| | |  Americas & Beyond | August 2009 
South America Concerned About US Military in Colombia
 Jeanneth Valdivieso - Associated Press
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August 11, 2009
| | Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, left, talks to Ecuador's President Rafael Correa prior to an official photo during a summit of the Union of South American Nations, Unasur, in Quito, Monday, Aug. 10, 2009. (AP/Ricardo Mazalan) | |
Quito, Ecuador — South American presidents expressed deep concerns Monday over the United States' plan to increase its military presence in Colombia.
The unease reflected the region's deep-seated suspicion of U.S. motives based on a long history of intervention and meddling. But there was no consensus on issuing a statement rejecting U.S. use of Colombian bases, as proposed by Bolivia and backed by its ally and strong critic of Washington's influence, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
The proposed base treaty has been questioned since it was revealed a few weeks ago, with the strongest attacks coming from some of Colombia's neighbors, whose leftist governments are in ideological conflict with its conservative administration.
The leaders agreed to meet again in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to discuss the matter after Chavez raised it during a ceremony to inaugurate Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa as temporary president of the Union of South American Nations, or Unasur. They did not set a date, saying the summit would follow a preliminary meeting of defense ministers Aug. 27.
Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Cristina Fernandez of Argentina, Evo Morales of Bolivia, Fernando Lugo of Paraguay and Correa also expressed unease with the plan.
"I don't want to sabotage your ceremony Rafael ... (but) we are very worried," said Chavez, who added that he believes the bases will destabilize the region.
"This could provoke a war in South America," Chavez said, repeating a theme of his recent criticism of the base negotiations. During his weekly television and radio address Sunday, the Venezuelan president told his military to be "ready for combat" in case of a Colombian provocation.
Brazil's Silva took a more measured approach, calling on President Barack Obama to meet with the region's leaders to explain the plan.
"As president of Brazil, this climate of unease disturbs me," said Silva, who has expressed opposition to American troops being in Colombia but who is viewed in Washington as a center-left balance to more stridently leftist presidents of Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia.
"I think we should directly discuss our discontent with the American government – directly with them," said Silva, a union leader famed for his negotiating skills before he became a politician.
Last week in Brazil, the U.S. national security adviser, Jim Jones, acknowledged the deal could have been explained better to the region's leaders and said Washington would send military officials to any interested country "to make sure everybody understands what this is and what this isn't."
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who did not attend the meeting in Ecuador, visited several South American countries last week to defend his base deal with the U.S., but Peru was the only nation to openly back the plan.
Uribe's vice foreign minister, Clemencia Forero, said Monday that an expanded U.S. military presence in Colombia will not affect his nation's neighbors while helping in the fight against drug traffickers and leftist rebels.
"The bases will continue to be completely under Colombian jurisdiction and sovereignty," Forero said.
U.S. officials haven't released details of the pact being negotiated, but Colombians say U.S. forces would have access to at least seven Colombian bases.
The Colombians also say there would be no more than 1,400 American personnel and contractors in the country. About 600 U.S. military personnel already work in Colombia and advisers have trained thousands of Colombian troops since 2000.
While in the moderate camp, Silva underlined the region's suspicions of the United States by saying he was concerned over "information we receive about (U.S.) ambassadors that still intervene in internal electoral processes" in their host countries.
He also said he was bothered by the reactivation last year of the U.S. Navy's 4th Fleet, to deploy warships, aircraft and submarines on humanitarian and counter-drug operations in the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Tensions between Venezuela and Colombia have increased over Colombia's base negotiations and the recent disclosure that three Swedish-made anti-tank weapons found at a rebel camp last year had been purchased by Venezuela's military in the 1980s.
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Associated Press writers Fabiola Sanchez in Caracas, Venezuela; Mayra Pertossi in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Vivian Sequera in Bogota; and Eva Vergara in Santiago, Chile, contributed to this report. |
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