 By the early 1980s, Latin American critics accused the school of teaching techniques of repression to be used toward civilians.American officers rejected the criticism, arguing that the training prevented abuse toward civilians.According to the Center for International Policy, "The School of the Americas had been questioned for years, as it trained many military personnel before and during the years of the 'national security doctrine' – the dirty war years in the Southern Cone and the civil war years in Central America – in which the armed forces within several Latin American countries ruled or had disproportionate government influence and committed serious human rights violations in those countries."