SOA Watch is an independent organization that seeks to close the US Army School of the Americas, under whatever name it is called, through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work. The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) is a United States Department of Defense Institute located at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia, created in the 2001 National Defense Authorization Act.It was formerly known as the US Army School of the Americas Kennedy's reaction to the release of the SOA training manuals. The ten former Latin American heads of state who attended the School of the Americas include General Manuel Antonio Noriega of Panama, military ruler from 1983 until his ouster from power by U.S. forces in December 1989. Alberto Quijano attended courses and was an instructor who taught classes on peacekeeping operations and democratic sustainment at the school … Collected by: California Digital Library Archived since: Jul, 2007 Description: SOA Watch is an independent organization that seeks to close the US Army School of the Americas, under whatever name it is called, through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work. Memoria y Resistencia: Close the School of the Americas! By Mara Verheyden-Hilliard Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund. But the SOA’s crimes aren’t a thing of the past — the school is still training the human rights abusers of today, especially through ICE and the Border Patrol. The military coup by SOA graduates in Honduras has once again exposed the destabilizing and deadly effects that the School of the Americas has on Latin America. After that conflict, most Americans believed that US intentions in the world were noble -- the US was the punisher of aggression and a warrior for freedom. SOA Watch. Close the ‘school of assassins!’ By Julia Lutsky, People's Weekly World, 20 January 1996. School of the Americas: School of Assassins, USA . Solidarity with Sept. 24 FBI Raid Activists. Search for: Facebook Twitter Email Vimeo YouTube Instagram Phone November 20-22, 2009 Mass Mobilization to Shut Down the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC)! Ever since I became interested in pacifism and truly examining our country's shameful record during the Cold War, I have been challenged by School of the Americas Watch ().For those of you who don't know, the School of the Americas (now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation [WHINSEC]) is a US Army-run training camp for military personnel from Latin America. But for the past 20 years, Jesuit priest Roy Bourgeois has watched over its gates and held its graduates accountable for their crimes. School of the Americas Watch is affiliated with the United for Peace and Justice. School of the Americas Watch . The Committee to Stop FBI Repression lists School of the Americas Watch as one of the organizations that has issued a statement of solidarity in support of the activists raided in the September 24, 2010 FBI Raids. Including a brief history of the School of the Americas (SOA), Fort Benning GA. Close School of Americas; Release jailed protestors Rep. Joe Kennedy press advisory, 27 September 1996. School of the Americas Watch said in a statement that it matched the names of those in the scandal with its database of attendees at the institute.