Watchdog blasts DEA for not reporting waterboarding, torture by Latin American partners
Associated PressMIAMI — A federal government watchdog is blasting the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for failing to timely report human rights violations committed by Latin American law enforcement partners who admitted to waterboarding, suffocating and torturing crime suspects. The management advisory memorandum published Tuesday by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General centers on the DEA’s obligations under what’s known as the Leahy Act, which prohibits the U.S. from providing foreign assistance to security forces that violate human rights. In all five instances, the DEA waited until the Inspector General raised concerns — in one case almost nine months — before reporting their findings to the State Department. Last week the Inspector General published a 49-page report detailing how the DEA in recent years has hired almost 300 special agents and research analysts who either failed to pass a required polygraph exam during the onboarding process or provided disqualifying information during the examination.
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Watchdog blasts DEA for not reporting waterboarding, torture by Latin American partners
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