AP: U.S. to expand military into Colombia

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.

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.

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.”)

Image- El Tiempo
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, MSNBC

U.S. military going from Ecuador to Colombia?

For several years the U.S. military have occupied a military base in Manta, Ecuador which they use mainly for counternarcotics operations. Ecuador’s government decided last year to not renew the military lease at Manta once it expires next month. Whether an alternative base would soon be established in Colombia or Peru remains to be seen though several hints in recent months indicate that possibility could happen very soon.

Back in April, U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield said that discussions were taking place between the White House and Casa de Nariño over expanding to a military base in Colombia. "Colombia and the US are collaborating on the efforts against the illegal drugs, in the efforts against the international delinquency. Part of this collaboration, without doubts, requires the access to facilities between both countries," said Brownfield who was previously U.S. ambassador to Venezuela. Indeed, the Pentagon budget submitted to Congress last May included allocating $46 million to expand the base in Palanquero, Colombia.

After last weeks visit by President Alvaro Uribe to Washington, Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said that “to be perfectly clear, there will be no new U.S. base in Colombia." Yet an article from Colombian magazine Cambio claimed that Palanquero will be a small piece in a much wider plan:

A soon-to-be-signed, 10-year bilateral cooperation pact will give U.S. military personnel the right to operate from five bases in Colombia, the newsweekly Cambio reported Thursday.

The United States is seeking basing rights in Colombia because Ecuador declined to renew an accord allowing Washington to coordinate drug-interdiction efforts from the Manta airbase on the Andean nation’s Pacific coast.

Colombia’s three main airbases: Palanquero, in the central part of the country; Alberto Pouwels, in the north, and Apiay, in the south, will play host to U.S. units, according to the Bogota-based magazine.

The U.S. military will also have access to the Colombian naval bases at Cartagena, on the Caribbean, and Malaga, located on the Pacific.

Will the U.S. military move its base from Ecuador to Colombia? Stay tuned…

Image- El Tiempo
Online Sources- Colombia Reports, LAHT, The Latin Americanist, PRESS TV, CIP Americas

Daily Headlines: February 27, 2009

* Mexico: Days after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced a major crackdown of Mexican drug gangs Sen. Joseph Lieberman said that the Senate will hold hearings over rising violence in Mexico.

* Colombia: Will U.S. military operations become headquartered in Colombia after they leave the base at Manta, Ecuador this August?

* Guatemala: One week after apologizing to Cuba for the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom apologized to victims of his country’s cruel 36-year civil war.

* Haiti: Kristian Dyer of ESPN.com takes a great look at the legacy of Joe Gaetjens- the Haitian immigrant who scored the game-winning goal for the U.S. in one of the World Cup’s greatest upsets.

Image- Al Jazeera English
Online Sources- BBC News, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, AFP, ABC Online, ESPN

Ecuador to U.S. – No vacancy at Manta base

Ecuador’s government will official boot the U.S. military from using the Manta air base when its lease expires net year. Manta has served as the U.S. army’s lone South American military outpost chiefly for counternarcotics operations and has stationed over 300 soldiers.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has long promised to remove the U.S. military from Manta and the country’s draft constitution even has an article prohibiting “foreign military bases or installations…on Ecuadorian soil. According to Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry, surveillance flights will end in August 2009 and troops will leave three months after that.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that the U.S. government would respect Ecuador’s decision but warned that the lack of a base would hinder counternarcotics efforts.

Will the U.S. try to find another large base in South America to replace the one at Manta? One senior Air Force official said in January that they would most likely try for “small, temporary, forward operating locations.” Yet that hasn’t stopped speculation that the U.S. military will establish a major outpost in Peru or Colombia.

Image- washingtonpost.com (“A US military plane lands at the US base airport in Manta, Ecuador, Friday, Dec. 14, 2006.”)

Sources- Al Jazeera English, earthtimes, Press TV, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, UPI,

Ecuador: Assembly OKs draft constitution

Ecuador’s constituent assembly approved by a 2-to-1 margin a new constitution which may serve as the country’s new charter by early 2009. The 444-article constitution awaits possible approval in a national referendum on September 28th, though that looks iffy as roughly 1 in 3 Ecuadorians would back the new charter according to a recent poll.

Supporters of the charter- such as President Rafael Correa (image)- argue that it provides a fairer social system for Ecuadorians and will bring about more politician freedom. Opponents allege that the draft provides too much power to the president and could cause political instability.

There are numerous stipulations in the draft constitution as gay.com noted:

Its 444 articles include a provision that same-sex unions be afforded the same rights as heterosexual marriages…

The president can dissolve Congress once and Congress will have one opportunity to unseat the president, the Associated Press reported. In either case, general elections would be called…

The president can run for one four-year term of reelection…

Foreign military bases or installations will be prohibited on Ecuadorean soil. The United States has operated anti-drug surveillance flights out of Ecuador's Manta air base since 1999. [ed. Click here for more details.] The 10-year lease expires next year, and will not be renewed.

Undocumented immigrants will not be considered "illegal."

In a national referendum last year, voters overwhelmingly approved the establishing of the constituent assembly. The assembly- with a majority of seats controlled by parties allied to the president- subsequently suspended the country’s Senate until a new constitution is approved.

Image- BBC News

Sources- BBC News, gay.com, The Latin Americanist, Reuters UK, FT.com, Angus Reid Global Consultants, Voice of America

Bloggers of the World Unite!

Note: The following links come from a few of the blogs on our Blogroll. We’ll soon be updating the list; thus, e-mail us at ourlatinamerica@yahoo.com if you have/know a blog that should be on our Blogroll.

• “I see death as a celebration of life rather than as the act of perishing,” observed Mexican artist Daniel Guzmán in this insightful interview.
• Will U.S. armed forces officials relocate their military base from Ecuador to Peru?
• A nostalgic look at traditional Uruguayan architecture.
  
• Brazilian bloggers decry the media circus surrounding the death of a five-year-old girl.
• The difficult task of tackling Chile’s Pinochet-era military legacy.
• Immigrant rights activists prepare for nationwide marches on May 1^st.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Bloggings by Boz, A Year in Uruguay, Guanabee, Global Voices Online, Two Weeks Notice, VivirLatino

Image- Time Out Chicago (“Daniel Guzmán, Used Beauty, 2006. Photo: Courtesy of Kurimanzutto, Mexico City.”)

Ecuador: My Manta base is (not) all right

(Sorry for the lame Pixies reference in the title).

A vote by Ecuador’s popular assembly put another nail in the coffin to the U.S. presence at the Manta air base. Legislators backed the proposal to as part of a series of constitutional amendments which could be approved by a referendum later this year.

The proposal’s text took aim at the U.S. whose base in Manta is key to counternarcotics operations and is the only foreign military facility in Ecuador:

The position has been understood and we ratify the lack of interest to renew in 2009 the 1999 controversial accord to use the southeastern Manta military base by US military forces," states the text.

"Ecuador is a peaceful territory. It does not allow the establishment of foreign military bases or foreign facilities with military purposes. We cannot give national military bases to foreign forces, and we close any actions destined to extend beyond next year the presence of Pentagon troops in this nation."

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has been adamant in his opposition to the U.S. base in Manta and has vowed to reject renewing the base’s lease which expires next year. As we noted in January, a senior U.S. official doubted that they would pursue building “another large base in the region” if they’re booted off of Manta.

Sources- Reuters, Chicago Tribune, BBC News, Prensa Latina, The Latin Americanist, Lyrics Depot

Image- Living in Peru (“A U.S. AWAKS surveillance plane taking off from the Manta base in Ecuador.”)