US, Colombia near base access deal
Frank Bajak, Associated Press Writer – 44 mins ago
BOGOTA – The United States and Colombia are nearing agreement on expanding the U.S. military's presence in this conflict-torn nation, potentially basing hundreds of Americans in a central valley to support 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 U.S. military role in the world's No. 1 cocaine-producing nation could antagonize Colombia's leftist neighbors and draw Washington deeper into Colombia's complicated, long-running conflict with leftist rebels and rightist paramilitaries.
At a public hearing 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 acting Defense Minister Gen. Freddy Padilla. The accord would not authorize the U.S. military to use force in Colombia, and all its activities would have to be approved by the host government, he said.
Most details of the negotiations are secret, but senior Colombian military and civilian officials familiar with negotiations told The Associated Press that the idea is to make Colombia a regional hub for Pentagon operations — though without exceeding a limit of 1,400 U.S. military personnel and contractors set by the U.S. Congress.
Padilla said the deal would initially involve three air bases, principally Palanquero on the Magdalena river 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Bogota. The other two bases are Apiay on Colombia's eastern plains and Malambo on the Caribbean coast, he said.
The senior Colombian officials, who agreed to describe the negotiations only if their identities were not revealed, said the current draft accord also specifies more frequent "visits" by U.S. 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.
Most details of the negotiations are secret, but senior Colombian military and civilian officials familiar with negotiations told The Associated Press that the idea is to make Colombia a regional hub for Pentagon operations — though without exceeding a limit of 1,400 U.S. military personnel and contractors set by the U.S. Congress.
Padilla said the deal would initially involve three air bases, principally Palanquero on the Magdalena river 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Bogota. The other two bases are Apiay on Colombia's eastern plains and Malambo on the Caribbean coast, he said.
The senior Colombian officials, who agreed to describe the negotiations only if their identities were not revealed, said the current draft accord also specifies more frequent "visits" by U.S. 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.
The U.S. interdiction missions that the Palanquero air base would take on — identifying suspect vessels and planes so Coast Guard and Navy ships can intercept them and look for drugs — have been flown out of Manta, Ecuador, on the Pacific Ocean. About 220 Americans shared space at Manta's international airport but were allowed no more than eight planes at a time.
The E-3 AWACs and P-3 Orion surveillance planes based in Manta were credited with about 60 percent of drug interdiction in the eastern Pacific. But the U.S. mission there is shutting down this week because President Rafael Correa refused to renew its lease, calling their presence a violation of Ecuador's sovereignty.
Colombia's Palanquero base had been off-limits to U.S. military operations until April 2008 because of human rights issues: A Colombian military helicopter operating from there killed 17 civilians in a 1998 bombing of a northern town that was initially covered up.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090715/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_colombia_us_bases_3;_ylt=AhYrS61R_yJYVDnJDSz2Bcn8SpZ4
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