Vol. 71/No. 48      December 24, 2007

“If the Congress does not pass the free trade agreement [with] Colombia it will be a destabilizing moment,” said U.S. president George Bush December 4. The implementation of the agreement “can make a difference in South America, in terms of Venezuela and influence,” he said. Uribe is Washington’s closest ally in Latin America, and a vocal opponent of the government of Venezuela, whose president is Hugo Chávez.

With the help of Uribe’s government, Washington has increased its military intervention in the region, under the cover of fighting “narcoterrorism.” U.S. military aid to Bogota is today nearly six times higher than it was in 1997. This buildup is aimed at pressuring the Chávez regime and in anticipation of sharper resistance by workers and peasants in other parts of Latin America.

“The ratification of the [FTA] pact would send an unequivocal message to the people of Colombia, the opposition in Venezuela and the wider region that they do not stand alone against Chávez,” said former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a December 2 Washington Post opinion column.

The U.S. Senate approved a similar free trade agreement with Peru December 4. The vote was a defeat for the minority of Democrats in Congress who have opposed such trade deals on protectionist grounds.

“We are sending a strong signal to the world that the United States is regaining its bipartisan footing on trade policy and is a reliable ally to countries that are building political and economic freedom,” said Susan Schwab, the administration’s top trade representative, following the vote.

In the region, in addition to Mexico, Peru, and Colombia, the U.S. government has signed bilateral trade agreements with Chile, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama.

As part of the U.S. rulers’ efforts to strengthen ties with governments in the region, in early December, U.S. Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid led a bipartisan delegation that visited Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, and the triborder area between Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.

Tensions between the Colombian and Venezuelan governments escalated late in November when Uribe withdrew his support for Chávez’s mediating role with Colombian guerrillas. In return, Chávez announced that he was “freezing” trade relations with Colombia, for “as long as President Uribe is president of Colombia.” He gave no specific details.

Colombian minister of industry and trade, Luis Plata, said, however, “suspending bilateral trade is not that simple.”

Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy needs to import basic staples, cars and automobile parts, as well as clothing and footwear. Purchases of Colombian products by Venezuela climbed from $923 million in 1999 to $2.75 billion in August 2007, according to Colombian government statistics.
 
 
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