The School of the Americas (SOA), in 2001 renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers located at Fort Benning, Georgia. SOA was established in Panama in 1946. In the 1980s, it was booted out under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty. Former Panamanian President Jorge Illueca once called SOA the “biggest base for destabilization in Latin America.” The SOA, frequently dubbed the “School of Assassins,” has left a trail of blood and suffering in every country where its graduates have returned.
(Note: To learn more about U.S. military training bases for foreign troops, listen to Jerome’s interview with two priests about Fort Huachuca, the army's interrogation training headquarters.