Eight members of Honduras’ “elite” U.S.-supported TIGRES special police were implicated in the theft of more than $1 million dollars in cash. DoD announced a new command for the campaign against IS. Kenya’s security forces faced renewed criticisms for alleged human rights abuses carried out by “death squads.” And Assistant Secretary of State’s Nisha Desai Biswal showed support the United States’ continued relationship with Uzbekistan.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. The bill is identical to the recently agreed NDAA by both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Nigeria demanded that the U.S. halt training a battalion of Nigerian soldiers. The Latin American Public Opinion Project’s (LAPOP) bi-annual survey of Latin American citizen’s attitudes released this week showed increasing concern over security in the region. After Azerbaijani police detained foreign journalists, the country has come under increased scrutiny for its treatment of civil society.
A flurry of high-level military visits between Washington and Tbilisi appears to be setting the stage for wider-scale exports of weaponry from the U.S. to Georgia.
Despite its name, the Defense Department justification for the Iraq Train and Equip Fund shows it would only be used for the provision of weapons, military equipment and construction of training facilities with no funding for training.
The Honduran National Police are currently in a standoff with the Ministry of Security after Police Chief Ramón Antonio Sabillón was dismissed last week, allegedly for opposing government-backed militarization of public security and a purge of the police force. His removal signals militarized policing is here to stay in Honduras.