The School of the Americas was established in 1946 by the United States Department of Defense as a training center for Latin American militaries. Originally named the Latin American Center - Ground Division, it was located in the Panama Canal Zone, but closed in the fall 1984 as a result of the 1977 Panama Canal Treaty (1). The treaty stated that US control over the Panama Canal Zone would be entirely removed by the year 2000 (2). By December of 1984 the school had reopened in Fort Benning, Georgia as part of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (3).
During the Cold War, the United States sought to halt the spread of communism in Latin American countries by maintaining control over many of its national governments. They supported a number of dictatorships in pursuit of anti-communist efforts which silenced citizens and revolutionaries. The U.S. provided weapons, money, and loans to governments which remained loyal to them; and ensured the continuation of loyalty from these nations’ governments through threats and diplomatic pressure (4). The School of the Americas provided training to a number of men who would become dictators and highly ranked military leaders, known for a variety of violent and atrocious actions. For many critics of the school, these men, their violent actions, and the form of government that they promoted would function as proof that the SOA was a harmful institution as protestations of the institution rose in the 1980s, and continue into present-day (5).
Those that support the existence of the school often argue that only a small number of graduates rise up to become violent dictators, and that the school requires classes which focus on human rights training, along with requiring a screening of school candidates which includes checking for previous human rights abuses (6). Those who criticize the school argue that it trains Latin American soldiers violent counterinsurgency warfare techniques, which ultimately affects normal civilians more than the guerilla fighters and drug traffickers that they are meant to target (7). In 1996, a set of manuals that were used at the school in the 80s and 90s were released, including a number of tactics involving extortion, torture, kidnapping, and execution (8). As a result of heightened criticism in the 80s and 90s, the school changed its name to the Western Hemisphere Institute of Security Cooperation, or WHINSEC, in 2001 (9).
Today, WHINSEC claims to function mainly for the purpose of teaching Latin American militaries how to promote and maintain democracy within their nations (10). Currently, the mission statement of WHINSEC located on the U.S. army’s website states:
“The purpose of the Institute is to provide professional education and training to eligible personnel of countries of the Western Hemisphere within the context of the democratic principles set forth in the Charter of the Organization of American States (such charter being a treaty to which the United States is a party), while fostering mutual knowledge, transparency, confidence, and cooperation among the participating countries and promoting democratic values, respect for human rights, and knowledge and understanding of United States customs and traditions” (11).
While the name itself changed in 2001, and the curriculum has been revised over the years to include human rights education, many scholars and protestors argue that little in regards to the true mission of the SOA has actually changed in the 21st century. The name change has allowed the institution to distance itself historically from its violent Cold War associations, but many Americans and South Americans continue to protest its existence (12).