SOA Watch: Close the School of the Americas

SOA Watch stands with the global community in the struggle for a peace and just world

Written by Brigitte Gynther
Friday, 10 February 2017 23:39
SOA Watch strongly condemns the actions taken by President Donald Trump, which violates the integrity and lives of hundreds of thousands of people inside and outside the U.S. Faced with fear and hatred, we reiterate our commitment to stand in solidarity with all who fight for their right to live a just and peaceful life. We are in solidarity with Standing Rock and strongly oppose the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. We call for support of indigenous peoples in the Americas, who have historically been the first line of defense of the land and to whom political expediency and capitalist interests have challenged their right to life. From Oceti Sakowin to Ushuahia, we demand respect for the dignity and self-determination of indigenous peoples. We continue to stand in solidarity with migrant communities, all those who are beneficiaries of DACA, and all refugees regardless of immigration status or place of origin. U.S. immigration and border control policies attempt to disguise the root causes of migration: the ruthless economic, political, and military intervention of in Latin America that forces hundreds of thousands of people to escape the violence of war and poverty. We continue our commitment to the border communities and all who face physical and virtual walls that violate their human dignity and quality of life. We strongly denounce the threats of Donald Trump against the people of Mexico! We are in solidarity with Muslim communities and oppose any kind of regulation that prohibits the entry of people into the U.S. based on hatred, racism and xenophobia. The disastrous ban ignores the constant wars that have forced the departure of hundreds of thousands of refugees caused by U.S. policymakers, regardless of their political party. We are in solidarity with LGBTQ communities, migrant and refugee communities, Muslim communities, African American communities, indigenous peoples, and all people who have faced violence due to their skin color, birthplace, defense of land and natural resources, or religion. We will continue to fight against training at SOA/WHINSEC and against U.S. military bases in Latin America. We will continue to join the global community in the struggle for a peace and just world. Not one step back, SOA Watch SOA Watch condena las acciones ejecutivas del presidente Donald Trump El Observatorio por el Cierre de la Escuela de las Américas (SOA Watch) condena enérgicamente las acciones emprendidas por el presidente Donald Trump, las cuales violentan la integridad y las vidas de cientos de miles de personas dentro y fuera de los Estados Unidos. Frente al miedo y al odio, reiteramos nuestro compromiso de mantenernos firmes al lado de quienes luchan dignamente por su derecho de vivir en paz. Nos solidarizamos con las comunidades de Standing Rock y nos oponemos firmemente a la construcción del Oleducto en Dakota del Norte. Hacemos un llamado a caminar al lado de los pueblos indígenas en las Américas, quienes históricamente han sido la primera línea de defensa de la tierra y a quienes la conveniencia política y los intereses capitalistas les han cuestionado su derecho a la vida. Desde Oceti Sakowin hasta Ushuahia, exigimos respeto a la dignidad y autodeterminación de los pueblos indígenas. Nos mantendremos firmes al lado de las comunidades de personas migrantes y de todas aquellas personas beneficiarias de DACA, y nos solidarizamos con las personas refugiadas sin importar el estatus migratorio ni el lugar de origen. Las políticas de control de la migración y de las fronteras ocultan en realidad las causas raíces de la migración: la nefasta intervención económica, política y militar de los EEUU en América Latina que obliga a cientos de miles de seres humanos a escapar de la violencia de las guerras y la pobreza. Reiteramos nuestro compromiso con las comunidades fronterizas y con todas aquellas personas que cada día hacen frente a los muros, físicos y virtuales, que violentan su dignidad humana y su calidad de vida. Condenamos las amenazas de Donald Trump en contra del pueblo de México. Nos hermanamos con las comunidades musulmanas y nos oponemos a cualquier tipo de reglamentación que prohíba la entrada de personas a los Estados Unidos basada en el odio, en el racismo y la xenofobia. El intento de prohibición en contra de personas originarias de Iraq, Libia, Irán, Somalia, Sudán, Syria y Yemen, oculta las constantes guerras que ha forzado la salida de cientos de miles de personas y cuyos responsables en variadas ocasiones han sido los gobiernos estadounidenses, sin importar el color de su partido. Hacemos un llamado a hermanarse con las mujeres y con las comunidades LGBTQ, con las personas migrantes y refugiadas, con las comunidades musulmanas, con la población afroamericana, con los pueblos indígenas, y con todas aquellas personas cuyo color de piel, cuyo lugar de nacimiento, cuya defensa de la tierra y de los recursos naturales, cuya religión, les ha vulnerado su derecho a la vida. Reiteramos, finalmente, que seguiremos luchando contra el entrenamiento en la Escuela de las Américas (SOA)/WHINSEC y contra la instalación de bases militares de EEUU en América Latina. Nos sumamos a los esfuerzos de quienes quieren que nuestro continente sea una zona de Paz y de Justicia. Ni un paso atrás, Observatorio por el Cierre de la Escuela de las Américas (SOA Watch)
Last Updated on Friday, 10 February 2017 23:55

We are hiring a Field Organizer (Part Time)/Estamos buscando unx Organizadorx de base de SOA Watch basadx en Tucson

Written by Katherine Henao
Tuesday, 13 December 2016 21:59
Estamos buscando Organizadorx de base de SOA Watch basadx en Tucson (tiempo parcial) (in English below) Trabajo de base La/el organizadorx de base en Tucson tiene la responsabilidad de interactuar y motivar al movimiento de base en la zona fronteriza mediante la coordinación con grupos afines locales, miembrxs del consejo de SOA Watch y la base misma, para organizar eventos, reuniones de estrategia y otros proyectos que van encaminados a fortalecer y ampliar el trabajo de SOA Watch y su movimiento. Responsabilidades también incluyen organizar y foralecer una base a través de mentorías de liderazgos locales y construcción de alianzas con grupos locales, para crear conciencia sobre el trabajo y misión de SOA Watch. Asimismo, la/el organizadorx de base tiene la responsabilidad de mobilizar la base a través de la coordinación de campañas y eventos (encuentro anual) y giras. Campañas y coordinación de eventos La/el organizadorx de base en Tucson es responsable de la coordinación del encuentro en la frontera. La/el organizadorx de base en Tucson también es responsible por trabajar en colaboración con el colectivo de SOA Watch para desarrollar e implementar campañas nuevas para la organización que contribuyen a la realización de su misión y prioridades organizacionales. La coordinación de eventos y campañas es un trabajo compartido con el consejo de SOA Watch, los varios colectivos de la organización, incluyendo al colectivo de SOA Watch, organizaciones aliadas y grupos de base. Coordinación de oficina La/el organizadorx de base en Tucson trabajará en colaboración con otrxs miembrxs del colectivo, pasantes y voluntarixs también basadxs en la oficina en Tucson, para asegurar que las tareas diarias de la oficina sean realizadas de manera fluida. Asimismo, La/el organizadorx de base en Tucson trabajará a distancia con el resto del colectivo para implementar el trabajo programático, al igual que participar en reuniones de equipo, conferencias y reuniones de consejo, y llamadas con el equipo de coordinación para el encuentro. Calificaciones - Debe ser bilingüe (español e inglés) - Excelente habilidades escritas y habladas - Conocimiento de la historia de relaciones entre Estados Unidos-América Latina / Caribe, al igual que un conocimiento sobre la coyuntura actual - una familiaridad con la historia SOA / WHINSEC y el trabajo de SOA Watch - Un compromiso con la misión de SOA Watch. - Un compromiso fuerte con trabajar en un movimiento de base diverso y fundamentado en la solidaridad con los pueblos de América Latina y su diáspora - Capacidad de escucha activa - Capacidad para interactuar con audiencias y comunidades diversas - Capacidad y disponibilidad para viajar durante el año - Experiencia en planear eventos - Capacidad de trabajar de manera autónoma en un entorno con poca supervisión - Experiencia en trabajar de manera colectiva y en consenso - Conocimiento básico en computación. Familiaridad con WordPress, HTML, Salsa y medios sociales es una ventaja. Las mujeres, las personas de color y personas con capacidades diferentes son alentados a aplicar. Por favor envíe su hoja de vida, una carta explicando cuáles son las cualidades que aportaría a este puesto y 3 referencias por correo electrónico a This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . La fecha límite para postularse es el 10 de febrero de 2017. We are hiring a Tucson-based SOA Watch Field Organizer (Part Time) Field Organizing The Tucson-based Field Organizer is responsible for engaging the grassroots movement in the borderlands by coordinating with local partners, members of the SOA Watch Council and the grassroots to host events, strategy meetings, and other projects that will serve to strengthen and broaden the SOA Watch movement. Responsibilities will also include organizing and strengthening a grassroots base through mentoring local leadership and partnership with local groups to build awareness of the work and mission of SOA Watch. Similarly, the Tucson-based Field Organizer will be responsible for mobilizing the grassroots through the coordination of SOA Watch campaigns and events (eg, annual convergence) and speaking tours. Campaign & Event Coordination The Tucson-based Field Organizer is responsible for coordinating the annual convergence at the border. The Tucson-based Field Organizer is also responsible for working in collaboration with the SOA Watch staff collective to develop and implement new campaigns for the organization that contribute to the fulfillment of its mission and organizational priorities. The coordination of events and campaigns is also shared with the SOA Watch Council, the various collectives of the organization including the SOA Watch staff collective, partner organizations, and the grassroots. Office Coordination The Tucson-based Field Organizer will work with other Tucson-based staff, volunteers and interns who come to the organization, to ensure that the day-to-day office tasks are carried out smoothly. Similarly, the Tucson-based Field Organizer will work remotely with the rest of the SOA Watch staff collective to implement programmatic work, including participation in staff collective meetings, Council calls and meetings, as well as Convergence Coordinating Team calls. Qualifications - Must be bilingual (Spanish & English) - Excellent speaking and writing skills - Knowledge of history of US-Latin America/Caribbean relations as well as current context & realities - Knowledge of history and work of SOA Watch - Active listening skills - Ability to engage with a variety of audiences - Ability and availability to travel throughout the year - Experience in event planning - Must be able to work autonomously in an environment with little supervision - Experience in working in a collective & consensus model - Basic computer skills. Familiarity with WordPress, HTML, Salsa and social media a plus. Women, people of color and differently-abled persons are strongly encouraged to apply. Please send resume, a cover letter explaining what qualities you would bring to this position, as well as 3 references by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The deadline for applications is February 10, 2017.
Last Updated on Thursday, 12 January 2017 22:23

Call on Congress to cut US security aid to Honduras

Written by Hendrik Voss
Monday, 12 December 2016 19:22
Before Congress adjourns for 2016, we have one last opportunity to build support for suspending US military and security aid to Honduras, where repression of human rights defenders and social movements continues unabated. With the US State Department certifying that the Honduran government is taking effective steps on human rights, despite continued assassinations and impunity, it is important that Congress pushes back. To date, 49 Representatives have co-sponsored the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, which would suspend US military and security aid to Honduras. Can you take a moment today to call your Representative if he or she has not yet signed on and ask him/her to sponsor HR 5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act? See if your representative has already co-sponsored the bill here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5474/cosponsors (Need the name of your Representative? Click here) If not, call the Switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask to be transfered to your Representative and ask your him/her to sponsor the bill: "Hello, I am calling to ask Rep. _____ to sponsor HR 5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, before the end of the year. Internationally recognized Indigenous leader Berta Caceres and other leaders have been brutally assassinated in Honduras this year. The death threats and attacks on environmental activists, human rights leaders, journalists, and others continue today. Please sponsor HR 5474 before this year is out to call for an end to US military aid in Honduras." If your Representative has signed on to support the bill, call his or her office to thank them (202-224-3121): "Hello, I am calling to thank Rep. _____ for sponsoring HR 5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, in 2016. The repression and death threats and attacks on environmental activists, human rights leaders, journalists, and others continue unabated in Honduras. I hope that your office will continue to speak out for the suspension of US security aid to Honduras at every opportunity." Let us know how your call went here. Thank you for all your efforts to call on Congress to cut destructive US security aid to Honduras in 2016. We look forward to continuing to work together in 2017.
Last Updated on Monday, 12 December 2016 19:29

Greetings from the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia

Written by Hendrik Voss

Saturday, 19 November 2016 19:05

On this sunny Saturday, we are once again standing vigil at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia - home to the notorious School of the Americas / Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (SOA/ WHINSEC) - calling for justice and accountability.

As we are gathered here today, we are hopeful and encouraged by the fact that thousands across the country have have been mobilized following the election of an openly racist bully, and have taken to the streets in cities across the US in protest. We need to organize, take action, and build broad-based grassroots power to push back against racism and xenophobia, and against the militarization of our communities at home and abroad.

Please support SOA Watch today with a donation for our joint efforts for justice.

Later this afternoon, we will caravan together with our friends from the Interreligious Task Force on the Americas to the Stewart Detention Center, to demand an end to the incarceration of migrants. People from Latin America continue to be forced to flee from US trained repressive security forces, only to be confronted with a militarized border and racist policies.

Call to Action: The Repression Continues so the Resistance can't Stop!

Written by Hendrik Voss

Wednesday, 09 November 2016 15:42

Saturday, November 19, 2016: Converge in your community and at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia

SOA Watch has organized protests against the training of repressive militaries at Fort Benning since 1983, when three activists - Father Roy Bourgeois, Linda Ventimiglia and Father Larry Rosenbaugh - scaled a tree next to the El Salvadoran troop barracks and blasted Archbishop Oscar Romero’s last homily with a portable sound system into the night. Starting in 1990, on the one-year anniversary of the killing of 16-year-old Celina Ramos, her mother Elba Ramos, and six Jesuit priests at the University of Central America (UCA) in San Salvador, El Salvador, SOA Watch has stood vigil at the gates of Fort Benning to demand the closure of the SOA-WHINSEC and remember the victims of US militarization in the Americas.

This year, we moved our annual mobilization to the US/Mexico border, to take a stand against the militarization of the border, to shine a light on the connection between US militarization abroad and the forced migration of thousands who are fleeing North, as well as racist immigration laws. The Convergence at the border took place in October to commemorate the 4th Anniversary of the killing of 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez by a US Border Patrol agent in Nogales. Over 1,000 people came together, raised their voices for justice, and the convergence at the border was big success for our movement. Click here for videos and photos, check out the media coverage, and see the list of participating groups, speakers and musicians.

As we approach the weekend in November where we have traditionally gathered at Ft Benning, members of SOA Watch will once again bear witness. The gates of Fort Benning remain sacred ground for our movement, where we have shed tears, celebrated the successes of movements for justice, mourned the dead, spread the ashes of our friends, crossed the line, been arrested, booked, tried, and sentenced, and taken a stand for justice the past 26 years. A small group will gather this year at the main gates of Fort Benning on Saturday, November 19 at 12noon. We won't build the big stage that we had in past years, and there won't be workshops or concerts at the Columbus Convention Center, just a presence at the gates with a speak out and vigil, where we will hold banners and the posters with the faces of the victims of US militarization. This year we will especially call out Presente for those who have been murdered this year in Honduras and demand an end to US military funding and training in Honduras. There will also be a presence at the Stewart Detention Center at 6pm on Saturday, November 19, which going to be organized by our friends from the Interreligious Task Force (IRTF). IRTF is organizing a Caravan for Justice from November 17-20.

Help us make that demand heard loud and clear -- and you do not need to travel across the country to do so. We are asking communities across the country to hold your own actions to speak out against US military training and funding in Honduras. Here are a few action ideas:

Hold a Vigil in your community on Saturday, November 19th, to remember those murdered as a result of US-sponsored violence in Honduras and throughout Latin America. Find posters here with the faces and stories of some of the countless people who have been killed as a result of the US sponsored violence in Honduras and beyond to use in the vigil or paste in public spaces.
Organize a visit to your House Member or Senator's office the week before or after November 19th and ask them to do everything in their power to cut US security aid to Honduras. (To find out who your Representative is, click here. To find out if your House member has already sponsored HR 5474, the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, click here. If so, visit their office to thank them).
If your Representative refuses to cosponsor HR 5474, believes a bigger border wall is the solution, or is otherwise hostile to U.S. accountability in Latin America, perhaps it it is time for a Vigil outside of their offices. Please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are interested in helping to organize a local action on or around 11/19

Despite international condemnation of the murder of visionary Indigenous leader Berta Caceres, the military, paramilitaries, and hitmen continue to target land activists, Indigenous leaders, journalists, lawyers, and many more. Thousands more flee the country every day, headed north to escape the widespread violence. Following the US State Department's bogus certification that Honduras was making progress just a month ago, Jose Angel Flores and Silmer George of the Unified Campesino Movement of the Aguan were assassinated and this week the son of a prominent activist in the Aguan Valley was also killed. Not to mention, state security forces aggressively repressed a protest full of children and even babies, and other activists have been shot at. We need to take direct action to demand the US stop sponsoring bloodshed and murders in Honduras. Let us know if you can organize a Vigil or an action on November 19th!