Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has said almost nothing in public about his meetings with South American presidents this week in response to fears that the US military could become too powerful on the continent if given long-term leases on Colombian bases.
Halfway through his trip, Uribe won solid support in Peru, and Chile’s president called the US bases deal an internal matter for Colombia only days after she said the whole region had legitimate concerns.
But Bolivian President Evo Morales blasted the US plans on Wednesday, while Uribe had very little to say during his stop in Argentina.
Still on the agenda for Uribe were meetings with leftist presidents in Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil — the latter where the US national security adviser, Jim Jones, acknowledged the deal could have been explained better to the region’s leaders.
US officials haven’t released details, but Colombians have said US forces would have access to at least seven Colombian bases.
They say there would be no more than 1,400 US personnel in the country helping support Colombia’s fight against drug trafficking and leftist rebels.
In Chile, Uribe had a warm reception from President Michelle Bachelet, who called the base deal a matter of Colombia’s national sovereignty.
In Argentina, he met President Cristina Fernandez. Speaking to reporters for just 33 seconds, he left without taking questions.
He did not offer any comments after meeting Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo hours later.
Last week, Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva declared that he did not like the idea of the US military having bases in Colombia, and Bachelet said the Colombian decision had made all the region uneasy.
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