US military aid to Colombia in recent years has violently inflamed a 40-year-old civil war without reducing the supply or abuse of illegal drugs in the US. New proposals for US military aid are being made by the Bush Administration for counter-insurgency training of the Colombian military. The counter-insurgency training provided by the US Army has resulted in numerous civilian massacres and murders in Latin America..

Congressional Response and Catholic Bishops Position

The Catholic Bishops of the United States have endorsed a peaceful solution to the conflict in Colombia in their statement on Colombia through their International Policy Committee of the US Catholic Conference: "There should be major support for the peace process, including judicial reform, stronger measures to protect human rights, humanitarian aid to the internally displaced, more engagement of elements of civil society in the peace process itself, and vigorous efforts to promote alternative agriculture to enable poor farmers to forgo cultivation of coca and poppies." Statement on Colombia: International Policy Committee, US Catholic Conference, March 16, 2000.

Some members of Congress are urging the President not to resort to increased military aid that will support paramilitary groups in Colombia responsible for civilian atrocities. "Before providing support for the counter-insurgency war, military aid must first be aimed at achieving the longer-term objective of professionalizing the army and require that the Colombian armed forces break its ties, especially at the local and brigade level, with the paramilitaries....Our aid must seek to alleviate – not worsen – the insecurity, poverty and injustice that feed Colombia’s violence." Letter from Representatives James McGovern (D-3dMA) and Ike Skelton (D-4thMO). There are currently more than 34 signers.

What Can I do?

Write your congressional representative expressing your concern over the increased military build up in Colombia which continues the failed policy of military intervention in Latin America and has led to so many atrocities. Click here for a sample letter to print and send. You may also email your representative using the sample letter or composing your own and sending it to you representative. Click on your representative's name below to send an email. To use the sample letter in your email, copy it and paste it into your email.

David Price is already a cosigner of the McGovern/Skelton letter. Write him to thank him for his support and to encourage him to work for peace in Colombia. As of the writing. Bob Etheridge is not a co-signer. Write  to encourage him to join with the other representatives calling for a peaceful solution to the Colombian civil war. This link to either of these representatives will also allow you to send the same email to Senator John Edwards and Senator Jesse Helms. 

More Information

For more information about peace in Colombia, visit the Mobilization Colombia website.

The US Army School of Americas (SOA), based in Fort Benning, Georgia, trains Latin American soldiers in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. Graduates of the SOA are responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America. Among the SOA's nearly 60,000 graduates are the murderers of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, of Bishop Juan Gerardi. of Guatemala, of four North America Maryknoll women missionaries in El Salvador , and 900 civilians in the village of El Mozote. Thousands more civilians were massacred in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

A campaign to close the school began in 1991 after the assassination of six Salvadoran Jesuits who spoke out for justice for the poor in their country. Each year a non-violent funeral procession takes place at Ft. Benning to mourn for the victims of the graduates of the SOA and to call for its closing. This past year 11,000 people took part including members of our parish.

Legislation and Catholic Bishops Support

More than half the American Catholic bishops have called for the closing of the school, including our own Bishop Gossman. In May of 2000, a bill in the U.S. Congress to close the SOA was narrowly defeated by 10 votes and replaced by a bill that changed the name of the school but not its policies. The new name of the SOA is Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC). New legislation  has been introduced in Congress to close WHISC and establish a joint congressional task force to assess U.S. training of Latin American military. 

Add Your Voice

Write your congressional representative to request that they support the new legislation. Click here for a sample letter to print and send. You may also email your representative using the sample letter or composing your own and sending it to you representative. Click on your representative's name below to send an email. To use the sample letter in your email, copy it and paste it into your email.

David Price is already a sponsor of the legislation. Write him to thank him for his support and to encourage the passing of this bill. Bob Etheridge was a supporter of the previous bill but is not yet a sponsor of the new bill. Write him to request that he join the other sponsors. 

More Information

For more information about the SOA, visit the SOA watch website.

All material on this page has been reviewed and approved by Fr. Jerry Sherba, Rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral, and by the Social Concerns Ministry Team.

For more information or feedback on this page, contact 
Bill Werdel