DeKALB | On Tuesday, Dan Kenney will discuss whether or not the U.S. still trains military assassins and teaches torture tactics at the School of the Americas.

The School of the Americas, now known as The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, was established in Panama in 1946 and relocated to Fort Benning, Ga. in 1984. It trains Latin American soldiers, police officers and civilians in civil-military operations, counter-drug operations, resource management and border observation.

In the 1980s and ‘90s, the school was known for training assassination and torture tactics to its students. Kenney, a DeKalb resident, and other local residents will discuss and provide evidence that the U.S. is still training torturers and assassins at the school.

“With the annual protest coming up next month, we hope to inform the DeKalb community about SOA’s history and to shed light on what is being done to open up its practices to congressional and public scrutiny,” Kenney said.

The protest Kenney speaks of is organized by a group called School of the Americas Watch. It’s an annual gathering at the school where anyone from torture survivors to church organizations can speak out against the injustices they see taking place in the school.

“In numbers too big to be ignored, we will take a stand for justice, peace and accountability and against the racist system of violence and domination that is represented by the SOA. Repressive militaries are not the answer to the problems of our day and age,” the School of the Americas Watch Web site states.

Due to controversial events involving the mistreatment of insurgents overseas, human rights activists, along with SOA Watch are campaigning for the closure of the school.

Cassie Pfeifer is a Campus Reporter for the Northern Star.