South American presidents debate US-Colombia military deal

South American presidents are meeting in Argentina to debate a controversial military agreement between Colombia and the United States.

The agreement would allow the US armed forces to use at least seven military bases on Colombian soil.  Colombia and the State Department say US forces will use the bases to conduct anti-drug trafficking operations.

But some South American presidents say the bases could be used to spy on Colombia´s neighbors or to launch attacks against regimes that are unfavorable to US policies. Venezuela´s President Chavez once again expressed his fears about the deal, quoting a document from the US Military´s Air Mobility Command.

“Recently the US Southern Command has taken interest in using a location of the South American continent, that could be used for anti-drug trafficking operations or for mobility operations.   The US Southern Command has identified the Palanquero air force base in Colombia, as a cooperation security location.  Provided there is adequate fuel supplies a CS-17 plane should cover the whole continent from this location, except for the southern tip of Chile and Argentina.”

But not all agreed with Chavez. Peruvian President Alan Garcia said this document wasn't sufficient proof the US planned to launch attacks from Colombian locations. Colombia´s President, Alvaro Uribe, showed his colleagues pictures of victims of the FARC guerrillas, who finance their activities with drug trafficking.  In an emotional tone, Uribe said South American countries should show more solidarity with Colombia in its fight against drug traffickers and guerrilla groups.

“We´re talking about fighting a threat that has caused much blood shed in Colombian society. This is not simply a theoretical debate on sovereignty or judicial rights.  Europe, Canada and the US have declared these are terrorist groups and it makes us very uneasy to see that Latin American countries have not done the same.”

The US-Colombia military agreement comes as several South American nations are increasing arms purchases and reaching military agreements with foreign powers like Russia and the EU.