in and toward Latin America very closely. Someone mentioned the base in Paraguay some time ago, and many have been watching that build-up. Here's a good article:
07/22/05 - - This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associates Mary Donohue and Melissa Nepomiachi.
• On June 1, 2005 the Paraguayan National Congress entered into an agreement with Washington that allows U.S. troops to enter into Paraguay for an 18-month period.
• The troops will help train Paraguayan officials to deal with narcotrafficking, terrorism, government corruption and domestic health issues.
• The agreement grants the U.S. troops legal immunity from possible offenses committed during their stay.
• Washington has long sought similar immunity for its troops in the Southern Cone, but Argentina and Brazil have firmly restricted granting such judicial liberty to U.S. troops.
• Bolivian officials and its press are also speaking out against the agreement, fearing the U.S. presence as a means to control the petroleum and natural gas sources in their country.
• Though Asunción and Washington claim that the U.S. has no intentions of establishing a permanent base in Paraguay, history shows a strange resemblance between the current situation in Paraguay and the development of the Manta base in Ecuador from a “temporary” facility into a major base.
Paraguay and the United States recently entered into an agreement that allows U.S. military personnel to enter Paraguay to train officials in counter-terrorism and anti-narcotrafficking measures. According to the Head of Social Communication of the Paraguayan Armed Forces Col. Elio Flores, these U.S. Special Forces units will be working with the National AntiDrugs Secretariat, the Presidential Escort Regiment and the Air Transport Brigade. The U.S. will also provide financial assistance to help stabilize Paraguayan agencies which will be collaborating with U.S. authorities and institute a military-led initiative to provide health care services to the country’s poor in the northeast region of Canindeyu. Jose Ruiz, Public Affairs officer for the U.S. Armed Forces Southern Command office, told COHA that “some military training will be operational in nature,” and the goal is to better equip Paraguayans to deal with the threats of narcotrafficking, terrorism, government corruption and poverty. A contingent of 500 U.S. troops headed by seven officials arrived in Paraguay on July 1 with planes, weapons, equipment and ammunition. This group is the first of at least 13 U.S. units set to enter Paraguay until the agreement expires December 31, 2006.
(snip)
Over 80 million dollars has been invested in the base in Manta, Ecuador which is now one of the best-equipped airports in Latin America. Yet much controversy has arisen over the influence U.S. military officials have in the region. At first, the Pentagon presented Manta as a dusty, archaic facility which it would operate solely for anti-drug and weather monitoring functions. Washington asserted that the base would function only for daytime use and would not permanently house U.S. personnel. Only a few days later the Pentagon clarified its original statement and outlined its full mission for Manta, which was to serve as a major U.S. military base tasked with a variety of security-related missions.
(snip)
While it is clear that direct U.S. interests in the region subsided after the Cold War, and even came to a staggering halt after September 11, the United States is once again at work trying to build a quasi-military grid in Latin America. By entering into an agreement with Paraguayan officials, the U.S. will be able to successfully keep an eye out for the political unrest in Bolivia, maintain an influence in the highly sensitive Triple Border region and monitor activities of the de-facto left leaning alliance. Up to now Washington has expressed concern for the leftist regimes in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Venezuela, with the likelihood that Bolivia, Ecuador and Mexico (if Lopez Obrador triumphs in that country’s 2006 elections) might join. While Paraguay alone exclusively has made an agreement that could very well infringe on its judicial power and ultimate sovereignty, the entire South American region could soon feel the after-effects of its domestic decision. Argentina and Brazil have successfully held off the U.S. military forces from gaining immunity in the area, but after several failed attempts to acquire a South American base of power, the U.S. now has a road paved for them by Paraguay’s 18-month agreement.
(snip/)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9541.htm~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Who can possibly ignore the fact Colombia is THIRD in line on the list of recipients of U.S. foreign aid, right behind Israel and Egypt? Who can overlook the fact Colombian paramilitaries have been making raids across the border into Venezuela for a long time, killing off officials, political people, etc.
Who can forget the fact that the Venezuelan government, acting on information provided by a tip, went to a ranch owned by a Cuban "exile," Roberto Alonso, next door to a ranch owned by media mogul and
Bush family friend, Gustavo Cisneros, near Caracas, not close to the border, and found over 100 Colombian paramilitaries who confessed they had been hired to involve themselves in some mayhem in Caracas? They found a lot of ammunition and weapons, as well, of course.
A quick article on the paramilitaries:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0517-04.htmhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,,1213445,00.htmlBe sure to do a check for many more articles if you're interested.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In March 2003, the first clashes between the Venezuelan military and the Colombian army and paramilitaries took place on the Colombia-Venezuela border. The symbolism was striking: Venezuela's President, Hugo Chavez, was at the head of a country trying to make a 'Bolivarian Revolution', strengthening the public sector, social programs, independent political organizations, and a foreign policy independent from the United States. Alvaro Uribe Velez, meanwhile, was the candidate of Colombia's traditional landowning elite, military, and big business interests tied to the United States. Uribe had asked the US, without any irony, to do to Colombia what they were doing in Iraq. Chavez had gone on Venezuelan television and shown photos of the civilian victims of US aerial bomardment in Afghanistan. For their 'Bolivarian Revolution', Venezuelans were punished with a coup attempt in April 2002 and a 'National Strike' that devastated their economy. Now the Colombian military was being used against them, an attempt to start a war between Colombia and Venezuela that would be destructive of the aspirations of the people of both countries. The clashes continued in December 2003, as members of the Venezuelan National Guard were killed by Colombian paramilitaries in repeated incursions into Venezuelan territory.
(snip/...)
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=9&ItemID=6945
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
