Obama Fails to Reverse Militarisation of Latin America Policy

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http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51562

Obama Fails to Reverse Militarisation of Latin America Policy
By Jim Lobe

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2010 (IPS) - President Barack Obama has largely disappointed hopes for an "equal partnership" with the countries of Latin America, according to the latest in a series of annual reports on U.S. relations with the region released here Monday.

The report by three U.S. groups with close ties to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the region found that the administration's military base agreement with Colombia, its equivocal response to the military coup d'etat in Honduras, and its failure to move more quickly to normalise relations with Cuba have been among the chief reasons for growing disillusionment.

The groups expressed particular concern about the continued emphasis on military and security aid programmes and the leading role played by the U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom) in developing relations with Latin America.

"In 2010, 47 percent of Washington's more than three billion dollars in aid to Latin America is going to militaries and police forces," noted Adam Isacson, senior security analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and co-author of the report, "Waiting for Change".

"That's the highest proportion in a decade, and it indicates an unbalanced approach," he added. "Add to that the new military-basing agreement signed last October with Colombia, and the main face that most of the region is seeing from the Obama administration is a military one."


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