The Consolidation of U.S. Military Presence in Colombia and Those Who Are Apprehensive Over it

The ongoing negotiation between the United States and Colombia, which strengthened military cooperation by granting U.S. military personnel and civil contractors access to seven Colombian military bases, has generated contentious internal and regional debates. Throughout the hemisphere, many questions remain regarding the real motivations, benefits, and above all, the significance of the U.S.-Colombian deal. These questions have been fueled by the secrecy surrounding the negotiations and their details. What many agree on is that the pending military agreement is more than a mere fight against drug-trafficking and terrorism. With the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA), Colombian President Álvaro Uribe will be able to secure significant resources for his controversial Democratic Security strategy and for his already successful battle against insurgents and drug trafficking.

Moreover, the new arrangement serves as a further boost to Uribe’s image as Washington’s most reliable U.S. ally in the Americas. Now he also can turn his hopes to advancing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is currently blocked in the U.S. Congress, which soon may be lifted now that the Obama administration is preparing the way for this to occur. Growing political isolation from the rest of Latin America is the high price that Bogotá apparently is willing to pay. The U.S. stands to institutionalize strategic geopolitical and economic ties with Colombia even as the rest of the region grows increasingly autonomous from U.S. influence.

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