WHINSEC's Board of Visitors Meeting Share This /

Last week, the Board of Visitors for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) held its mid-year session in Washington, DC. WHINSEC, located at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, is the Defense Department's principal Spanish-language training facility for Latin American military and law-enforcement personnel. WHINSEC took over the School of the Americas, which was legally closed in 2001. Its Board of Visitors, a "federally chartered oversight committee that reports to the Department of Defense and to the U.S. Congress," is charged with reviewing the operations of the institute annually. The Board of Visitors includes "members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, representatives from the State Department, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. Northern Command, the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and six members designated by the Secretary of Defense."

The members of the Board of Visitors are:

• Chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI)
• Ranking member of the SASC, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), or his designee. McCain designated Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
• Chairman, House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), or his designee. Skelton designated Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA)
• Ranking member of the HASC, Rep. Howard McKeon (R-CA) or his designee. McKeon designated Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA)
• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton designated Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Christopher McMullen
• Commander, U.S. Southern Command, Gen. Douglas Fraser or his designee
• Commander, U.S. Northern Command, Adm. James Winnefeld, Jr., or his designee
• Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey
• Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, Director, Dept. of Religion, Chautauqua Institution
• Dr. Johanna Mendelson Forman, Senior Associate, CSIS Americas program
• Amb. Lino Gutierrez, CEO of Gutierrez Global, LLC
• Amb. Donna Hrinak, Sr. Director for Latin American Govt Affairs, PepsiCo
• Dr. Joseph Palacios, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, School of Foreign Service, Latin American Studies program, Georgetown University
• Amb. Charles A. Ford

WOLA fellow Lucila Santos and I attended the meeting on Thursday, which was open to the public. A few topics that were discussed at the meeting include:

• The similarities between transnational criminal organizations in Mexico and insurgencies;
• Concerns about civilian police receiving training at WHINSEC, a military institution;
• The problems that would result from releasing the names of WHINSEC students;
• U.S. cooperation with Cuba and Venezuela in Haiti;
• The role of WHINSEC in teaching the importance of imagination and critical thinking.

Here is an overview of the meeting.

Opening Remarks: Ambassador Charles Ford

Ambassador Ford opened the meeting with two reflections about where WHINSEC and the Latin American region fit into the world. First, he noted that it is hard to talk about the Latin American region because all of the countries that make it up are different. And second, he observed that the new threats in the region relate to "rules:" the rule of law, transparency, institutions, etc. According to Ambassador Ford, the struggle today is that some people prefer the "chaos and the darkness" instead of the rules.

Colonel Felix Santiago, Commandant of WHINSEC

Colonel Felix Santiago was the first to present at the meeting. His presentation emphasized that "change is constant," and therefore WHINSEC "transforms in line with the Department of Defense's strategic vision to build partner capabilities."

During the question and answer period, Colonel Santiago was asked about the challenges of and opportunities for having more interagency operations that would include not only DoD, but the Department of State, USAID and the DEA, among others. Colonel Santiago responded that it would be a "very unique and powerful opportunity" for different agencies to come together at the training level, and it would be something to "pursue aggressively."

Dr. Palacios, a professor at Georgetown University, asked Colonel Santiago about the relationship between civilian police and the military at WHINSEC and concerns that emerge from the human rights community about whether distinctions between military and police are made during trainings. Palacios continued to suggest that it would be helpful if WHINSEC issued a statement on the distinct role the institution plays in training both military and police. Colonel Santiago noted that the education provided at WHINSEC is useful to different institutions, and that civilian police understand that their responsibilities and roles are different than those of the military students.

Deputy Commander of U.S. Southern Command, Lt. General Ken Keen

Lt. General Keen focused the majority of his presentation on the U.S. military's response to the disaster in Haiti after the January earthquake and stressed the importance of collaboration among all actors--government, military, NGOs, United Nations, etc--in emergency situations.

Lt. General Keen did note that 25 Latin American countries contributed directly or indirectly to Haiti, and the United States worked with "most" of those countries. For instance, he used Venezuela as an example of a country that approached the United States for help unloading supplies from one of their ships. He said they agreed to help and "sent a photographer down to capture the image."

Lt. General Keen also mentioned that Cuba was very helpful in Haiti, especially by giving the United States overflight rights. One member of the Board of Visitors expressed that it is unfortunate that those doors only open during disasters, and asked Lt. General Keen how the United States can maximize this collaboration not just during emergencies. Keen deferred the question to the State Department representative, Kevin Whitaker, who said disasters are both opportunities for changes and for the new policies of a new administration to be exposed. While he noted that relations are not quite "there yet," he said that "the hand is open."

Commander of U.S. Northern Command, Adm. James Winnefeld, Jr.

Admiral Winnefeld began his remarks by explaining Northcom's two highest priorities: a potential terrorist attack and Mexico. According to the head of Northcom, Mexico is on a "downward slope" in terms of security and prosperity, primarily due to the corrosive influence of criminal institutions in the country. Adm. Winnefeld explained that cartels in Mexico do not only traffic drugs, and these transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) can be compared to insurgencies--they intimidate, buy off, and take care of the population in the areas they control. As a result of these similarities, Adm. Winnefeld said that many of the techniques used to counter an insurgency will be used to combat TCOs in Mexico.

Admiral Winnefeld also compared Mexico to Colombia, which he described as a country that has dealt with its existential threat, and now is merely engaged in a "criminal fight that law enforcement can largely handle." He continued to explain that this is a critical point for Mexico’s future: the situation must change from an existential threat to a criminal problem. This goal requires effective interagency effort, according to Admiral Winnefeld, where governments, non-governmental actors, Northcom and Southcom must work as partners. In this scenario, he believes that WHINSEC provides legitimacy to Mexico’s military to carry out their missions.

In response to Dr. Palacios' question about the need to factor in Mexico's "cultural reality" to the way in which we respond to the violence in Mexico, Adm. Winnefeld said: Certain principles apply that have to be mapped onto the country: people do not like or want what is happening to them, but they are stuck with it until something better comes around. The key is to treat the population as a center of gravity and to provide security so they feel comfortable to come down off the fence, but also they need economic opportunities to come down off that fence.

Adm. Winnefeld was then asked whether the new requirement to release the names of WHINSEC students would have a negative effect on attendance. Adm. Winnefeld answered that he understands the need for transparency, but WHINSEC students trust the United States to protect them. If their names are released, according to Adm. Winnefeld, we are putting them at risk, and if the names are released, there "might not be a course at all." He concluded that if we are going to be transparent, we "should be transparent about the curriculum itself and show people what we are teaching and show that we are doing the right thing."

Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey

General Dempsey spoke briefly; highlighting the role WHINSEC plays to avoid a "failure of imagination" in dealing with security problems in the region. Colonel Santiago agreed with Gen. Dempsey, noting that imagination can be defined as "mental agility" and the "ability to confront unexpected things." Those present agreed that the education provided at WHINSEC should aim to promote critical thinking and creativity to be able to respond to unexpected and new challenges or threats.

Kevin Whitaker, Director, Office of Andean Affairs, U.S. Department of State

After the lunch break, Kevin Whitaker, Director of the Office of Andean Affairs at the U.S. State Department, gave his presentation. He began by mentioning Secretary of States’ four baskets of priorities for the Western Hemisphere: citizen safety, strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law, climate change and the environment, and economic development.

Whitaker first mentioned the United States’ role in Bolivia, where the United States has a framework agreement with Bolivia to work in assistance, counternarcotics and trade. He continued to note that U.S.-Bolivia relations are watched by the rest of the region to see how the United States deals with difficult countries.

On Venezuela, Whitaker affirmed that the United States has been working to improve relations with the Bolivarian country, but that the Venezuelan government is not interested in having a better relationship with the United States. Instead, they are satisfied with the current level at which the relationship is right now. The United States, however, continues to promote a dialogue with them about counternarcotics, trade, oil and terrorism. Whitaker mentioned that the United States imports 10% of their oil from Venezuela; even though it is not a crucial amount, it is a significant quantity.

Whitaker then turned to Colombia, with whom the United States has a positive, strategic relation. The relationship will be recalibrated, however. He then mentioned the need to look at the human rights agenda, emphasizing the current scandals surrounding the president’s intelligence agency, DAS, and the false positives.

Frank Mora, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs

Frank Mora, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs, presented next. According to Mora, WHINSEC is important as it builds partnerships in military and law enforcement agencies. It also promotes regional cooperation by bringing together students from different countries. He emphasized that democratic governance and human rights are the cornerstone of WHINSEC.

Mora was asked about the nexus and appropriateness of using the military in public security missions. He replied that the military should not be used in law enforcement. However, as in the case of Mexico, police forces have not been up to the challenge to combat drug trafficking groups, a situation that also exists in Central American countries, such as Honduras and El Salvador. Therefore, the military are often asked to be involved in these issues. As a result, Mora explained, the United States is sensitive to the need to use the military in law enforcement because they are the last line of defense available.

In relation to Honduras, Deputy Assistant Secretary Mora confirmed that military-to-military relations have restarted between the United States and Honduras. Members of the Honduran military are traveling to the United States to participate in certain courses, and some members of the military are receiving in-country training from the United States.

This post was written by Abigail Poe and Lucila Santos