A report released today by the Security Assistance Monitor program of the Center for International Policy documents over $80 billion in U.S. arms sales notifications to Congress during the Trump Administration’s first year in office. The Trump Administration total of $82.2 billion for 2017 slightly exceeded the Obama Administration’s total of $76.5 billion for 2016, and was more than $20 billion less than the peak year of the Obama Administration’s major arms sales offers in 2010.
The number of US foreign military trainees increased substantially in FY 2015, growing from 56,346 in FY 2014 to 79,865 in FY 2015, according to a new Security Assistance Monitor (SAM) report released today on trends in US foreign military training. The report, which is based on an analysis of the US “Foreign Military Training” report released earlier this year, marks the highest number of US military trainees in any year since FY 2006.
El Salvador cerr el año 2015 con 6,657 homicidios, reemplazando a Honduras como la capital mundial del homicidio. Con esta cifra el país promedia diariamente más de 18 asesinatos, lo que representa un incremento del 70 por ciento en comparación al año anterior, y la convierte en la tasa de asesinatos más alta registrada en cualquier país del planeta en casi dos décadas.
What we found was evidence of a grim, multisided confict with no clear end in sight: Gangs are now present in each of the country’s 14 regional departments, controlling entire neighborhoods and imposing untold violence and fear on the population. The Salvadoran government developed a relatively well-regarded plan that promises a more balanced approach to the gangs, but there is little funding for the program and international donors have been slow to buy in. The hard security strategy is what is most evident on the streets
Recognizing the country could serve as a model for others in the region, the United States has marshalled a significant amount of resources to assist Tunisia. From FY 2011 to FY 2014, the United States provided an estimated $167 million in security assistance and has requested at least $142 million for FY 2015 and FY 2016 combined. Yet, the United States has several challenges in effectively assisting Tunisia.
Last December, the Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF) and Center for International Policy (CIP) traveled to Honduras for a first-hand look. What we found was a security situation in shambles and a country in dire need of reform. We have compiled our findings into this report which paints a picture of the most alarming issues facing Honduras today, including mass migration, the disturbing and highly visible militarization of law enforcement, grave threats against human rights defenders, and a lack of an effective and independent justice system. The report also examines the role U.S. assistance has played, and can play, in the plight of the Honduran people.