28.05.2020, Bogotá.
U.S. Security Force Assistance Brigade will arrive in Colombia in June this year, and it will be in particular deployed at the Venezuelan border, Telesur informed on May 28 citing a joint communiqué published by the U.S. Embassy to Colombia and the Colombian Ministry of National Defense.
Colombian parliamentarians have declared the arrival of this contingent unconstitutional.
The American military contingent reportedly intends to cooperate with Colombian security forces in the fight against drug trafficking. The document does not indicate the date of arrival or the total number of members of the group.
However, Colombian politicians have informed that the number of United States military personnel in the brigade is about 800.
This was stated by Senator Antonio Sanguino, who recalled that “a cooperation agreement cannot violate the constitutional principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.“
Other politicians question the justification of the U.S. military presence in the country. According to Senator Iván Cepeda, “if the government wanted to fight against drug trafficking and counter the systematic killing of public leaders, it would cleanse the army of corrupt officers… Instead, it prefers to assist open interference of the U.S. military.”
Moreover, former senator and human rights activist Piedad Córdoba wrote on Twitter that “it would be nice if the U.S. started with a drug case that funded the presidential campaign,” referring to a case linking Colombian President Ivan Dooké to drug dealer Jose Guillermo Hernández Aponte.
Former candidate for mayor of Bogota and Human Rights Commissioner Hollman Morris warned of the provocation that the deployment of the U.S. military at the border with Venezuela would represent.
“Attention: one of the future zones where U.S. Special Forces will operate will be El Catatumbo and Arauca, two zones bordering Venezuela. This can certainly be considered a provocation by a neighbouring country,” Morris said.
The Colombian public is also concerned that the U.S. military presence in this South American country is linked to other criminal acts, such as the rape of minors and women.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
