Goodbye Manta, hello Palanquero 2
When I wrote the post about the new US-Colombia base deal last week, one of the questions was "How do Colombia's neighbors react?" Well, now we know. The deal has increased tensions between Colombia and several other South American countries.
Venezuelan President Chavez has promised to review ties with Colombia including potential trade ties. Chavez also said he will double the number of tanks in Venezuela as protection. Bolivian President Morales has discussed increasing ALBA's military capabilities as a counter-weight to the US military in the hemisphere. Ecuador and Nicaragua also criticized the deal. Several commentators linked the deal to the Honduras coup, saying (rather absurdly) both were signs that ALBA was under attack by the US military.
At one point, Colombian Foreign Minister Bermudez pointed out Chavez's hypocrisy, saying that Colombia never complained about Venezuela's plans for a Russian military base or military cooperation with China. Bermudez said Venezuela should not involve itself in Colombia's sovereign military cooperation decisions the same way Colombia does not complain about Venezuela's. That statement seemed to simply enrage Chavez more.
On top of the base discussions, Colombia-Ecuador tensions have also increased over the past month due to Ecuador's arrest warrant against former Colombian Defense Minister Santos and the video from FARC leader Mono Jojoy that proves the FARC provided money to someone within Correa's campaign.
Two more questions:
Venezuelan President Chavez has promised to review ties with Colombia including potential trade ties. Chavez also said he will double the number of tanks in Venezuela as protection. Bolivian President Morales has discussed increasing ALBA's military capabilities as a counter-weight to the US military in the hemisphere. Ecuador and Nicaragua also criticized the deal. Several commentators linked the deal to the Honduras coup, saying (rather absurdly) both were signs that ALBA was under attack by the US military.
At one point, Colombian Foreign Minister Bermudez pointed out Chavez's hypocrisy, saying that Colombia never complained about Venezuela's plans for a Russian military base or military cooperation with China. Bermudez said Venezuela should not involve itself in Colombia's sovereign military cooperation decisions the same way Colombia does not complain about Venezuela's. That statement seemed to simply enrage Chavez more.
On top of the base discussions, Colombia-Ecuador tensions have also increased over the past month due to Ecuador's arrest warrant against former Colombian Defense Minister Santos and the video from FARC leader Mono Jojoy that proves the FARC provided money to someone within Correa's campaign.
Two more questions:
- Will this go beyond harsh words and diplomatic disputes to something more serious? Probably not, but it's still worth watching.
- Where is the South American Defense Council and UNASUR on these issues? Both the issue of US operations from Colombian bases and the issue of increased ALBA military cooperation seem to be ripe for debate in the new South American military forum. That organization, along with UNASUR, should be the focal point for these discussions rather than the media and diplomatic back and forth. Yet, Chilean President Bachelet said that UNASUR is not looking at the issues. Why?
Labels: bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, latinamerica, military, security, US-foreign-policy, Venezuela |
