Cold War Policies Revived by Honduran Intelligence Law

[Judi Lynn]

Cold War Policies Revived by Honduran Intelligence Law
By Thelma Mejía

TEGUCIGALPA, Feb 2 2013 (IPS) - The doctrine of national security imposed by the United States on Latin America, which fostered the dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s, is making a comeback in Honduras where a new law is combining military defence of the country with police strategies for maintaining domestic order.

The law created the National Directorate of Investigation and Intelligence (DNII), a key agency in the security structure that does not appear to be accountable to any other body, and does not appear to be under democratic civilian control.

“This bill unites or fuses military defence and internal security, which is dangerous, because one of the aims after the Cold War was to separate these fields, due to the negative effects (their union had) on systematic violation of human rights” in the region, sociologist Mirna Flores, an expert on the issue, told IPS.

“We are back again with old national security concepts dating from the Cold War era in Central America, and the danger is that the former anti-communist rhetoric may be used against the ‘new threats’, such as allegedly criminal youth, dissidents against the regime, social protests or for the imposition of absolute powers,” she said.

More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/02/cold-war-policies-revived-by-honduran-intelligence-law/

[flamingdem]

1. Kerry needs to get on top of this

It will be interesting to see what he does. He's no Hillary Clinton.