Robert Gates To Attend Defense Ministers Meeting In Bolivia

[Judi Lynn]

Published: Nov 18, 2010
Robert Gates To Attend Defense Ministers Meeting In Bolivia
by Staff

Defense Secretary Robert Gates attends a defense ministers meeting on Sunday that will bring him face-to-face with his counterparts from Venezuela and Bolivia, two countries often critical of U.S. policy.

But Gates is not expecting fireworks at the meeting of American defense ministers in Bolivia, a U.S. official said, even though the group is working on an agreement to promote transparency in arms sales at a time when some are concerned about an arms race in Latin America.

"We're not expecting strong speeches," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I think we're expecting a positive constructive dialogue like all the other conferences have been."

Gates travels to Chile on Friday for bilateral talks aimed at promoting deeper cooperation between the U.S. and Chilean militaries, especially on improving the military response to disasters like the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile in February.

More:
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_212333648.shtml?ref=rss

[Judi Lynn]

1. Maybe while Secretary Gates is there, he can clear up why the US took Bolivia's missiles.

US Denies Removal of Bolivian Missiles Was Secret
By David Gollust
Washington
23 December 2005

The United States denied Thursday that it removed anti-aircraft missiles from Bolivia without the knowledge of top officials in La Paz. The State Department says the operation was at the request of Bolivian authorities and in line with an Organization of American States resolution.

Officials here acknowledge that the United States removed a small number of MANPADS, man-portable air defense system, from Bolivia earlier this year as part of a broader effort to keep the shoulder launch missiles out of the hands of terrorists.

But they are denying charges from Bolivia, which figured in that country's presidential election
campaign, that the operation was conducted without the knowledge of senior Bolivian officials.

Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales, the victor in last Sunday's election, has alleged that the 28 Chinese-made missiles were spirited out of the country in June in an operation he described as international intervention.

More:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2005/12/mil-051223-voa01.htm

~~~~~

In October 2005, presidential candidate Morales denounced the
deactivation or destruction by the U.S. military of an undetermined
quantity (press sources estimate between nineteen and 31) of
Chinese-made surface-to-air missiles of the Bolivian armed
forces after they were removed from the country. While these
allegations were denied at first by the military command, the
army’s head, General Marcelo Antezana, admitted (and then
denied) deactivation of the missiles out of concern for Morales’
possible election. On 9 March 2006, former President Eduardo
Rodríguez, former Defence Minister Gonzalo Méndez and
former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Marco
Antonio Justiniano were formally accused of high treason after
an investigation by the attorney general’s office. La Razón, 10
March 2006.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/latin-america/boliva/18_bolivia_s_rocky_road_to_reforms.ashx

~~~~~

Bolivia hands over its missiles to the United States
Evo Morales, “cocalero” and MAS (Movement towards Socialism) leader, and presidential candidate for elections in Bolivia scheduled for December 18, recently stated that 28 MHN-5 surface-to-air missiles made in China had disappeared. The missiles were in Bolivian arsenals and handed over to the United States for “deactivation”.

Morales indicated he was planning to file a lawsuit against the current acting president Eduardo Rodríguez and his minister of defense Gonzalo Méndez Gutiérrez, for “betraying the homeland” (a popular uprising to overthrow the former president Carlos Mesa from power in June 2005). In order to justify why the Chinese missiles were sent to the United States, the Bolivian authorities mentioned that such equipment was obsolete, and their handling was dangerous. It seems, though, that they had been acquired in China in the early 90’s and were in perfect condition.

Furthermore, they were the only missiles that the Bolivian army had, and whose lack of ordnance is chronic. In that case, why giving those weapons away?

Used to different forms of interference in Latin America, in 2004, the United States had already tried unsuccessfully to convince the former president Carlos Mesa to hand over such armaments, said the former Foreign Minister Juan Ignacio Siles. The imminent presidential decision and fear over Evo Morales’ victory are obviously the factors that precipitated the events.

More:
http://www.voltairenet.org/article133814.html