What It Is Like To Fight The Drug War In Colombia

The U.S. is looking for Luis Albeiro Peña-Peña,
although he has reportedly been killed. IC

Identity revealed, life of U.S. agent spared in Colombia -- Miami Herald

A U.S. Immigration and Customs agent escaped a harrowing kidnapping saga in Colombia after his identity was revealed.

Luis Angel Ortiz was being driven to a party in Medellín when the car came to a halt and a man in the back seat put a gun to his head.

Time to pay up, Ortiz was told.

The threat came from the chief of a Medellín drug trafficking gang.

So began a 48-hour drama in Colombia that kept Ortiz -- a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who had infiltrated the gang -- teetering on the edge of death.

But Ortiz escaped execution when his captors discovered that he was an American antidrug agent.

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My Comment: A lot in this story seems to be too good to be true .... but even if 50% is correct, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent working in Colombia must be one of the most difficult (and dangerous) jobs around.

US, Colombia Sign Pact To Expand US Use Of Bases

Colombia And US Sign Controversial Military Pact -- Colombia Reports

Colombia and the United States on Friday signed a military pact that allows the U.S. to use seven military bases in the Andean country. The treaty will now be sent to U.S. Congress for ratification. Colombia's Congress will not have the possibility to ammend the pact.

The pact is controversial as neighboring countries like Venezuela and Ecuador consider an increase of U.S. military influence in the reion a threat to their countries' sovereignty.

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More News On The Signing Of The U.S. - Colombian Base Agreement

US, Colombia sign pact to expand US use of bases -- AP
Colombia grants US access to military bases -- AFP
Colombia and US sign bases deal -- BBC
Colombia agrees deal to step up US military presence -- The Guardian
U.S., Colombia Sign Military Bases Agreement -- TRR News
Colombia Signs Accord With U.S. for Military Bases -- Bloomberg

U.S.-Colombia Pact Causes Stir Among Neighbors

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez speaks at the UNASUR summit as his Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro looks on in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, Friday, Aug. 28, 2009. Miraflores Press Office / AP

From Time Magazine:

If there is, or should be, one rule of U.S. Latin America policy today, it is this: Don't give Hugo Chávez a freebie. Avoid handing the leftist Venezuelan President a reason to sound an alarm against yanqui aggression in the western hemisphere. Chavez's reputation in Washington may be that of an oil-rich populist demagogue whose default political strategy is gratuitous anti-Americanism. But his rants often strike a chord with his more moderate counterparts in Latin America, whose decibel levels are lower but whose anxieties about U.S. designs in their region are still high.

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My Comment: My prediction .... this issue will be dead by next month. When the U.S. had similar agreements with Ecuador and Bolivia there was never any opposition or media coverage. There is one now because of Venezuela's Chavez temperament and character. Next month there will be another issue or event that will divert his attention.

U.S. - Colombian Base Agreement To Be Discussed At Summit

US Use Of Colombian Bases To Stir Row At Summit -- AFP

SAO PAULO — A summit of South American presidents to be held on Friday is in danger of sliding into an acriminous row over the US military's plan to use bases in Colombia.

The lead-up to the meeting, in Argentina's ski resort town of Bariloche, has been marked by sharp exchanges between Colombia and the main critic of the plan, Venezuela, with the rest of the region and the United States adding their voices.

At the center of the storm are seven bases the United States is on the verge of signing an access deal over with the Colombian government.

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More News On The Fallout From The Colombian - U.S. Base Agreement

US-Colombia deal a pretext for military spending -- AP
Chavez Warns of Impending Rupture with Colombia -- Latin American Herald Tribune
Uproar In South America Over U.S. Base Deal -- NPR
Chavez 'regrets' tensions with Colombia -- Colombia Reports
Colombian senator tells Chavez: 'Open Your Eyes!' -- Reuters

South American Governments Unhappy With U.S./Colombian Anti-Narcotics Ops

Presidents Álvaro Uribe of Colombia, left, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil met for more than two hours this week. Eraldo Peres/Associated Press

Colombia Under Fire From Neighbors Over US ‘Military Aggression’ -- Times Online

It is the cocaine deal that threatens to divide a continent. President Uribe of Colombia has brought stability to his country by crushing the Farc guerrilla movement, but much of his drug eradication effort has been a failure.

The Latin American leader has now asked Washington to step in, inviting US forces into Colombian military bases to run operations against the country’s still-thriving narcotics industry.

He is to sign a plan with the United States allowing it to use seven Colombian military bases to counter trafficking and the paramilitary activity it finances. The deal suits Washington, which wants to use Colombia, one of its few remaining allies in Latin America, as a regional operations hub.

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More News On Colombia's Decision To Permit U.S. Anti-Narcotics Agents In Their Country

Colombia President, on South America Tour, Defends U.S. Military Role -- New York Times
U.S. Plan Raises Ire in Latin America -- Washington Post
Obama denies US creating military bases in Colombia -- Reuters
Chávez rages at US plan to boost antidrug ops in Colombia -- Christian Science Monitor
Bolivia in Colombia betrayal jibe -- BBC
US bases shock Latin America -- The Age

Is There A U.S.Military Buildup In Colombia?

Colombia Tries To Calm Regional Nerves On U.S. Army -- Reuters

LIMA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Colombia's president tried to rally support on Tuesday for putting more U.S. troops in his country to combat drug-running guerrillas, though regional leftist leaders fear his plan could hurt stability in South America.

Alvaro Uribe, Washington's main ally in the region, is working to reach a deal this month with the United States to let it relocate its drug interdiction flight operations to Colombia after it was kicked out of neighboring Ecuador.

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Update #1: US official vows 'good explanation' for Colombia bases -- AFP

Update #2: Brazil sees no threat from U.S. military bases in Colombia -- China View

My Comment: Everyone is expressing concern over a few hundred U.S. soldiers scattered around at a few Colombian military bases.

While everyone is focused on this non-story .... the following big story is ignored .... Russia, Venezuela discuss nuclear research reactor plans.

U.S. And Colombian Military Cooperation Now Extends To Afghanistan

Colombian special forces soldiers rappel during a demonstration for visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates (not pictured) Oct. 3, 2007, at the Tolemaida military base in Colombia. Mauricio Duenas/Getty Images

Colombia To Aid U.S. In Fight Against Taliban -- CBS

COLOMBIA (CBS) ― U.S. forces are about to get some much-needed help as they fight the Taliban in Afghanistan, CBS News reports. U.S.-trained Colombian commandos could join U.S. troops in Afghanistan as soon as August, according to Gen. Freddy Padilla de Leon, Colombia's top military man.

"We don't have secrets -- we are a very open book," Padilla said of the relationship between Colombia and U.S. Special Forces.

Ten years ago, a group of leftist guerillas knows as the FARC ruled the country via a pernicious drug trade. The U.S. Green Berets worked to turn Colombia's best soldiers into an organized special operations force with the goal of fighting the FARC and the drug war.

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My Comment: On the one hand this is a surprising move. There are no interests for Colombia in Afghanistan ... none. But on the other hand this illustrates the close political/military relationship that has been forming between the two countries for the past few years. Colombia is helping an ally .... which in this context becomes understandable.

On the Latin American scene, this is going to be a shock for some of the countries in this region. How this will play will be amusing to watch.

Colombia Backs Plan For Increased U.S. Military Aid

From Reuters:

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Monday defended a plan, criticized by regional leftist leaders, to allow more U.S. troops in the country, saying that aid from Washington is helping Colombia beat Marxist rebels.

Uribe is negotiating a deal with the United States to increase anti-narcotics operations in the country. The talks follow Ecuador's decision to end a program in which Washington used an air base there for anti-drug flights.

"The plan is to strengthen Colombian military bases, not to open American bases in Colombia," Uribe said. "The accord is meant to help Colombians regain their right to live in peace."

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More News On U.S./Colombian Military Cooperation

US switches cocaine air bases to Columbia -- Sydney Morning Herald
U.S. Close to Deal With Colombia on Base Access -- New York Times
Colombia-US air base deal 'close' -- BBC
U.S., Colombia work on deal for air bases -- L.A. Times
Chavez to 'revise' ties with Colombia -- AFP
Chavez Puts Ties With Colombia Under Review Over U.S. Base Deal -- Bloomberg
Colombia should welcome the US base deal -- Colombia Reports
US also interested in navy bases in Colombia -- Colombia Reports

Washington, Colombia Near Deal On Base Access

From AP:

BOGOTA (AP) — The United States and Colombia are nearing agreement on expanding the U.S. 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 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 involving leftist rebels and right-wing paramilitaries.

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.

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My Comment: This is a drastic change in U.S. policy in South America. It will definitely put the U.S. in the middle of Colombia's war against FARC, and it will definitely make Colombia's leftist neighbors like Ecuador and Venezuela very nervous.