FINANCIAL TIMES  [London]

Tuesday, 15 July 1998


                Supervision of US military urged
                --------------------------------

        By Pedro Marques


US supervision of its military activities in Latin America is weak and
contains "loopholes which have been used to evade human rights
restrictions," according to a report published yesterday by a
Washington-based Latin American research group.

Financial assistance to Latin American military and police forces, mostly
for counter-narcotics programmes, is expected to be over $250m during
1998, according to the report, published by the Latin American Working
Group.

Instead of traditional foreign aid legislation, anti-drug aid has
increasingly originated from the Pentagon, diffused "across a confusing
thicket of aid programmes," the report said. As a result, public reporting
on the activities promoted by the aid packages has been "very spotty",
said Adam Isacson, the co-author of the report.

It cited a defence budget account which allows the US military to train
and equip Latin American armies without human rights restrictions or
congressional reporting requirements. The result, said Joy Olson, director
of the LAWG, was "an informational black hole."

Colombia and Venezuela topped the list of Latin American countries
receiving foreign military sales agreements from the US.

Tens of thousands of US troops are being deployed this year to Latin
America on a wide variety of missions. One of these missions is a new
riverine counter-narcotics programme for the militaries of Colombia and
Peru.

        'Just the Facts, A civilian's guide to US defence and security
        assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean'; Latin America
        Working Group, NE Block 15, Washington DC, 20002; 202-546 7010

        Copyright 1998 Financial Times Limited