12/8/2009

The summit meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) held in Quito and the inauguration ceremony of Rafael Correa’s second term as president of Ecuador created the favorable environment for many States to address the dangers of U.S. military presence in the region.

One of the main causes for concern is the negotiations between the U.S. and the Colombian governments for the use of up to seven military bases in the Latin American country by the Pentagon.
The new agreement -- known as "military cooperation" -- will allow up to 800 U.S. military and 600 civilians a the country where they already have access to other facilities with about 500 troops.

This agreement, described as an instrument to reinforce the fight against drug trafficking, is really an extension of the so-called Plan Colombia.

The increased foreign presence in the South American country is explained by Washington’s interest of replacing its access to the military base of Manta located in Ecuador, whose renewal was not signed by President Rafael Correa.

The justifiable concern by countries south of the Rio Grande due to U.S military expansion is supported by an antecedent of the already mentioned project between Washington and Bogota.

On July 1st 2008, gunboats of the U.S. Navy set sail towards the southern part of the Western Hemisphere, grouped in its Fourth Fleet, and without the existence in the region of a conflict or any other reason which would threaten the safety of the United States.

With the old, tired excuses of organizing the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, the Fourth U.S. Navy Fleet reappeared in 2008 after its creation in 1943, in the context of the Second World War, and its subsequent deactivation in 1950.

The restoration of the Fourth Fleet and the plans to increase the military sites available to them in the heart of South America give the United States the military initiative in the sub-continent.
After the defeat of its planned Free Trade Area of the Americas, and the increasing number of governments committed to social justice elected at the polls, Washington decided not to stand idly by.

The proliferation of its military forces in Colombia and throughout the seas of South America are specific plans with the objective of perpetuating the hegemony of the U.S. Empire.
At the same time, some in the U.S. Congress and the Obama administration have refused to repudiate the coup in Honduras. The Pentagon and reactionary forces in Latin America are trying to destroy projects of political and economic independence throughout the region.