Bill could force disclosure of recent ex-SOA grads

A section of a bill being considered by the U.S. Congress could force the institute formerly known as the School of the Americas to divulge the names and courses of its graduates and instructors. The Pentagon has concealed the records of students and teachers at the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC) since 2005 but a provision attached to the 2008 Defense Appropriations Bill by Representative James McGovern would change that.

The WHISC has come under scrutiny for having trained former Latin American leaders accused of serious human rights abuses such as Augusto Pinochet and Efrain Rios Montt.

In May, Costa Rica’s government said that it would become the fourth Latin American in three years to withdraw from the WHISC, while the House of Representatives recently rejected a proposal to shutdown the school.

Sources- Ledger-Enquirer, San Jose Mercury News, Wikipedia, The Latin Americanist, International Herald Tribune

Image- Metroactive (Protestors against the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation hold a vigil in 2004)