U.S. Military Command That Attacked Venezuela Gutted Its Civilian Harm Team

U.S. Southern Command Can't Handle Civilian Casualty Reports, Pentagon Steps In

The U.S. military's southernmost command is overwhelmed by the number of civilian casualty reports stemming from its operation to abduct Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Instead of handling these cases themselves, SOUTHCOM has referred all reports directly to the Pentagon's own Civilian Protection Center of Excellence.

Airwars, a UK-based watchdog group, had attempted to submit documentation on civilian casualties to SOUTHCOM but found that the command did not have a mechanism in place for such reports. When Airwars reached out to the Pentagon, it was told to submit its cases directly to the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence.

The need for this has arisen as a result of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's efforts to gut programs aimed at reducing civilian casualties. Experts and insiders have said that even small numbers of civilian casualty reports are now too much for SOUTHCOM to handle, with personnel devoted to tracking and mitigation dwindling from four staff to just one contractor.

The Pentagon has acknowledged the failure of SOUTHCOM to track and mitigate civilian harm effectively but has not offered any further explanation. The Intercept reported on cuts to SOUTHCOM's civilian harm staff last year and that the command had been dodging questions about this issue for months.

Col. Emanuel Ortiz, SOUTHCOM's chief of public affairs, said that his command complies with statutory and regulatory requirements but did not provide any further details. The Civilian Protection Center of Excellence has been established to address these issues but has faced criticism from experts who say it is not enough to prevent similar harm in the future.

The Pentagon has also come under fire for its handling of civilian casualties, including a recent operation that killed dozens of civilians in Yemen. Experts and lawmakers have called this an extrajudicial killing and have criticized the Pentagon's lack of transparency on these issues.

In total, the U.S. military has carried out 35 known attacks on boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September, killing at least 123 civilians who it claims are narco-terrorists.

omg u guys i cant even right now ... so like i was reading this news about US southern command and they cant handle civilian casualty reports ... its wild how they got to the point where they need the pentagon to step in lol

i mean think about it the sec of war is trying to cut down programs that prevent civilian casualties but instead he's just shifting the problem to the pentagon like who's gonna fix this now?? airwars was trying to submit docs to SOUTHCOM but they didnt have a system in place for it and now its all on the pentagon

i know some ppl might be thinking "ok what did u expect" but come on these are real ppl we're talking about here ... and the fact that they only have 1 contractor left to track and mitigate civilian harm is just scary

anyway i dont even wanna dwell on this anymore im just glad someone's holding ppl accountable

OMG I dont think we should be harsh on SOUTHCOM yet... they're tryin to do a lot with not enough resources . It's not their fault that the Pentagon cut the civilian casualty staff, but now they're gettin' backup from the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence . And let's be real, Pete Hegseth is just tryna make things more efficient ... even if it means a lil bit less oversight . Can't say I agree with all the criticism on this one . We should give SOUTHCOM some slack and see how they work with the Pentagon to prevent civilian casualties in the future .

I'm really concerned about this situation with SOUTHCOM. It's unacceptable that they can't handle civilian casualty reports on their own & now they're relying on the Pentagon to sort it out . This is a huge red flag for me, especially when you consider how much Pete Hegseth has been trying to gut programs aimed at reducing civilian casualties. We need more transparency from our military leaders about what's going on in these regions and how we can prevent harm to civilians. It's also worrying that the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence isn't doing enough to address this issue . We should be holding our military accountable for protecting human life, not dodging questions or relying on other teams to fix problems

omg i'm freaking out right now lol just think about all those civilian casualties being reported to the Pentagon instead of SOUTHCOM like what's going on over there?? and these cuts to staff are wild - from four ppl to ONE contractor?? that's literally a recipe for disaster i don't know what's more concerning, the fact that SOUTHCOM is overwhelmed or the fact that they're just kinda dodging questions about it anyway gotta keep an eye on this one

I'm not surprised that SOUTHCOM can't handle civilian casualty reports, it's a ticking time bomb waiting to happen. They're probably too busy playing politics to actually care about the lives they're ruining. And now they've got the Pentagon to cover for them? Please, this is just more of the same old cover-up game. I mean, who needs transparency and accountability when you can just hide behind a fancy new center called the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence? It's all just a PR stunt to save face while innocent lives continue to be lost. And don't even get me started on Secretary Hegseth, what a joke. He's more concerned with gutting programs than actually making sure civilians aren't getting blown up in the first place. The Pentagon thinks they can just sweep this under the rug? Not on my watch

The Pentagon is struggling to keep track of civilian casualties, which raises some major red flags . It's concerning that SOUTHCOM can't handle these reports on its own and has had to pass them along to the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence . You'd think that with all the resources available at the Pentagon, they could have a better system in place .

It's also worrying that experts are saying even small numbers of civilian casualties are becoming too much for SOUTHCOM to handle . It sounds like the cuts to their staff were not just a minor tweak, but a major overhaul . And now they're relying on one contractor to do the job? That's a recipe for disaster .

The lack of transparency is also concerning, especially when it comes to extrajudicial killings . The Pentagon needs to get its act together and start being more open about these issues, or else the public will lose trust . It's time for some real reform, not just a Band-Aid solution .

I'm not surprised that SOUTHCOM can't handle all those civilian casualty reports, tbh . They've been getting hammered for this stuff already . And now the Pentagon is stepping in? Yeah, that's a good move . But seriously, it's kinda scary that they need to create a whole new center just to deal with these issues . I mean, shouldn't SOUTHCOM be able to handle reports from its own op? Not saying they're not doing their best or anything, but...idk, it just seems like they got caught off guard by the scale of things . And what's up with all those narco-terrorists in the Caribbean? Is that even a thing now?

I'm getting a bad feeling about this . It's like they're playing whack-a-mole with civilian casualties. First, SOUTHCOM can't handle the reports, then the Pentagon steps in and... what's the plan? They just moved the problem to another team, right? I mean, I remember when we used to have more transparent military operations back in the day . It was like they knew exactly how many civilians were gonna get hurt and just kinda... shrugged . Now it's like they're trying to sweep everything under the rug again . What happened to all those programs meant to reduce civilian casualties, huh?

Wow - can't believe SOUTHCOM can't handle civilian casualty reports themselves, especially with all these ops happening in Venezuela! Interesting that they're now sending cases to the Pentagon's Civilian Protection Center of Excellence.

omg this is so messed up the us gov is literally getting slammed for its mess with civilian casualties... i'm all about keeping our troops safe but come on we gotta make sure we're not hurtling people into the abyss pete hegsseth's plan to cut programs that reduce civilian harm is a huge red flag, what are they even thinking?

airwars and other watchdog groups are doing their part to hold the us military accountable, kudos to them but seriously, this whole thing reeks of bad planning and not enough oversight. if the pentagon can't handle these reports then why did they even give southcom the job in the first place?

I'm like totally shocked that SOUTHCOM can't handle civilian casualty reports ... wait, hold up, I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not . I mean, think about it, they've been referred to the Pentagon's Civilian Protection Center of Excellence in the first place, so that's already a step back, right? And experts are saying that even small numbers of reports are too much for them, but what if those reports were just a bunch of fake news ?

I'm not saying the Pentagon is doing a great job or anything... actually, I am saying that . But at the same time, I think it's kinda funny that SOUTHCOM can't handle their own civilian casualties, but the Pentagon's all like "oh no, we need to step in" .

Ugh, what a mess !

I mean... This is crazy! The Pentagon's gotta step in now 'cause SOUTHCOM can't even handle civilian casualty reports? That's just not right, mate . I remember back in my day, we had rules of engagement and stuff like that. It was all about minimizing collateral damage.

Now it seems like they're just winging it, and that's gonna get us into trouble eventually. And what's with the cuts to SOUTHCOM's civilian harm staff? That's like, basic human rights, innit?

And don't even get me started on those drone strikes... You can't just go around killing civilians left and right without some accountability. It's not like we're in a war zone anymore; we gotta be smart about this stuff.

I'm all for taking down narco-terrorists, but you can't just do it by blowing up innocent people . We need to find a better way to do this. I hope the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence does some good, but so far, I'm not seeing much .

So they're sending civilian casualty reports to some fancy center at the Pentagon just because SOUTHCOM can't handle 'em? It's like they're hiding something. I mean, what's really going on down there in Venezuela? Those cuts to SOUTHCOM's staff were a red flag from the start - now it seems like they're just passing the buck. And don't even get me started on this Civilian Protection Center of Excellence... sounds like a PR stunt to me

I'm not saying the Pentagon is hiding anything, but we should be keeping an eye on these reports. Who's really counting the civilian casualties and who's just playing politics? This whole thing just stinks like a fish market in Miami

I'm not surprised that SOUTHCOM is struggling to handle civilian casualty reports . It's like they're playing whack-a-mole, trying to keep up with the numbers . Cutting programs aimed at reducing civilian casualties? That's just a recipe for disaster . The Pentagon should be taking responsibility for this mess, not passing it off to the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence . It's clear that more needs to be done to hold them accountable . I mean, 35 known attacks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific? That's a lot of harm being caused . We need transparency and accountability, not just empty promises .

I'm not surprised to hear that SOUTHCOM is struggling to handle civilian casualty reports from its op against Maduro... but this just goes to show how deep-seated the problem is when you gut programs aimed at reducing harm . It's like they thought these numbers were a tiny fraction of the bigger picture, but now it's clear that even 1-2 civilians can cause problems for an already overwhelmed command . The Pentagon setting up the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence sounds like a good idea on paper, but if it's not enough to prevent similar harm in the future... what's the point?

The recent debacle surrounding the US Southern Command's handling of civilian casualty reports is quite telling. It seems that the command's diminished capacity to track and mitigate harm has resulted in a reliance on the Pentagon's Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, which itself faces criticism for being insufficient. This raises questions about the effectiveness of Pete Hegseth's efforts to gut programs aimed at reducing civilian casualties. The fact that small numbers of reports are now too much for SOUTHCOM to handle suggests a systemic issue with the command's operations and decision-making processes. Furthermore, the Pentagon's lack of transparency on these matters is concerning, particularly in light of recent extrajudicial killings in Yemen.

OMG this is soooo worrying!!! The fact that US Southern Command can't even handle civilian casualty reports themselves is insane! I mean, how are they supposed to know if their ops are harming innocent people? It's all about accountability and transparency. If they're not doing it right, who should step in? The Pentagon? That just shifts the blame elsewhere . We need more than just a new center for civilian protection – we need real change!

I mean, have you seen this? The numbers of civilian casualties are insane! 35 known attacks already and 123 civilians killed... that's like, what even is the number on this chart? [insert graph showing an exponential increase in attacks] ...it's just crazy. And now the Pentagon is setting up a Civilian Protection Center of Excellence? Like, good luck with that. They need to be holding themselves accountable for these actions. The fact that SOUTHCOM was referring all reports directly to the Pentagon shows how overwhelmed they are... it's like, can't you see we're killing civilians over here? [insert chart showing decline in SOUTHCOM staff] ...four staff members down to one contractor? That's not a solution. This is just more proof that our military needs serious reform.