Just the Facts

last updated:9/2/03

Just the Facts:
A civilian's guide to U.S. defense and security
assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean

A project of the
Latin America Working Group

in cooperation with the
Center for International Policy

Table of contents
Foreword (includes findings and recommendations)
Defense and security assistance, listed by country
Defense and security assistance, listed by program
Bases and other overseas U.S. military presences
Links to U.S. programs that:
- Grant weapons and equipment
- Sell weapons and equipment
- Train (or train with) foreign military personnel
- Provide significant counternarcotics assistance
- May train foreign police personnel
Lists and explanations:
- Training data, by country
- U.S. military institutions where training takes place
- Prohibitions on security assistance
- Calendar of official reports on security assistance
- Notification requirements
- Recent and pending legislation

Table of Contents

I. Foreword (includes findings and recommendations)

II. Assistance by country

III. Programs governed by the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) and Arms Export Control Act (AECA)

IV. Defense Department programs

V. Bases and other overseas military presences

Appendix A: Prohibitions on security assistance

Appendix B: Limitation on assistance to security forces (the "Leahy Law")

Appendix C: Calendar of required reports

Appendix D: The foreign military training report

Appendix E: The 1999 Emergency Supplemental Appropriation (hurricane relief)

Appendix F: Notification requirements

Appendix G: Pending legislation

Programs governed by the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) and Arms Export Control Act (AECA)
	Support for "Plan Colombia" The United States' $1.3 billion package of funding for Colombia, its neighbors, and U.S. agencies' Andean anti-drug activities in 2000 and 2001
	International Narcotics Control (INC) Funding of equipment, training, eradication and other programs of the State Department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL)
	International Military Education and Training (IMET) Funding for courses given both in the U.S. and in-country by U.S. personnel
	Expanded IMET IMET that pays for training in non-combat subjects
	Foreign Military Financing (FMF) Grants and loans for defense articles, training and services
	Drawdowns Presidential authority to grant defense articles, training and services from the U.S. arsenal
	Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Government-to-government sales of defense articles, training and services
	Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) Sales from U.S. companies licensed by the U.S. government
	Excess Defense Articles (EDA)
	Leases Defense articles leased by the U.S. government
	International Criminal Investigations and Training Program (ICITAP) Law-enforcement training provided by the Department of Justice
	Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) Weapons, equipment and training for prevention and management of terrorism
	Discretionary Funding Counternarcotics support from the White House's Office for National Drug Control Policy
	Enhanced International Peacekeeping Capabilities (EIPC) A policy initiative, using funds from other programs, to improve militaries' peacekeeping skills
	Major Non-Nato Ally (MNNA) Status
	Foreign Military Training Report Statistics on military training from a newly-required government report

Defense Department programs
Counternarcotics Authorizations	"Section 1004" and "Section 124" Counterdrug Assistance Training, equipment upgrades and other services provided for counternarcotics, funded through the defense budget
Counternarcotics Authorizations	"Section 1033" Counterdrug Assistance to Colombia and Peru Funded through the defense budget
Training Institutions	School of the Americas (Fort Benning, GA) The U.S. Army's Spanish-language training school for Latin American militaries
	School of the Americas Helicopter School Battalion (U.S. Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, AL)
	Inter-American Air Forces Academy (Lackland AFB, TX) The U.S. Air Force''s Spanish-language training school for Latin American militaries
	Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School (Rodman Naval Station, Panama) The U.S. Navy's Spanish-language training school for Latin American militaries
	Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (National Defense University, Fort McNair, DC) Defense Department initiative to improve civilians' defense planning and management skills
	Foreign students at U.S. service academies
Training Deployments	Exercises
	Tentative exercise calendar
	Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA)
	Deployments for Training (DFTs)
	Special Operations Forces (SOF) Training Includes the Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program
Other	Foreign Military Interaction (FMI) Also known as "Military-to-Military Contact"
Other	Humanitarian Assistance U.S. military programs whose primary purpose is to offer assistance to local populations; includes excess property transfers

Bases and other overseas military presences
	U.S. Southern Command The U.S. military command charged with protecting U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere
	Bases overview
	Security Assistance Organizations (SAOs) Military personnel attached to embassies who coordinate security assistance programs
	Counter-drug Agreements Arrangements allowing U.S. personnel to carry out counter-drug activities on other countries' national territory
Existing bases and open-ended presences	Forward Operating Locations Arrangements for the U.S. military's use of airfields in other countries
	Southern Command presence in Puerto Rico The new center of U.S. military operations in Latin America
	Enrique Soto Cano air base, Honduras
	Guantánamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba
	Counter-Drug radar sites
	Coast Guard operations
	De-Mining in Central America (MOMENCA)

Antigua and Barbuda	Cayman Islands	Guatemala	Paraguay
Argentina	Chile	Guyana	Peru
Aruba	Colombia	Haiti	St. Kitts and Nevis
The Bahamas	Costa Rica	Honduras	St. Lucia
Barbados	Dominica	Jamaica	St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Belize	Dominican Republic	Mexico	Suriname
Bermuda	Ecuador	Montserrat	Trinidad & Tobago
Bolivia	El Salvador	Netherlands Antilles	Turks & Caicos Islands
Brazil	French Guiana	Nicaragua	Uruguay
British Virgin Islands	Grenada	Panama	Venezuela

Read or download: "Just the Facts: A quick tour of U.S. defense and security assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean," a brief (twelve-page) summary of our findings. Published December 1998.

Leer o bajar: "Solo los Hechos: Un Recorrido Rápido de la Ayuda de los EE.UU. en Materia de Defensa y Seguridad para América Latina y el Caribe," un breve (12 páginas) resumen de nuestros hallazgos. Publicado en Enero de 1999.

All pages copyright © 1998 by the Latin America Working Group. All rights reserved. The Latin America Working Group encourages quotation of any material herein without permission, provided the Latin America Working Group is credited.

Organizations participating in the Latin America Working Group coalition choose to endorse statements on a case-by-case basis. This publication, meant as a research tool, has not sought such endorsements. Any views presented in this book reflect the opinions of the authors alone.

ISBN 0-9660084-1-3

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 98-86351

Just the Facts:

Home

Countries

Programs

News and Analysis

Law

Bases and Military Facilities

Links

A project of the Latin America Working Group Education Fund in cooperation with the Center for International Policy and the Washington Office on Latin America

Project Staff Adam Isacson (Senior Associate CIP isacson@ciponline.org) Lisa Haugaard (LAWGEF Executive Director lisah@lawg.org)
Joy Olson (WOLA Executive Director jolson@WOLA.org)

www.ciponline.org/facts

back to top