Security Assistance
Los defensores de los derechos humanos y periodistas en América Latina y el Caribe pueden no estar al tanto de un poderoso instrumento para poner alto a la impunidad entre las fuerzas militares y policiales que reciben asistencia de los EE.UU.: la “Ley Leahy”.
Introducida por el Senador estadounidense Patrick Leahy en la década de 1990, la Ley Leahy prohíbe al gobierno de los EE.UU. proporcionar asistencia a cualquier unidad militar o policial extranjera si existe información creíble de que tal unidad ha cometido graves violaciones a los derechos humanos con impunidad1. Si el gobierno extranjero toma “medidas efectivas para llevar ante la justicia a los integrantes de la unidad de las fuerzas de seguridad responsables de las violaciones”, el gobierno de los EE.UU. puede reanudar la asistencia a dicha unidad.
Human rights promoters and journalists may be unaware of a powerful tool to curb impunity among military and police that receive U.S. assistance: the “Leahy Law.”
Introduced by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy in the 1990s, the Leahy Law prohibits the United States from providing assistance to any foreign military or police unit if there is credible information that such unit has committed grave human rights violations with impunity. If the foreign country takes “effective steps to bring the responsible members of the security forces unit to justice,” the U.S. government can resume assistance to that unit.
Over the past decade, Honduras has become one of the most dangerous places in the world. In 2013 the country recorded the highest global murder rate, with 79 homicides per 100,000 residents. Honduras has one of the most unequal income distributions and some of the highest under-employment and dropout rates in Latin America, all contributing factors to the rise of street gangs and the recent surge in emigration to the United States. The violence, concentrated in cities and along its border with Guatemala, can largely be attributed to three factors: the international drug trade, gangs and weak security and justice institutions.
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.
While it’s unclear exactly which elite unit the soldiers came from, it appears that the soldiers were part of the Central Security Forces, which has received significant U.S. military aid in the past.
Did you know President Obama recently asked Congress for an additional $1.6 billion for a new Iraq Train and Equip Fund to combat the Islamic State? Have you seen Jeff Stein's article in Newsweek discussing the CIA's difficulty in vetting potential recipients of U.S. training and equipment?