Military Bases and Human Rights

The existence of American military bases in various regions of the world has historically been not only synonymous with war, but also with poverty, environmental devastation, poor health and human rights violations. In Mexico, the U.S.’s immediate Latin American neighbor, where bases don’t even officially exist, the history of the border city of Tijuana is one of the first required case studies.

Tijuana is 45 kilometers from San Diego, home to the most important naval base on the west coast of the United States, headquarters of the Pacific Fleet.

At the height of World War II and since the end of 1942, waves of U.S. servicemen from San Diego have crossed the international line toward Tijuana in search of fun, encouraging the proliferation of bars, gambling houses and prostitution.

Furthermore, the government of Felipe Calderón has underestimated citizens’ demands for information regarding the existence of supposed counter-trafficking bases in Mexican territory, where there are American military personnel. It has indicated the states of Puebla, Sinaloa and Chiapas as headquarters of such installations.

These cases of human rights violations by American soldiers and marines increased until the 1950s, when military tourism was officially prohibited. Nevertheless, marines and soldiers, like many other American tourists, continued to consider Tijuana, until today, a backyard for sexual promiscuity.

One of the organizations that have reported repeated negative incidents due to American military bases abroad is the working group Fellowship of Reconciliation for Latin America and the Caribbean, a multidisciplinary investigative team with headquarters in San Francisco dedicated to promoting non-violence around the world.

The coordinator of the group, John Lindsay-Poland, says that the bilateral agreements between the U.S. and nations where bases are located guarantee immunity for American soldiers from all legal action, and when they are prosecuted, courts are extremely lenient with them.

Many American military bases in Latin America leave a devastating environmental legacy. Such is the case of Vieques, a small Caribbean island adjacent to Puerto Rico. Several studies have revealed high levels of cadmium, lead, mercury, uranium and other contaminants in the soil, the food chain and the island’s inhabitants.

“These contaminants indicate high rates of illness among the residents of Vieques, who have cancer rates 26.9 percent higher than other Puerto Ricans,” the studies indicate.

In Panama, although American military officials left the country and bases were closed in 1999, the Pentagon continues to enjoy access to military flights to and from the country.

In addition, in Panamanian territory, there remain potentially dangerous explosive artifacts for which Washington denies responsibility.

On the other hand, statistics by human rights organizations reveal that zones near American military bases usually register high levels of impunity, sexual abuse, murder, prostitution and drug trafficking. History repeats itself not only in developing countries like the Philippines, Colombia and countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, but also in developed nations: Germany, Japan and South Korea.

In the Middle East and Central Asia, there are frequent reports of abuse by the American military against the civilian population, especially in terms of rape and the promotion of prostitution. Iraq has been an exacerbated case, as has Afghanistan.

This is one of the most powerful reasons to insist on the disappearance of foreign military bases throughout the world and particularly, in Latin America.