Of Course We Trained Them

It appears that some of the Colombian mercenaries alleged to have participated in the assassination of Jovenel Moïse were trained by the US.

I would be unsurprised to discover that at least some of them were trained at the, "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation," which used to be known as the "School of the Americas."

It was a petri dish for coups and right wing death squads in Latin America for decades:

Some of the former Colombian servicemen arrested after last week’s assassination of Haiti’s president previously received U.S. military training, according to the Pentagon, raising fresh questions about the United States’ ties to Jovenel Moïse’s death.

“A review of our training databases indicates that a small number of the Colombian individuals detained as part of this investigation had participated in past U.S. military training and education programs, while serving as active members of the Colombian Military Forces,” Lt. Col. Ken Hoffman, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement to The Washington Post.

………

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), whose legislation provides oversight of foreign defense aid used in human rights abuses, said the episode was a grim reminder that U.S. assistance to other countries can take unexpected turns.

“This illustrates that while we want our training of foreign armies to build professionalism and respect for human rights, the training is only as good as the institution itself,” Leahy said.

“The Colombian army, which we have supported for 20 years, has a long history of targeting civilians, violating the laws of war and not being accountable. There has been a cultural problem within that institution.”

As Zathras would say, "At least there is symmetry." 

Colombian officials initially said that 13 of 15 Colombian suspects in the July 7 assassination plot once served in that country’s military, including the two killed by Haitian authorities after Moïse was fatally shot inside his home.

It is common for Colombian troops and other security personnel across Latin America to receive U.S. training and education. Colombia, in particular, has been a significant U.S. military partner for decades, receiving billions of U.S. dollars since 2000 in its effort to battle drug trafficking organizations, leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitary groups.

That's an interesting way of saying that the Columbian military has been training, arming, supporting, and in some cases staffing murderous far-right paramilitaries for decades.

………

“The recruitment of Colombian soldiers to go to other parts of the world as mercenaries is an issue that has existed for a long time, because there is no law that prohibits it,” the commander of Colombia’s armed forces, Gen. Luis Fernando Navarro, told reporters last week.

This is a feature, not a bug.  If you hire people inclined to murder peasants, labor activists, etc. they are the sort who will want to cash in as mercs at the end of their time in the service.

Foreign military training provided by the United States is intended to promote “respect for human rights, compliance with the rule of law, and militaries subordinate to democratically elected civilian leadership,” Hoffman, the Pentagon spokesman, said in his statement. He did not immediately respond to questions seeking additional information.

We can add, "Foreign military training provided by the United States is intended to promote “respect for human rights, compliance with the rule of law, and militaries subordinate to democratically elected civilian leadership," to the list of the big lies in our discourse.  I'd put it ahead of, "I'll respect you in the morning."

In the western hemisphere, at least, training by the US military is pretty much a prerequisite for any officers overthrowing a democratically elected government in Latin America in the past 100 years.