The fallout and war talk that has followed the US-Colombia military base sharing agreement is coinciding with a trend towards military buildups across the region.
Ecuador's leftist president Rafael Correa indirectly caused the furor over the US-Colombia agreement when he kicked the US military out of their previous base in Manta.
But despite the fallout over Manta, the US continues to work with Ecuadoran military forces to support their efforts to patrol the jungle regions that contain Ecuador's border with Colombia.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has prompted concerns in Washington with his fiery anti-American rhetoric and huge purchases of Russian arms.
Farther south, Chile has requested to purchase $665 million worth of arms and radar systems from a group of US defense contractors.
With Peru and Chile now embroiled in a row over allegations of Chilean spying, it will be interesting to see whether an increasing military buildup will exacerbate tensions within the region.
Image Source: US Southern Command
Online Sources: BBC, Fox News, CNN, Examiner, US Southern Command News
3 comments:
From clermont - all this is being caused by Hugo Chavez. The presence of 400 more US soldiers in Colombia is nothing. 1) the military build up in several countries started over a year ago. And In Vz the high price of oil kindled Chavez' aspirations for a strong military. 2) He is just using the US' expanded presence in Colombia as an excuse to create Much Ado About Nothing. But it gets him attention and he gets to machiavelically manipulate the weak-minded of LatAm. Chavez is winning the propoganda war with those that will listen. And unfortunately there are presidents in the region that will follow Chavez' lead because they like the US bashing - Lula, Ortega, Correa, Morales, Bachelet and the slavemaster/dictator brothers Castro. In Brasil and Chile, in one year centre-right administrations will be in power and Chavez will not so easily be able to toy with the regions' emotions.
Lula and Bachelet are guilty of "US bashing"? Then why did Lula foster close ties with Bush and Obama (including visiting Washington on several occasions) in order to promote economic and energy interests? How would that explain Bachelet's desire to seek a free trade pact with the U.S. despite opposition within her own party? (Just to name a pair of examples).
Compared to Chavez, Ortega and Correa, Lula and Bachelet are as American as apple pie (after some Chilean wine and caprinhas of course).
Also, it's still a toss-up over which ideology will win the upcoming Chilean and brazilian presidencies. A recent poll showed that Pinera's gap has narrowed and that the election would require a second (runoff) round.
I'm actually glad to see all this stuff, to see that this world offers creativity and ideas other than what my lonesome small town provides.
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