US military to set up in Colombia.

July 28 - "Regional tensions have escalated very dramatically between Colombia and its neighbors, Ecuador and Venezuela, as a result of the US announcement that they would be moving into three Colombian bases that already exist, and negotiations for possibly a couple more," Forrest Hylton tells TRNN producer Jesse Freeston.

Hylton is the author of Evil Hour in Colombia. He tells TRNN that this jostling of military might in South America is occurring "because the lease on the Manta base is up this year, 2009, and the United States has been asked to leave."

On Telesur, December 21, 2006, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said that his government was not interested in renewing the American military base in Manta. "We have made it clear that in 2009 we will not renew the lease. Because sovereign countries don't have foreign soldiers on their land. There's nothing left to say on this subject. We will extend the lease under one condition. We'll extend it when the US lets us put an Ecuadorian base in Miami."

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Chavez said he would not permit Colombia's U.S.-backed government to establish an American military base in La Guajira, a region spanning northeastern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela.

The Venezuelan leader said if Colombia allows the base, his government will revive a decades-old territorial conflict and stake a claim to the entire region.

"We will not allow the Colombian government to give La Guajira to the empire," Chavez said, referring to the U.S. during a speech to a packed auditorium of uniformed soldiers. "Colombia is launching a threat of war at us."

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The US mission is supposed to be primarily against drug-trafficking, but also has a counter-terrorism element as Colombia's rebels groups are on the US list of terrorist organisations.

Colombia may well be a close ally of the US, but this latest deal is causing controversy, says the BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Medellin.

Rafael Pardo, the presidential candidate for the Liberal Party, said he was concerned about how relations with neighbouring countries would be affected because the US aircraft operating from these bases would probably be collecting intelligence on these nations.

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