Gen Fraser greets Gen Silva (Photo: USSOUTHCOM)
Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva visited U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) headquarters in Miami today, where he met with the SOUTHCOM commander, U.S. Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, and other command leaders.
During Silva’s visit—his first since becoming defense minister—included discussions of current and future cooperation between U.S. and Colombia's armed forces, according to the official SOUTHCOM press release.
Public affairs officials could not confirm if the plan to augment the existing presence of U.S. troops in Colombia was discussed at the meeting. However, they did say the signing of the two countries’ defense cooperation agreement was pending. That agreement includes details for future military cooperation between the U.S. and Colombia.
Silva told reporters on Tuesday the accord would most likely be signed on Friday in Bogotá, according to Reuters reports.
Today’s meeting wraps up a 4-day trip by Silva to visit with other military commanders. He visited the Pentagon Monday, where he met with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and discussed a broad range of security issues, including topics relating to counter-narcotics operations.
Silva participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Ceremony and visited Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, on Tuesday, then stopped at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida on Wednesday.
Both the U.S. and Colombian governments have come under fire for a modified cooperation agreement that would allow the addition of troops to an existing U.S. military presence on Colombian bases. The agreement caps the total number of soldiers at 800 and civilian contractors at 600.
Military cooperation between the U.S. and Colombia is not new. According to SOUTHCOM, it dates back more than half a century. Over the past decade, SOUTHCOM has provided assistance to Colombia's armed forces to support the country in its efforts to end more than four decades of conflict with illegally armed groups and disrupt illicit trafficking activities within its borders.
SOUTHCOM's ongoing security assistance to Colombia includes training, logistics and intelligence support.
Many leaders in Latin America—most notably Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez—have criticized the agreement as a violation of Latin American sovereignty and the additional troop presence as a security threat to the region.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has been on his own public relations tour throughout the continent in recent months, attempting to further clarify some of the conditions of the agreement and assuage the fears of his fellow leaders.
Uribe decided not to send the defense pact to the Colombian Congress for consideration as recommended last week by Colombia's Council of State. The accord has been criticized for granting U.S. troops immunity from criminal prosecution in Colombia, per Reuters.
Silva has personally been a Chávez target in recent days. Last Sunday, according to El Universal, Chávez said Silva is “mentally retarded” after Silva released a statement accusing Venezuelan officials of allowing drug trafficking flights to depart from his country.
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