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S.O.A.

The School of the Americas (S.O.A.) renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation
in 2001, is a military training school for soldiers from Latin American countries. The S.O.A. is located
in Forn Benning, Georgia.

Originally established in 1946 in Panama, the S.O.A. was moved to the United States in 1984 under the terms
of the Panama Canal treaty. With the president of Panama saying of the S.O.A. that it is the "biggest base
for destablization in Latin America." The S.O.A. has left a trail of blood and terror in all the countries
its graduates have touched.

Over its 61 year existence the S.O.A. has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers and been responsible
for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

University of Central America Massacre

On the night of Nov. 16th 1989 a Salvadorean army patrol entered the University of Central American and
massacred six jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter. Nineteen of the soldiers involved in the
were trained at the S.O.A. SOA watch

Marquette's Role

Each year Marquette Justice in conjunction with Marquette University Ministry sends dozens
of Students to the the SOA (School of the Americas) Protest Vigil and Ignation Family Teach-In
to protest the injustices and attrocities caused by the SOA. In the spring we also have a 3 day fast during
which we try to spread awareness about the abuses of SOA graduates.