Panama denies agreement with U.S. on military bases

[Judi Lynn]

Panama denies agreement with U.S. on military bases
2009-11-03 11:09:13

PANAMA CITY, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Panama's Vice President and Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Varela denied on Monday his country had reached agreement with the United States on the creation of four aerial-maritime bases in the Panamanian coasts.

Varela made the denial in response to President of Peace and Justice Services Julio Yao's criticism of President Ricardo Martinelli's foreign policy and the alleged prospective establishment of aerial-maritime bases to combat drug, weapons and people trafficking.

The Panamanian opposition has claimed that these bases would be controlled by the United States. However, the Panamanian government denied those allegations, saying that those facilities will be under Panamanian control.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/03/content_12375771.htm

[Peace Patriot]

1. They are touting this same BS about the SEVEN new US military bases in Colombia

--that they will be under Colombian control. One, it's a lie. Two, the Pentagon would never let that happen. Three, if they did, they should all be fired. 600 US soldiers and 600 associated US mercenaries (to start with) under the control of the Colombian military--who, according to Amnesty International, is responsible for HALF of the thousands of murders of union leaders in Colombia*, and (UN report) 75% of all "extrajudicial" murders?!

As if the US can't produce plenty of war crimes of our own, we have to outsource them to Colombia? Or is it the other way around? Colombia--where some courageous prosecutors and judges are trying to hold Colombia's military, paramilitaries and politicians to account, for their numerous death squad murders--needs to outsource their war crimes to US soldiers and mercenaries, who are immune from Colombian law?

Ecuador learned its lesson about having any control over the activities of a US military base early in 2008, when the US/Colombia conducted a bombing/raid on Ecuadoran territory, in a highly political act, dropping ten 500 lb US "smart bombs" on a temporary FARC hostage release camp, slaughtering 25 sleeping people without benefit of trial. According to numerous reliable reports, the leader of the camp, Raul Reyes, was trying to negotiate a peace in Colombia's 40+ year civil war, by arranging for the release of FARC hostages, and was about to release Ingrid Betancourt to French, Spanish and Swiss envoys, who were in Ecuador for that purpose. The bombing/raid ended all talk of peace. And Betancourt's release was delayed many months, was engineered by trickery and betrayal and was used to provide John McCain with a campaign stop in Colombia. He actually left the campaign trail in the US to view the live action in the US embassy "war room" in Bogota. The same "war room" may have been used to watch the slaughter of Reyes' camp and maybe even to direct it, earlier in the year.

The Ecuadoran military visited the bombing/raid site and said that the Colombian military did not have the capability to deliver those bombs. Plane and pilot likely came from the US base in Manta, Ecuador, which Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa had promised, during his presidential campaign, to evict from Ecuador when its lease was up, this year--a promise he has kept.

No US military base is ever not under the command of the Pentagon.**

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*(The other half of labor leader murders were committed by rightwing paramilitary death squads closely tied to the Colombian military and its narco-thug politicians. AI attributed only 2% of such murders to the FARC guerillas.)

**(And you have to wonder about the Honduran military plane that landed for refueling at the US military base in Soto Cano, Honduras, carrying the kidnapped president of the country, which then just went freely on its way, taking him out of the country at gunpoint. US commanders busy playing video games, or what?)

[Judi Lynn]

2. Panama building 4 anti-drug sea, air stations

Panama building 4 anti-drug sea, air stations
POSTED: November 3, 2009

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama's government is building four air and sea monitoring stations to fight trafficking of drugs, weapons and migrants.

The bases are to be located on the Pacific coast on routes used to smuggle drugs and transport laundered money.

Assistant Interior Minister Alejandro Garuz said Monday the sites will be manned by the national police, border agents and other government agencies.

He says the bases are a completely Panamanian initiative and the United States will not be involved.

An agreement to expand the use of bases in neighboring Colombia by U.S. troops for anti-drug and other missions has drawn criticism in the region.

http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/93889.html?isap=1&nav=5030