UN Says 3,000 Latin Americans Fighting for U.S. in Iraq

(Actually, they are working for security contractors. Most of the Latin
Americans in Iraq appear to be Peruvians and Columbians. The source for the
articles claims that use of security contractors is becoming more common in
Latin America. However, the only example she cites is Columbia, which is
hardly representative of Latin American nowadays. SR)

UN Says 3,000 Latin Americans Fighting for U.S. in Iraq

Latin American Herald Tribune
January 7, 2009

Bogota -- Some 3,000 Latin Americans are among the tens of thousands of
security contractors operating in Iraq under the auspices of the U.S.
occupying forces, a member of the U.N. Working Group on mercenaries says.

By country of origin, the biggest Latin American contingents in Iraq are
Peruvian - around 1,200 men - and Colombian, comprising roughly 500 people,
Working Group rapporteur Amada Benavides de Perez said in an interview
published Tuesday in Bogota's El Tiempo.

She said the Peruvians were hired by U.S.-based security firms such as
Triple Canopy, Gun Supply SAC, MVM Inc., Defion Internacional and 3D Global
Solutions to carry out missions in Baghdad and Basra.

Benavides, a Colombian jurist, said the U.N. Working Group is preparing a
draft proposal for an international convention regulating the use of
mercenaries.

She pointed out that the outsourcing of military and law enforcement
functions is also becoming common within Latin America.

"Some 25 companies with approximately 800 private contractors" are operating
in her homeland, Benavides said, all of them in connection with Plan
Colombia, a largely U.S.-financed offensive against drug traffickers and
rebels.

The jurist described one of the companies as a "group of former Israeli
officers hired to assist with military intelligence."

Those companies, she said, "are not regulated by Colombian law, they are not
registered with the Superintendency of Surveillance and Security, and they
are outside the control of the Colombian state," while the individual
contractors "possess the same immunity as the diplomats at the U.S.
Embassy."

She said the Working Group documented crimes and human rights violations
committed by some of the contractors, including sexual assaults, drug
smuggling and arms traffickings.

Apart from firms involved in Plan Colombia, other private security outfits
are in her country to protect oil pipelines and mining projects, Benavides
said.

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