In a move that has attracted the hostility of some of its fellow South American countries Colombia, on Friday, signed a pact that will allow U.S. forces increased access to seven of its military bases.
Hugo Chavez, President of Colombia's eastern neighbor Venezuela, has been a particularly vocal critic of the military pact that was signed in a private ceremony in the Colombian capital Bogota.
Reportedly he believes that the deal is a precursor to a U.S. invasion of his country. Chavez has maintained that the U.S. backed an attempt to overthrow him in 2002.
As
Al Jazeera reports there have been objections too from Bolivia and Nicaragua.
However initial opposition from the Brazilian President, Inacio Lula da Silva, was overcome, according to the
Tri-City Herald, after visits to Brazil by both senior U.S. officials and Alvaro Uribe, President of Colombia.
Speaking about the 10-year deal, which aims to bolster the fight against drugs traffickers and left-wing insurgents, Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez, who was one of its signatories, along with two of his ministerial colleagues and the U.S. ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield, emphasized that the pact only permits the U.S. military to operate in the territory of his country and not in any of Colombia's neighbors.
Mr Bermudez stated that the pact "respects the principles of equal sovereignty, territorial integrity and nonintervention in the internal affairs of other states".
One of the insurgent groups most active in Colombia, it is quite possibly the most active, is the Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army, most commonly known as FARC. Apart from the Colombian government, the U.S., Canada and the EU all classify FARC, which has involved itself in the drugs trade to raise funds and has often taken people hostage in order to secure payment of a ransom, as a terrorist organization.
Al Jazeera notes that Colombia is the largest global producer of cocaine and that the U.S. has spent $6 billion in the last nine years helping fight against those who produce and traffic the drug. It is also noted that the U.S. had previously based its fight against drug producers and traffickers in Colombia's southern neighbor Ecuador but Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, described as an ally of Hugo Chavez, would not allow the U.S. to expand its operations in his country.
There are currently limits on the number of military personnel, 800, and civilian contractors, 600, from the U.S. who may be present in Colombia at any one time and those limits will not change.
Indeed there will apparently be no "U.S. offensive capacity" in Colombia, fighter jets for example will not be operating in the country, but there will be an expansion of the Paleanquero air force base near Bogota.
One aspect of the deal seen as controversial by some is the continuing diplomatic immunity extended to U.S military personnel, which ensures that they cannot face criminal prosecution in Colombia.
There is still some anger in Colombia, a country with a population close to 45 million, over an incident in 2007 in which two U.S. serviceman, who are no longer in Colombia, were allegedly involved in the sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. A statement issued in August by the U.S. embassy spoke of there being "insufficient evidence to prosecute the two U.S. service members involved", and the embassy referred to that statement when asked about the matter on Friday.
