Bloggings by boz

Last week Paraguay canceled a military cooperation agreement that would have governed its participation in the New Horizons military exercises next year.

New Horizons is a Southcom-sponsored program that sends several hundred troops abroad for several months. They train with local militaries and do infrastructure development and medical work in rural areas. They are currently ongoing in Guyana.

President Lugo said that it was an "inconvenient moment" for the exercises and he didn't feel comfortable having hundreds of foreign troops in his country next year. The implication is that this is a repercussion from the ongoing controversy over the new US-Colombia security agreement, which has been criticized in South America.

The president along with Paraguay's foreign minister and head of the military have gone out of their way to stress that this cancellation should not be read as a full rejection of cooperation with the US and said it will not set a precedent for future decisions. However, Lugo is indicating that he wants less military-led cooperation.

The news has shown new cracks in the government. The legislature passed a resolution questioning Lugo's decision and Vice President Federico Franco publicly disagreed with Lugo's decision, saying the country should not turn down projects that would have helped rural areas.