BBC Documents Police Brutality in Peru, Omits US Role in 'Stability'
The BBC shows police unleashing tear gas on Peruvian citizens protesting outside Congress, dutifully documenting the skirmish. A chilling scene, if you’re paying attention. But if you're waiting for the BBC to connect these dots to the US military-industrial complex's 'aid' to Latin American security forces, you'll be waiting a long time. For decades, the US has funneled millions into training and
equipping Latin American police and military under the guise of counter-narcotics or internal security, often strengthening regimes prone to crushing dissent. One might almost think the US's vast military assistance for countries like Peru (over $200 million in security aid since 2000, per Security Assistance Monitor) is entirely unrelated to scenes of state violence against its own people. When
will the headlines ask why the 'defenders of democracy' are so quick to arm the very forces brutalizing protesters? Perhaps when these same outlets stop accepting government grants and advertising dollars from those who profit from global instability.