The Americas have a brutal history of colonialism, slavery, war, racism and exploitation.  Five hundred years ago, the colonial powers depended on the conquistadors for brutal military repression in order to exploit the wealth of Latin America. The conquest continues today as the region's highly profitable natural resources are extracted by multinational corporations with little or no benefit returning to the people.  And, as in the colonial era, indiscriminate military force is used to control the people of Latin America, forcing them from their land and attempting to stifle widespread opposition to injustice and exploitation. The purpose of the School of the Americas has always been to maintain U.S. hegemony over the Western Hemisphere, to keep it safe for economic exploitation disguised as “investment,” and to maintain white supremacy over non-white populations. |
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“Our America is on the march,” Paraguay president Fernando Lugo proclaimed at the close of the Fourth Americas Social Forum (ASF) that met in Asunción, Paraguay from August 11-15, 2010. America is on the march, Lugo repeated, but we have not yet arrived at our desired destination. We have a lot of work left to do, and the Americas Social Forum is one of the torches that lights our path forward.
CIA Paid Colombian Intelligence Agency to Spy on South American Embassies
On May 4, 2010 the
Colombian
Senate held a special hearing on the illegal activities of the Colombian
intelligence Agency (DAS).
Colombian court strikes down U.S. defense agreement
Late Tuesday, Colombia’s Constitutional Court, part of its Supreme Court, decided by a 6-3 vote to strike down a defense cooperation agreement that Colombia’s government had signed with the United States in October 2009.
Continued terror in the lives of Argentina Dirty War survivors
Patricia Isasa was a 16 year-old high school student in 1976 when henchmen of a brutal coup regime disappeared her from her home in Santa Fe, Argentina.
Activists staged a street theater action in front of the Capitol metro station in DC to remind congressional staffers of the impact of the decisions that they are making on Capitol Hill.
Support the Prisoners of Conscience
Four SOA Watch activists are currently incarcerated in federal prisons across the country.
Resistance to Militarization
People’s movements in the Americas are working together to confront U.S. militarization and to shut down the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC).
Looking Back to Move Ahead
I was asked to write a piece about people of color organizing to attend the 2009 SOA Watch vigil and about our plans for 2010. I believe everything happens for a reason.
pre·sen·te
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May God have mercy on the assassins. - Archbishop Oscar Romero |
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A challenging new documentary has quickly become one of the
widest-reaching films to encapsulate the history of the SOA Watch
movement.
An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.
Taxi to the Dark Side
