Colombia trained 22,000 foreign troops since 2009: Report

[Judi Lynn]

Colombia trained 22,000 foreign troops since 2009: Report
Mar 19, 2014 posted by Philip Acuña

The Colombian military has provided training for 21,949 foreign troops between 2009-2013, a report released by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) revealed.

Citing statistics from the International Affairs Office of the Colombian National Police (CNP), the report shows that the CNP trained individuals from 47 different countries throughout the four year period.

A majority of the countries involved are heavily invested in the fight against drug trafficking; Nearly half the participants were from Mexico.

Other nations with large numbers of trainees were Panama, Honduras, and Guatemala.

Colombia’s New Role

In recent years, Colombia has increased its military and police training services in Central America, the Caribbean, and West Africa.

More:
http://colombiareports.co/colombian-military-trains-21949-foreign-troops-2009-2013/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Oh, pffffft! From the article:

Concerns over human rights abuses

The US has repeatedly described Colombia as a “success story” and praised its role as a “security exporter.” However critics question whether the Colombian model should be emulated considering the military’s detailed history of human rights abuses.

The report by WOLA raises several other areas of concerns.

The training programs allegedly lack civilian oversight in the US, Colombia, and third party countries. This could mean that both trainers and trainees lack proper vetting to screen for any previous human rights abuses. Furthermore, information regarding the nature of the courses and the type of training that is being provided remains largely undisclosed.

Criticism has also arisen regarding the long-term consequences of providing highly specialized military training to countries whose militaries are susceptible to corruption.

Since when has any of this been a problem? Hasn't made any difference in the past, has it?