U.S.-Colombian
Military Agreement
Under Fire at Latin American Summit
Bariloche, Argentina - A military
cooperation agreement between Colombia and
the United States, which allows the latter
to use military bases in Colombia, came
under fire at a Latin American summit in
Argentina Friday.
A number of Latin American leaders voiced
strong concern about the agreement during
the Union of South American Nations (Unasur)
Extraordinary Summit.
The Unasur meeting was called to try to
resolve the matter, but tensions are still
building and are not likely to dissipate
soon.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva said Colombian President Alvaro Uribe
should reflect on the efficiency of the U.S.
military presence in the country in the
fight against drug trafficking.
Lula said the U.S. military had been present
in Colombia for more than 50 years and if
five decades of military presence had not
solved the issue of drug trafficking, then
the efficiency of this strategy must be
questioned.
He also stressed that the largest market for
illicit drugs was not in South America and
the solution lay in "rich countries"
fighting the drug trade in their own
territories.
Uribe defended the military agreement, which
was signed last week and foresees the
establishment of seven U.S. bases in
Colombia.
Uribe said the U.S. military would be there
only to fight the drug trafficking industry
and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (Farc), and would not interfere
with any internal affairs of Colombia's
neighbors.
However, several South American countries,
including Brazil, expressed their
disapproval of the treaty and that they
remained concerned the US would use the
bases to become involved in issues in
neighboring countries.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he was
willing to go to war against Colombia if the
agreement was signed.
Lula reaffirmed the need for legal
guarantees that the U.S. military would
confine its activities within Colombia.
Calling for transparency in the matter, he
stressed he respected the agreement and
Colombia's sovereignty, but needed
safeguards.
He claimed the solution for South America's
problems should not be pursued outside the
continent.
Ecuadorian Vice President Lenin Moreno said
on Friday his country expected resolutions
taken by the Unasur summit to guarantee
peace and good relations in the region.
"Not only Ecuador, but Latin America and the
world have expectations of that Unasur
summit," Moreno said.
Regarding a diplomatic impasse between
Colombia and Ecuador, Moreno said
restoration of ties would depend on the
decisions taken by the Colombian government.
He said one way would be for Colombia to
"guarantee there will be peace in the
region. That is what we expect to continue
our development process."
Moreno added that "unfortunately, the
military bases of a country in another do
not have a very favorable record in
history."
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez told
Uribe at the summit that "the main
information (here) is the lack of trust ...
before we can imagine consensus we must
build trust."
Fernandez urged President Uribe to allow the
Unasur Defense Council "to read the
agreement you signed with the United States,
"otherwise "it is absolutely understandable
that Ecuador and Venezuela demand their
territorial security."
"One way to build these guarantees between
brother, neighboring countries will be the
construction of real mechanisms, not
fiction, to build that trust," she added.
Fernandez proposed "to instruct our foreign
ministers" to find the mechanisms to build
inter-regional trust and she supported
earlier comments by Peruvian President Alan
Garcia, saying "the integration processes
always have demanded small concessions
regarding national sovereignty."
Fernandez said the final document of the
summit "should include, for everybody's
security, a doctrine for the region about
the presence of foreign military bases of
any non-South American country, and of
troops from other countries of the region,
in South America."
The final declaration should include "a
phrase rejecting these forces, without
mentioning any country," she added.
The one-day Unasur summit was held in
Bariloche of Rio Negro province, 1,627 km
southwest to Buenos Aires, with a commitment
to respect each other's territorial
integrity and strengthen peace in the
region.
Leaders from the 12 member states signed a
declaration promising to "abstain from using
threats or force against the territorial
integrity of other states from the Unasur."
They also agreed "to strengthen South
America as a zone of peace" and they
promised "to establish a mechanism of mutual
trust regarding defense and security" in the
region.
Meanwhile, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro
said on Friday the desire to control
Venezuela's oil and other natural resources
was behind the U.S. military presence in
Colombia, local press reported.
In an article entitled "It is time for a
recounting and the united march" published
on Friday, Castro said the use of even seven
Colombian military bases by the United
States threatened "the sovereignty and
integrity" in the region, mainly of
Venezuela.
"The only propose of the United States, with
these bases, is to place Latin America
within hours of its troops," Castro said.
The United States wants to "erase the
Bolivarian revolutionary process and assure
the control of Venezuela's oil and other
natural resources," Castro said.
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