BOGOTA, (Reuters) – A plan to give the United States formal access to Colombian military bases has been in limbo since a court suspended the pact in August, helping lower tensions with socialist-run Venezuela next door.
The setback to the agreement dents the Pentagon’s “forward basing” strategy to extend its global military reach without stationing large numbers of troops overseas.
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, Washington’s fiercest critic in Latin America, called the Constitutional Court decision a “relief” for the region.
Even so, the United States already has access to the seven bases that would have been included in the pact and officials in both Washington and Bogota say the ruling does not affect ongoing U.S. operations or bilateral ties.
Colombia may try again to revive the deal, but for now the new government of President Juan Manuel Santos appears to have welcomed the cooling down of debate over the treaty, which was met with anger by South American governments last
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE DEAL COLLAPSES?
The treaty was criticized throughout the region as left-leaning leaders said it raised the shadow of U.S. military intervention in South America. Venezuela’s Chavez, who described the base deal as a threat to his government and to regional security, welcomed the court’s decision.
Colombian and U.S. officials now say the pact was never that important and would have just meant U.S. personnel involved in anti-drug efforts had to fill out less paperwork to operate in the Andean country.
However, a $43 million expansion of Colombia’s Palanquero air base to extend the U.S. air force’s reach throughout South America was contingent on the agreement being implemented.
In its request to the U.S. Congress for funding, the U.S. Air Force said failure to upgrade the airport would “severely limit the ability of (the United States Southern Command) to support the U.S. Global Defense Posture.”
Ecuador last year refused to renew a lease allowing Washington to use the Manta air base for drugs surveillance operations. U.S. officials have said the Colombian agreement was not meant to compensate for the loss of Manta.
Whether or not a new deal goes through, Colombia is likely to keep close ties to Washington though U.S. military aid to Colombia will slow as the decade-old, $6 billion Plan Colombia winds down following successes in weakening the Marxist FARC rebels and other armed groups linked to the narcotics trade.
WILL THE DEAL BE REVIVED?
A first attempt to push through the deal under previous president Alvaro Uribe was suspended by the Constitutional Court because Colombia’s Congress had not voted on it.
Some members of Congress say the new president, Santos, has decided not to revive the project, although he has not announced that publicly.
Officially, the government says it is studying whether to revisit the proposal. Some analysts believe the government might shelve it as Colombia seeks to change its relationship with Washington from one mainly focused on fighting drugs and guerrillas.
Bogota has said it wants a new relationship with Washington more focused on matters like commerce. A free trade deal between the two countries has been held up in the U.S. Congress by concerns over violence against labor leaders but experts say the military base deal is not a factor in that debate.
Following the strain that was put on regional ties when neighbors Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil criticized the accord, Santos appears to have welcomed the goodwill created by the treaty being blocked.
Santos is known as a technocrat whose style is quite different from that of Uribe, his fiery predecessor. Santos is likely to make sure the treaty is carefully reviewed before deciding whether to present it to Congress. No time frame has been set.
Although Chavez said at a recent summit with Santos that the deal was a sovereign issue for Colombia, its revival would likely increase friction between the Andean countries.
For now ties are warming between Colombia and its neighbors. Bogota and Caracas hold frequent meetings in an effort to restart bilateral trade and deepen diplomatic ties. Colombia is also improving relations with Ecuador after a 2008 raid on FARC guerrillas hiding out across the border.
Leftist Ecuadorean leader Rafael Correa labeled the bombing raid a “massacre” and cut bi-lateral diplomatic ties.
WHAT DID THE DEAL INVOLVE?
For a decade, the United States has stationed hundreds of soldiers and contractors in Colombia as part of the Plan Colombia mission against drug gangs and guerrillas.
Washington and Bogota said the new pact was only meant to formalize and streamline the U.S. anti-narcotics presence. But regional leaders balked, in part at a U.S. military document (http://link.reuters.com/xuv74q) that said Colombian air base Palanquero could be used to launch “full spectrum operations throughout South America” and cited the threat of “anti-U.S. governments.”
The U.S. military in Colombia is involved mainly in training, logistical support and intelligence backup for the Colombian armed forces as they fight cocaine traffickers and FARC guerrillas. U.S. law caps American staff in Colombia at 800 military and 600 civilian contractors, but officials say the actual number of U.S. personnel has not come close to those limits for some time.
The agreement, first signed in October 2009, would not have changed the personnel caps. The pact concentrated on anti-drug surveillance flights and other high-tech efforts at cracking down on traffickers and rebels.
It was met with howls from leftist leaders in the region such as Venezuela’s Chavez, who said it might set the stage for the invasion of his oil-rich country.
The accord was also criticized in Colombia for granting U.S. troops and contractors immunity from criminal prosecution in the country.
