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30 Aug 2016 | Commentary| English

U.S. Special Operations in Latin America: Parallel Diplomacy?

Documents Show Special Ops Training in the Region Tripled From 2007 to 2014

By Sarah Kinosian, WOLA Program Officer and Adam Isacson, WOLA Senior Associate

The U.S. military’s most elite forces have been increasing their deployments across the globe, and Latin America and the Caribbean are no exception. But as Special Operations Forces activity grows, the already low amount of transparency and available information about their actions is shrinking.

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In Latin America

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Starting in 2008, the documents show a shift in focus from South America to Central America, describing the region becoming “increasingly plagued with violence and illicit trafficking.”

Honduras has been the Western Hemisphere’s most-visited country during these eight years, with 21 missions. The majority of trainings took place between 2011 and 2014, a time when serious allegations levied against Honduran security forces—murder, torture, rape and extortion—went uninvestigated and unpunished. Another four took place in 2009; in June of that year (three months before the end of the U.S. government’s fiscal year), the Honduran military helped oust the elected president in a coup.

In addition to JCET trainings, U.S. Special Operations Forces have played a larger role in the country’s fight against gangs. They are were instrumental in building Honduras’ elite SWAT squad, the Tigres, which was created in 2013 to combat organized crime. U.S. Green Berets now advise and monitor operations and train Tigre officers in marksmanship and close-quarters combat.

El Salvador, which now has a Special Operations Forces liaison officer posted at the U.S. embassy, was a close second to Honduras, hosting 19 missions. The majority took place between 2012 and 2014. There is no information available about which units U.S. forces are working with there, but the list may include some of the ten or more elite units the Salvadoran government has deployed to the streets in its internal war against gangs. In this effort security forces have been credibly accused of extrajudicial executions, crime scene manipulation, and enforced disappearances, among other crimes.

Special Operations Forces also work closely with Colombian security forces, who now deploy all over the world to conduct trainings, especially in Central America. Colombia hosted 19 JCET missions between 2007 and 2014. Interestingly, there have been fewer deployments to Guatemala than much of the rest of Central America. This could be due to human rights issues that prevented the Guatemalan Army from receiving any U.S. military assistance for many years.

More:
https://www.wola.org/analysis/u-s-special-operations-latin-america-parallel-diplomacy/