With Opposition to U.S. Militarism in Latin America on the Rise, Colombian and Venezuelan Govs Clash

On July 15 the Colombian government held a press conference toannounce its possession of evidence that the Venezuelan government is harboring Colombian guerrillas, including high-ranking leaders, on Venezuela’s side of the border. The following week Colombia’s Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Alfonso Hoyos,presented to that regional body high-resolution graphics of more than 80 camps said to be housing nearly1500 guerrillas. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez responded immediately by severing diplomatic relations and putting Venezuela’s armed forces on high alert. Over Venezuelan 20,000 troops arenow stationed on the two nations’ 1250-mile border. 

Before the Colombian government’s announcement it had looked as though the previously tense relations between the two countries had been warming. President-elect Juan Manual Santos invited Chavez to his inauguration, while Chavez had approved a meeting between Venezuela’s foreign minister and Santos’ minister-designate.

For Chavez, though, this crisis isn’t just about Colombia; it is also the latest example of the power of U.S. influence in Colombia. On Mondayhe said he considers an armed attack from Colombia “probable” and accused the U.S. government of pushing for such an attack, calling the U.S. “the great instigator.” Undeterred by the fact that the U.S. is the biggest consumer of Venezuelan oil, Chavezpledged to cut off shipments of oil to the U.S. if such an attack occurs, “even if everybody over here has to eat stones.”

The State Department quickly denied intentions of any attack on Venezuela, calling Chavez’s response “petulant.” A State Department officialassured that " the United States has no intention of engaging in military action against Venezuela.” Chavez was not convinced, however,saying, “a while back Colombia handed over its sovereignty to the Unites States,” which is “expert at inventing any old excuse to invade nations.”

In referencing Colombia’s handover of sovereignty, Chavez is clearly alluding to the U.S.-Colombia agreement, signed in October of last year, allowing the U.S. use of seven Colombian air and military bases. While Chavez may be the most outspoken critic of the plan, he is far from the only one. When the agreement was initially signed, opposition quickly mounted from unions, opposition political parties, human rights groups, and regional governments. A primary concern of all opposed was the agreement’s fueling of regional tensions, especially after a Pentagon budget document unearthed by the agreement’s opponents described the U.S. presence at the Palanquero air base as an “opportunity for conducting full spectrum operations throughout South America,” and discussed the possibility of using the base to confront the "threat" of what it called "anti-U.S. governments."

Concerns continue to grow about the bases and U.S. military presence in the region; now even Colombia’s Constitutional Court has expressed reservations. Though when signing the agreement President Uribe tried to circumvent Colombia’s Congress, claiming it was merely an extension of a previous agreement and not a new treaty subject to Congressional oversight, a review by the Constitutional Court may soon result in the bases agreement being declared unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, the agreement continues to rattle nerves both inside and out of Colombia. Colombian civil society continues to organize against the bases agreement, most notably through the newColombia No Bases Coalition, a collection of more than 150 Colombian and U.S. organizations opposed to the agreement. That coalition joins with the newContinental Campaign against Foreign Military Bases, made up of more than 75 international and national groups. Modeled after theContinental Campaign against the Free Trade Area of the Americas that successfully derailed the US government's plans for a region-wide free trade agreement, the campaign seeks the removal of U.S. and other foreign bases from Latin America and the Caribbean. The statement issued at the launch of the campaign called the intensification of US military presence "a clear attack against peace, security and sovereignty of all countries in the region."