Security Assistance Monitor
Monday, September 25, 2017 - 06:05
The Trump Administration is set to surpass U.S. arms sales under the Obama Administration by record numbers based on analysis of available U.S. arms sales notifications to Congress under both the Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales programs from January to September in 2016 and 2017. Compared to 2016, the Trump Administration has more than doubled the dollar amount of U.S. arms sales notifications over the Obama Administration. The below chart and table provides details on all of these proposed deals for 2016 and 2017 and will be regularly updated with new data and analysis.
Friday, November 11, 2016 - 07:36
The Security Assistance Monitor has just published a new guide on the basics of U.S. Military and Police Aid. The guide gives an overview of the different programs, the most prominent program purposes, different types of military and police aid, top recipients, and key program initiation dates.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016 - 07:12
According to Karen Spring of the Honduras Solidarity Network, the recent surge in violence and repression against environmental and human rights activists results from increased funding that Honduran security forces have received from the U.S. through programs like the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). According to Security Assistance Monitor, since the inception of the CARSI program in 2008, the U.S. has provided more than $109 million to military and police aid programs in Honduras, with another $17 million expected in 2017.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 - 06:03
The U.S. invests over $16 billion in foreign military and police aid every year, but what are the risks when such aid account for a large percentage of foreign national security budgets?
Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 07:17
After the murder of three transgender activists and the brutal beating of a transgender man, the Salvadoran legislature passed a hate-crime law in September 2015, placing El Salvador among a handful of Latin American nations with such laws to protect LGBTI citizens.
Monday, February 22, 2016 - 07:15
The violence gripping El Salvador affects women in a different way than men. Within the current security crisis, gang and security force violence has exacerbated a broader, long-standing acceptance of violence against women.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 07:27
El Salvador closed out 2015 with 6,657 murders, replacing Honduras as the murder capital of the world. That averages out to over 18 murders a day, a 70% increase compared to the previous year, making it the highest murder rate for any country in the world in almost 20 years.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 - 07:24
Following the official breakdown of the controversial truce between El Salvador’s two main gangs in March 2014, El Salvador's murder rate increased substantially, reaching a peak in the late summer of 2015, hitting a high of over 900 murders, or 30 per day, in August.