Task Force on Latin America and the Caribbean

I haven't been looking at the photos about Haiti. I haven't been reading the news or listening to the radio for hours, either. Maybe I get enough death from Colombia in my inbox every day. Maybe I question what good listening to those stories will do, as I sit and work from my kitchen table in rainy Oakland. Maybe my body and heart know that I don't need to see the photos of people mobbing a plane arriving with water, to understand that the devastation is huge.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent public statements that the impact of the proposed use of Colombian military bases by U.S. armed forces will be limited has done little to assuage tensions in the Latin America about the deal. Yesterday, in a meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Latin America presidents from across the continent assailed Colombian President Alvaro Uribé and the U.S. for the deal being negotiated. Lead stories in today's Washington Post, BBC News, Time, and the Huffington Post are among the dozens of international media stories on the situation this weekend.

[Ed. Note: This information was to have been posted two days ago; sorry for the delay.] The sign-on letter from 100+ U.S. organizations and national leaders to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was cited on Wednesday morning on "Democracy Now!" with Amy Goodman. The story, which has been gaining increasing attention in the international media, said:

Clinton Defends US-Colombia Base Deal

Clinton spoke after a meeting with Colombian officials on a plan to
expand the US military presence inside Colombia. Colombia has agreed to
grant US forces the use of three military bases for anti-drug
operations while also allowing hundreds of troops and private military
contractors inside its borders. On Tuesday, Clinton addressed Latin
American opposition to the base plans.

This morning, award-winning independent journalist Amy Goodman interviewed FOR's John Lindsay-Poland, co-director of our Latin America & the Caribbean program, live on "Democracy Now!"  If you missed the live program, you can still listen and/or watch the program on the internet "on demand" at www.democracynow.org -- the nine-minute interview appears in the last quarter-hour of the program.

Here's the "teaser" that the DN! producers have placed on their website to promote the segment:

July 16, 2009: Oakland, CA: In a stunning development, the United States is negotiating for the use of five military facilities in Colombia in an agreement whose objectives include “filling the gaps left by the eventual cutting of [military] aid in Plan Colombia,” according to sources in Washington and Bogotá cited by an explosive article published in this week’s Cambio magazine.

The five bases, which replace a U.S. base in Manta, Ecuador, closing in September, would expand the U.S. military mission to include counter-narcotic operations, involvement in Colombia’s counterinsurgency war, and combating “other international crimes,” according to Colombia’s Foreign Minister.

Earlier today, the Fellowship of Reconciliation reported on negotiations between the Obama administration and Colombia President Alvaro Uribe's administration toward as many as five U.S. military bases in Colombia. This stunning proposal was confirmed later today in an Associated Press story authored by journalist Frank Bajak (The map at left locates Colombian military bases that may soon share space with U.S. military forces):

• U.S. Military Sites Set to Replace Plan Colombia
• Letter from the Field: The View from San José
• "Restrict or Neutralize": Offensive Intelligence Unveiled
• Uribe Left Washington Chastened
• U.S.-Funded Death Squad-Tied Unit
• News Briefs: Afghan Lesson; New Colombia Resource

U.S. Military Sites Set to Replace Plan Colombia

By John Lindsay-Poland

The United States is negotiating for the use of five military
facilities in Colombia, in an agreement whose objectives include
"filling the gaps left by the eventual cutting of [military] aid in
Plan Colombia," according to sources in Washington and Bogotá cited by an explosive article published July 1 in the weekly Cambio magazine.

A military coup took place in Honduras on Sunday, June 28, led by School of the Americas (SOA) graduate Romeo Vasquez. In the early hours of the day, members of the Honduran military surrounded the presidential palace and forced the democratically elected president, Manuel Zelaya, into custody. He was immediately flown to Costa Rica.

A national vote had been scheduled to take place today in Honduras to consult the electorate on a proposal of holding a Constitutional Assembly in November.  General Vasquez had refused to comply with this vote and was deposed by the president, only to later be reinstated by the Congress and Supreme Court.

Oakland, CA - For Immediate Release: The United States is planning to establish a new military facility in Colombia that will give the U.S. increased capacity for military intervention throughout most of Latin America. Given the tense relations of Washington with Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, as well as the Colombian military’s atrocious human rights record, the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) believes the plan should be subjected to vigorous debate.

“This base would feed a failed drug policy, support an abusive army, and reinforce a tragic history of U.S. military intervention in the region,” said John Lindsay-Poland, Latin America Program Co-director for FOR. “It’s wrong and wasteful, and Congress should scrap it.”

We started our march with a bit of sage, drums and a blessing to the four directions. There were 60 of us gathered on the sidewalks of San Francisco standing in the midst of the city bustle while Luis, a local Colombian, gave instructions to turn and face in each of the four directions.