U.S. To Seize Venezuelan Oil Fields
Politics / Crude Oil Aug 19, 2009 - 12:40 AM GMTBy: Pravda
On August 11, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez declared the readiness of the South American countries to discuss with US President Barrack Obama the location of US army bases in Colombia.
The summit of 11 heads of the UNASUR states, the South American Union of the Nations, took place in Ecuador the day before the announcement. The issue of US army bases in Colombia was discussed at the summit, however, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, the USA’s staunch ally in the region, was absent from the forum.
On August 5 Gen. Freddy Padilla de Leon, temporarily assuming the position of the Minister of Defense of this country, declared that Colombia would grant the United States access to seven military bases on the Columbian territory.
According to his words, the number of US troops would not exceed 800. In the nearest future the countries are going to conclude the treaty of cooperation in the sphere of defense and safety, according to which the USA will invest 5 billion dollars into the infrastructure of the army bases.
Colombian officials released the statement about the deployment of the American military forces as early as July, 27th. At the same time the country’s authorities accused the main opponent of the USA in the region, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, of supplying weapons to the Colombian FARC rebels.
On July, 29 Chavez recalled the ambassador, accused the Colombian authorities of slander, and of indulgence to the American imperialism.
Afterwards, on July 30 and on August 5, Chavez declared the intention to buy a batch of tanks and jets, explaining it with the possibility of the USA’s invasion in Venezuela after the deployment of the American bases in Colombia.
On August 8, Chavez announced the revision of diplomatic relations with Colombia. He is also proposed to deploy “peace bases” as a counter to “Yankees’ military bases”.
However, the influence of the USA was obvious at the UNASUR summit. The US intends to come back to the region, that was under its foot 20 years ago, but at the moment is going out of control.
The decision to recover the erstwhile positions could be explained with two reasons. Firstly, the USA’s reputation in other countries proved to have been shattered. And secondly, China is actively substituting the USA on the local market.
The consent of Colombia to deploy the bases turned out to be helpful to the USA. In autumn the lease term of the Manta Naval Base located in Ecuador will expire, but Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa known for his warm relations with Chavez, refused to prolong the rent.
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