Courtesy granma.cu

Peru became a key piece of the U.S. military deployment in the region, with the installation of bases in the jungle of that country and the Regional Emergency Operations Centers.

Author: Raúl Antonio Capote | informacion@granmai.cu

march 9, 2023 07:03:49

The United States has close to 800 military bases throughout the world, of which more than 75 are in Latin America. Among the best known are 12 in Panama, an equal number in Puerto Rico, nine in Colombia and eight in Peru, with the largest number concentrated in Central America and the Caribbean.

The “pioneer” extraterritorial base of the United States in the continent, imposed against the will of the Cuban government and people, is located in Guantanamo Bay. It was part of the theory formulated by Nicholas Spykman, which was the basis for U.S. military aggression in different regions of the world.

These bases are not only military, although all of them are in their essence. There are bases that function as centers for media warfare and cyberwarfare.

They fall into three categories: “operational bases” that are larger than ten acres and have more than 200 active duty military personnel; “small”, or “Lily Pad”, and “funded”, which are facilities belonging to the host country in which U.S. operational personnel may have full or partial access. Most of those in Latin America fall into this category and serve as military operations and training centers.

There are others that are of a confidential nature, not “confirmed”. They are military centers with the presence of U.S. troops that have not been officially declared.

Among the largest military bases on the continent are Tolemaida, in Colombia, and Palmerola, in Honduras, both of which fall into the category of “funded,” responsible, among other things, for the training of death squads and other paramilitary groups.

Palmerola is an air base where the Honduran Air Force and the U.S. military mission Joint Task Force Bravo of the U.S. Southern Command operate.

The Department of Defense branches its military operations into six geographically organized commands, with delimited fields of action: Northern Command (Northcom), Southern Command (Southcom), Africa Command (Africom), European Command (Eucom), Central Command (Centcom), and Indo-Pacific Command (Indopacom). It also has five others in charge of different areas of action, such as the Space Command, the Cyber Command, the Special Operations Command, the Strategic Command and the Transportation Command.

For Latin America, Southcom is responsible for managing and overseeing U.S. military activities in the region.

Interestingly, in the last ten years, Peru has become a key player in U.S. military deployment in the region, with the installation of bases in the jungle of that country and the Regional Emergency Operations Centers, rivaling Colombia in strategic importance, which sheds light on the latest developments in that country.

Colombia and Peru emerge as important targets for the Biden administration, from a strategic point of view.

The installation of a U.S. “humanitarian aid” military base in Neuquén, Argentina, provides an enlightening fact: in 2011, the YPF company found a mega oil and gas field in Neuquén, not to mention the rich reserves of drinking water in the region.

According to the terms used by Washington, it is an Emergency Operation and Coordination Center, which aims to help the inhabitants of the province in case of natural disasters.

Recently, Laura Richardson, the chief general of the U.S. Southern Command, without a drop of blush, in a conversation with the Atlantic Council think tank, in the old Monroe Doctrine style, acknowledged that Washington’s main interest in Latin America is in its natural resources, of which it considers itself the owner.

The Southern Command head has spoken of the rich resources and rare earth elements present in the continent, the lithium triangle – Argentina, Chile and Bolivia – with 60 % of the lithium in the world, She also spoke of the largest oil reserves, including light, sweet crude discovered off Guyana more than a year ago, And Venezuela’s resources such as oil, copper, gold.

She also spoke of Latin America having 31% of the world’s fresh water. It is noteworthy how she spoke of all these resources as if the all belonged to the United States.

To top it all off, the modern reincarnation of the Roman proconsuls put the classic “cap on the knob” by affirmed that the United States “has a lot left to do” and that “this region matters”. We know what for.

Bolivar’s prophetic phrase seems to acquire today more value than ever: “The United States seems destined by providence to plague America with miseries in the name of freedom.”

Translated by ESTI