Last week we wondered what will happen to the U.S. military presence in the Americas after its lease to operate at the Manta, Ecuador base ends next month. A big clue into what could happen is the possibility that the U.S. would sign a multiyear deal to center counternarcotics ops from several facilities in Colombia. According to the AP that possibility could soon be a reality via a ten-year agreement between U.S. and Colombian officials:Details of the negotiations are secret and U.S. officials declined comment other than to confirm the talks' next round.Controversy has come about due to the highly secretive nature of negotiation; it’s unknown what restrictions would be in place for U.S. military personnel and aircraft, for instance. Furthermore, there’s the question over how much will the U.S. military be involved in Colombia’s armed conflict. (Though it has been successful in severely weakening leftist rebels, the Colombian military has had to deal with several scandals such as links to rightist paramilitaries and “false positives.”)
However, senior Colombian military and civilian officials familiar with negotiations told The Associated Press that the idea is to make Colombia a regional hub for Pentagon operations — though without exceeding a limit of 1,400 U.S. military personnel and contractors set by the U.S. Congress.
The Colombian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the open negotiations, said the current draft accord specifies more frequent "visits" by U.S. aircraft and warships to three air bases as well as two naval bases — at Malaga Bay in the Pacific and Cartagena in the Caribbean. Colombia could also get preferential treatment in arms and aircraft purchases.
The centerpiece of the talks is the Palanquero air base at Puerto Salgar on the Magdalena river 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Bogota.
Image- El Tiempo
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, MSNBC
1 comment:
Please take a look at the hundreds of videos ( in Spanish ) in which Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega and Rafael Correa insult Colombian Officials, President, VicePresident, Minister of Defense, etc... with the utmost vulgarity and lack of good taste.
Read the thousands of Newspaper articles about the threats of these individuals against Colombia.
Read the hundreds of reports about collaboration with the FARC, the murdereres of Women, Children and the Old inside Colombia. Giving sanctuary to terrorists and bastard criminals. They have been in that game for decades.
All these mean actions filled with aggressivity and hate against Colombia may help to explain the U. S. Military Presence in Colombia.
The Irony is that Colombia could be in the future if not now a more advanced country with a better economy than those three poor nations of the Haters and Envious. They stay in power creating conflicts and outside enemies.
Milenials.com
Vicente Duque
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