Central American Rulers Push for U.S.-supported Militarized Police
By Benjamin Melançon,
Posted on Tue Aug 16th
In the aftermath of CAFTA, the presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua have proposed creating a regional rapid-response police force with military-assault capabilities-- if, that is, the United States government will provide resources for it.
This may be a statement from Central American governments to the United States government: you want us to join you in CAFTA, so give us the money, guns, and military training to control our people. Drugs, gangs, and the generally violent consequences of making drugs illegal are, as usual, excuses for more police and increased state power.
Whether or not to the so-called trade agreement has anything to do with the insistence that the U.S. sponsor the militarized police force, the United States' main export to Central America may end up being both sides of the drug war.
Posted on Tue Aug 16th
In the aftermath of CAFTA, the presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua have proposed creating a regional rapid-response police force with military-assault capabilities-- if, that is, the United States government will provide resources for it.
This may be a statement from Central American governments to the United States government: you want us to join you in CAFTA, so give us the money, guns, and military training to control our people. Drugs, gangs, and the generally violent consequences of making drugs illegal are, as usual, excuses for more police and increased state power.
Whether or not to the so-called trade agreement has anything to do with the insistence that the U.S. sponsor the militarized police force, the United States' main export to Central America may end up being both sides of the drug war.
posted by Terry at
6:25 AM
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