Colombia, July 16: The United States and Colombia are nearing agreement on expanding the US military’s presence in this conflict-torn nation, likely basing several hundred Americans in a central valley in support of Air Force drug interdiction missions.
Both sides say they hope a fifth round of talks slated for later this month in Bogota will seal a 10-year lease deal.
Opponents worry a broadened US military role in the world’s No 1 cocaine-producing nation could antagonise Colombia’s leftist neighbours and draw Washington deeper into Colombia’s complicated, long-running conflict involving leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries.
Most details of the negotiations are secret, but senior Colombian military and civilian officials familiar with negotiations said that the idea is to make Colombia a regional hub for Pentagon operations.
At a public hearing on Wednesday called after criticism of secrecy surrounding the talks, three Colombian ministers defended the pending accord as vital in the fight against drug trafficking and “terrorism”.
“We’re not ceding even a piece of territory,” said the acting defence minister, Gen Freddy Padilla.
The accord would not authorise the US military to use force in Colombia, and all its activities would have to be approved by the host government, he said. He added that the limit on 1,400 US military personnel and contractors set by the US Congress would not be exceeded.
Padilla said the deal would initially involve three air bases, principally Palanquero on the Magdalena river 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Bogota. The other two bases are Apiay on Colombia’s eastern plains and Alberto Pouwels on the Caribbean coast.
The senior Colombian officials, who agreed to describe the negotiations only if their identities were not revealed, said the draft accord also specifies more frequent “visits” by US warships to two naval bases, at Malaga Bay on the Pacific and Cartagena on the Caribbean. Colombia could also get preferential treatment in arms and aircraft purchases.
–Agencies