Here are some notes on relevant sections of the recently enacted 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, compiled by Senior Fellow George Withers at the Washington Office on Latin America. This bill establishes or renews legal authority for programs that provide about one-quarter of all U.S. assistance to the Western Hemisphere's security forces.
A House-Senate Conference Committee finalized its report (...
Every year, the State Department and the Defense Department are required by Congress to submit various reports on issues of relevance to specific committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Many of these reports are published as unclassified and available to the public via the Freedom of Information Act. Just the Facts' staff have spent over a year trying to collect all of the reports due in 2008. When we acquire a specific report, we upload the document to this website, or point you to the appropriate site on the Internet...
Last Wednesday, the Organization of American States led a delegation of top officials to Honduras to commence a dialogue between the de facto Micheletti government and ousted President Manuel Zelaya. One day later, the OAS top officials, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon, left Honduras. While reports did not indicate a breakthrough in negotiations, the members of the delegation characterized their visit as "a positive...
This was originally posted on the Latin America Working Group's website Challenges and Opportunities to Strengthen Law Enforcement at the State and Local Level in Mexico
On September 17, 2009 the Latin America Working Group Education Fund and the Washington Office on Latin America joined with the...
The Center for International Policy's Colombia blog has a fact sheet (html, pdf) about the still-unfolding scandal involving the Colombian presidency's intelligence agency, the Administrative Security Department or DAS. The DAS stands accused of wiretapping and carrying out surveillance on dozens of human rights defenders...
The high-level mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) arrived in Honduras today to begin a dialogue, dubbed the "Guaymuras Talks," between ousted President Manuel Zelaya and the de facto government led by Roberto Micheletti. OAS representatives remain relatively positive that the new round of talks will successfully bring an end to the country's current political...