Paraguay, the Pentagon's new beachhead
news analysis:
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paraguay, the pentagon's new beachhead
something funny -- and we don't mean comical -- is happening in paraguay. on aug. 16, u.s. secretary of defense donald rumsfeld arrived in asunción to meet with president nicanor duarte frutos and defense minister roberto gonzález segovia on what the department of defense described as "problems ranging from hostage-taking and drug-trafficking to gangs and corruption." the u.s. embassy in asunción added "domestic health issues" to that list.
but are those local problems truly the domain of the pentagon, which (let's not forget) commands the world's mightiest military machine? wouldn't it have been more appropriate to send experts from the drug enforcement administration, the department of health, and the federal bureau of investigation to counsel the paraguayans on how to deal with hostage-taking, drug-trafficking, gangs, corruption and health care?
how effective could the u.s. army be against corrupt paraguayan officials? how could the u.s. navy deal with hostage-takers? can the u.s. air force solve the problem of street gangs in asunción? are the u.s. marines experts in combating drug traffic or dysentery?
no, something else was in the minds of the conferees and none of it was told to the public. the true purpose of rumsfeld's trip was to establish a major u.s. military presence in the heart of south america.
war games with immunity
consider the background. on may 5 of this year, washington and asunción agreed to hold joint military exercises in paraguay from july 1, 2005 to dec. 1, 2006, an 18-month period that could be extended indefinitely. the site selected was the department of boquerón, in the largely uninhabited chaco region of northwestern paraguay.
three weeks later, on may 26, the paraguayan congress granted the participating u.s. troops legal immunity from prosecution for any crimes against civilians they may commit while in paraguay, including, but not limited to, destruction of property, [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord123][CodeWord123][/url], torture, and homicide. the decision to grant carte blanche to the american visitors was made by the legislators behind closed doors, without debate or publicity.
on june 10, paraguayan vice president luis castiglioni was summoned to washington to meet privately with rumsfeld, then-assistant secretary of state roger noriega, and vice president dick cheney. presumably, castiglioni was given further instructions to pass on to president duarte.
and on july 1, the first 500 u.s. soldiers -- led by seven officers -- arrived in paraguay with planes, weapons, equipment and ammunition. the contingent is the first of at least 13 u.s. units that will operate in paraguay until the military pact expires next year.
the base that isn't
the bolivian newspaper el deber recently reported that a major u.s. installation with lodging for up to 16,000 troops is being built at the mariscal estigarribia air strip, 120 miles south of the border with bolivia. the air strip was built in 2000 with u.s. assistance and reportedly can accommodate b-52 bombers and galaxy c5-a cargo and troop-carrier planes, two of the world's largest aircrafts.
the buildup comes despite u.s. embassy assurances that the u.s. has "absolutely no intention of establishing a military base anywhere in paraguay" and that the pentagon "has no intention to station soldiers for a lengthy period in paraguay."
not surprisingly, paraguay's neighbors argentina, brazil and bolivia are questioning the project, fearing it may go beyond the war on drugs, corruption and disease. those countries are within easy range of boquerón, if an air attack or land invasion is launched from paraguay. in a show of concern, brazil in late july staged military maneuvers along its border with paraguay to make sure it could deal with an incursion from that sector.
bolivia's preoccupation is particularly intense, because that country has large fields of oil and natural gas; the provinces of santa cruz and tarija are home to the second largest gas reserves in south america. further, a presidential election dec. 4 will pit proponents of both the nationalization and the privatization of those energy sources.
bolivian industrialists intent on privatizing and exporting the country’s gas have begun a campaign in those provinces for a secessionist referendum. if the region votes to become independent, the gas most likely will be privatized; massive demonstrations are sure to follow. and if civil unrest erupts, the pentagon will be in a strategic position to intervene from its base in paraguay, ostensibly to protect the interests of u.s. energy corporations.
military springboards
the united states has always maintained a military presence in latin america, of course. right now, it has four permanent bases in the region, which it euphemistically calls cooperative security locations: guantánamo bay, cuba; aruba, curaçao; comalapa, el salvador; and manta, ecuador. boquerón, paraguay, could be its fifth.
it is instructive to recall how the manta base came into existence, in 1999. at first, the pentagon presented it as a "dirt strip," a facility devoted solely to anti-drug operations and weather monitoring. the base would operate only during daytime, the pentagon said, and would not be a permanent home for u.s. troops. later, the pentagon "clarified" its original statement and announced manta would serve as a major u.s. military base entrusted with various security-related missions.
so far, more than $80 million has been invested in manta, which has become one of the best-equipped airports in latin america. the base reportedly played a liaison role in the 2002 coup against venezuelan president hugo chávez.
top beneficiary: the army
that kind of money and technical aid will be welcome by the paraguayan armed forces, which consist of 7,000 soldiers, 1,200 airmen and (oddly, for a land-locked nation) 2,000 sailors.
paraguayan army col. hugo mendoza, director of the defense ministry's military museum, told reporters traveling with rumsfeld that he's thankful for the pentagon's technical assistance. "we're learning new things and working with new equipment and latest technology that we would not be able to afford otherwise," he said. "we have well-trained people in the armed forces who are very competent. but we don't have the modern weaponry and training we would like."
well, the bolivians are not interested in becoming the targets of such modern weaponry and latest technology.
lawmaker william cardozo, a social democrat from tarija, has asked bolivia’s interim president, eduardo rodríguez, to launch an investigation regarding the u.s. presence in the region. tarija, a province near the border with paraguay, contains one of the two largest crude oil and natural gas reserves in bolivia.
and bolivian military analyst juan ramón quintana says u.s. military activities in paraguay have regional implications. "we should be very worried," he warns. "it is a most negative sign, dramatic in the fact that there exists the possibility of intervention in strategic areas linked to energy."
a disaster waiting to happen
little of this has appeared in the u.s. media. rumsfeld's trip to paraguay made the headlines only because of a statement the defense secretary made to reporters, regarding the political unrest in bolivia. "there certainly is evidence that both cuba and venezuela have been involved in the situation in bolivia in unhelpful ways," he said cryptically, refusing to elaborate.
but blaming cuba and venezuela for every social problem in latin america is not the answer to those problems; sending u.s. troops into the area will not solve them, either.
the danger in a situation like this is that somewhere, sometime, someone in command will make a misjudgment, press a wrong button, give a wrong order. and a crisis of major proportion will explode in our own backyard.
having seen what has been done elsewhere by overzealous administrations -- from vietnam to iraq -- we have reason to worry.
Paraguay trip (November 2006 - January 2007)
I'm planning a trip to Paraguay for late this year and I had the following questions:
1.) Do I need any documents other than my US passport to enter the country?
2.) I live in Los Angeles. Should I book a flight from LAX or should I go to another city and go to Paraguay from there?
3.) Is Asuncion and Ciudad del Este safe?
4.) Should I rent a car while in Paraguay, or is it best to rely on public transportation?
5.) Which airlines are best for travel from the US to Paraguay?
I'd appreciate any help you guys can give. Thanks!
