 Hondurans and other Latin Americans.
Every year the School of the Americas, formerly of Panama now in Fort Benning, Georgia, U.S.A., trains hundreds of Latin American soldiers in counter-insurgency techniques. Their ex-alumnae then go on to make names for themselves as the perpetrators of some of the worst human rights abuses in the history of humanity.
In recent years various training manuals from the School of Americas have come to light. Among other techniques they advise the "abduction of adversary family members to influence the adversary, prioritization of adversary personalities for abduction, exile, physical beatings and executions." In el Salvador out of 67 army officers found responsible for murders, rapes, torture, etc, 47 were graduates of the School of Americas. Large sections of the Mexican army have now been trained there and are now in Chiapas.
Last November 600 people were arrested for demonstrating outside Fort Benning demanding the closure of the School of Assassins. Even Sen. Joe Kennedy is calling for its closure (even if it was his more famous relative who introduced the nastier elements into the school). For more information you can consult The School of Americas Watch website at http://www.soaw.org
The School of the Americas must be closed! LASC should sum itself to the international campaign for its immediate closure. If you would like to take on this campaign....