DEA Fails to Report Abuse by Foreign Partners, Watchdog Finds

Imagine you're fighting a war on drugs, and your allies are breaking the rules. That's what happened with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). A government watchdog recently criticized the DEA for not quickly reporting human rights violations by their Latin American partners. These partners admitted to using torture methods like waterboarding and suffocating suspects to get information. The DEA took a long time, sometimes almost nine months, to tell the State Department about these issues. It's important to note that the DEA has since updated its policies to address this problem.

This situation is tied to something called the Leahy Act, which stops the U.S. from helping foreign security forces that violate human rights. The DEA and other agencies use a lie detector test called a polygraph for vetting these forces. However, there have been issues with how the DEA has used this test. Recently, it was found that almost 300 people were hired despite failing the test or giving disqualifying information during their exams. While not admissible in court, polygraph tests are commonly used for national security clearances and federal law enforcement hiring. The DEA had been one of the last agencies to require these tests before hiring. But after some scandals overseas, including a case where an agent was found to be working with cartels, they changed their policies in 2019. This shows how important it is for agencies like the DEA to follow rules and report wrongdoings quickly.

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