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Bases agreement gives US military free rein in Colombia: Chavez
Caracas (AFP) Aug 23, 2009 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday charged that the controversial new US deal to use Colombian military bases means US troops can move anywhere within the South American country. "They are turning all of Colombia into a (US) base," an outraged Chavez said in his television and radio program Alo Presidente. "They cannot keep this a secret; the details are coming out. Gringo miltary staff have been authorized to operate anywhere in Colombia," Chavez charged. The leftist-populist Venezuelan president displayed a document that he said was from the US Air Mobility Command to justify his claims. He said he would bring it to an upcoming meeting of Latin American leaders August 28 in Bariloche, Argentina which has been called to discuss the US military presence in Colombia. He claimed that it reads in part: "The United States requires freedom to act in strategic global areas." Chavez interpreted that to mean that the United States is bent on "taking the Orinoco (River delta) resources area" and muscling into Brazil's Amazon basin area. "I am bringing the document and I am going to listen to the Colombian government's lies," in Argentina, Chavez said. "Colombia is lending its territory for them to come in and install their radars, their drone planes, their equipment, so they can dominate South America and act freely across the continent," Chavez charged. The United States and Colombia reached a preliminary agreement earlier this month giving the US military access to seven Colombian bases. But a formal agreement has not yet been signed. Venezuela and Ecuador, which border Colombia, have been the most vocal opponents of the basing agreement but other Latin American governments have also expressed reservations. The United States maintains that the arrangement with Colombia -- which would replace a single earlier base to which Ecuador denied to extend US access -- is to counter the illegal drug trade and terrorism. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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US bases raises immunity questions in ColombiaBogota (AFP) Aug 19, 2009 A controversial deal allowing the United States to use seven bases in Colombia has triggered a storm of questions in the South American nation over an immunity clause for US personnel. The government in Bogota has defended the agreement to protect US soldiers, pilots and sailors from prosecution for any wrongdoing, saying "immunity does not mean impunity." But critics fear the contrary. ... read more |
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