School of the Americas Graduates on the Forefront of Repression
Honduras - "Drug War" Militarization Continues while US Funded & Trained "Special Forces" Implicated in Drug-Trafficking
50 members of the new, elite, US funded, trained, and vetted special forces TIGRES unit in Honduras have been suspended after 8 TIGRES officers and 14 TIGRES agents stole $1.3 million during a drug trafficking operation. The TIGRES are a capstone of Honduras' US-backed President's efforts to dramatically militarize the police. 
With much fanfare, they underwent special training by the US Special Forces Group 7 and Colombia's Jungle School with the US Ambassador personally attending their graduation. This massive example of corruption, with high ranking officers stealing and distributing money amongst themselves just five months after their US training, shows the complete failure of US "vetting" to justify US military/police training and funding to Honduras' corrupt and repressive regime. Given that militarization and human rights abuses continue unabated, it is time the US cut all military/police aid to Honduras.
It was also announced that 2-time SOA graduate General Julian Pacheco will become Honduras' new Secretary of Security, marking further military control as it is the first-time a military general has occupied this position. 
Notably, General Pacheco's coursework at the SOA included a course on Psychological Operations. Former Honduran President Mel Zelaya – who was ousted in the 2009 SOA-graduate led coup – summed up the militarization occurring today in Honduras in a recent interview: “Honduras is a military base, it is the United States who loans us Hondurans some territory to live; the United States dominates absolutely everything... economic policy is through international institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and the Military Police are the security policy through the Pentagon and Southern Command.” Read more here
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