by Alexander Manda
BOGOTA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Colombia and the United States signed an agreement Friday to boost the United States' presence by up to 1,400 people across seven military bases in Colombia, a dea lthat has prompted objections from its neighbors.
The agreement was announced in person by Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez. The ministry also released images of Bermudez and U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield signing the deal
Bermudez said the up to 800 soldiers and up to 600 contractors newly allowed onto Colombian territory would only be allowed to fight local drug traffickers and insurgents. The United States has around 250 military officers in the nation at present.
Neighbors Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela have been criticizing the agreement since it was first discussed in July. They made no new comments on Friday, but Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, currently in Russia's capital Moscow on an official visit, accused Colombia of sending spies into Ecuadorian territory. Venezuela made similar charges on Tuesday.
Ecuador and Colombia have no diplomatic relations.
Bermudez said the agreement would be published by the U.S. legislature next week. The two nations signed previous security agreements in 1952, 1962 and 1974.
"The agreement includes such important things as that there will be no U.S. jurisdiction or court-martials in Colombia, and Colombia may participate in investigations conducted against U.S. officials," said Bermudez. He also told media that U.S. soldiers in Colombia were barred from any operations in a third nation.
Bermudez's comment was in response to the accusation that Palanquero, a base included in the agreement, had a 3.5 km runway designed for large cargo planes that the United States did not need for the operations described by officials, but instead fulfilled a U.S. desire to spy on neighboring nations.
The U.S. government has already ring-fenced 46 million dollars for the plan, and the bulk of this money will go to refurbishing Palanquero.
"We told them (critics) that Colombia has all possible interest in destroying drug trafficking and terrorism, and that this is a technical cooperation agreement," Bermudez said, adding that the agreement had been signed "discreetly."
He also said that U.S. soldiers and civilian staff would enjoy diplomatic immunity in Colombia, but U.S. defense contractors would not enjoy this privilege.
Colombia remains the world's largest producer of cocaine, a drug which sees its highest rates of use in the United States and Spain. Colombia also has two large active rebel movements -- the National Liberation Army and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) -- both listed as terrorist groups by the United States.
Colombia has been accusing Venezuela of covertly supporting the FARC. Venezuela denied the charge and accused Colombia of backing U.S. ambitions allegedly going far beyond fighting drug deals and terrorists to control the region's raw materials.
