CRLN has worked since its inception to defund U.S. military aid to Latin American countries because of its use to prop up dictators, to foment coups against democratically elected governments, and to suppress civilian groups working for social justice and human rights. After 2000, our concern included police aid, too, because of the militarization of civilian police forces that routinely engaged in systematic human rights abuses.

For this reason, CRLN is wary of the Alliance for Prosperity (AFP), a $750 million/year plan to address the structural issues in the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala that led to the mass migration of unaccompanied children to the U.S. Fully 46% of that funding will go to the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), created in 2010, which has militarized the fight against organized crime in that region and coincided with increased levels of violence. Even in fiscal year 2016, before the AFP has been implemented, $349 million dollars has been allocated for CARSI, up from $170 million in fiscal year 2015.

Now the Center for Economic and Policy Research has published a study that gives weight to CRLN’s concerns about funding for CARSI.  You can read a press release, which includes a link to the full report, here.