Paraguay watch Part III: rebuff to US military

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Paraguay watch Part III: rebuff to US military

Postby Gouda » Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:17 am

I think it is part three by now, mixed up with posts on the tri-border area and such, but those threads have since been archived. <br><br>1: <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://p216.ezboard.com/frigorousintuitionfrm36.showMessage?topicID=10.topic">p216.ezboard.com/frigorou...D=10.topic</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br>2: <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://p216.ezboard.com/frigorousintuitionfrm41.showMessage?topicID=275.topic">p216.ezboard.com/frigorou...=275.topic</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>Update on the status of the US military in Paraguay. Hope this is going to stick in a good way and is a first step in booting them out or severely disrupting their operations. <br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Paraguay to stop giving U.S. troops immunity</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>ASUNCION, Paraguay (Reuters) - Paraguay will stop granting U.S. troops immunity from prosecution next year in an about-face aimed at coordinating policies with neighboring South American nations, the foreign minister said on Monday.<br><br>Paraguay let about 400 U.S. soldiers into the country last year to do training and humanitarian work for 18 months, drawing expressions of concern in a region wary of U.S. political and military influence.<br><br>The small, impoverished country is the only member of the Mercosur trade bloc to grant immunity to U.S. troops in its territory, a fact that sparked a sharp debate last year among fellow bloc members Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.<br><br>This year Venezuela also joined the group, tilting it further leftward. Venezuela's socialist president, Hugo Chavez, seeks to undermine Washington's role in the region by bolstering ties with other Latin American countries.<br><br>U.S. soldiers in Paraguay now are treated much like diplomatic officials, who can only be tried in U.S. courts, except they are legally liable for actions taken outside their normal duties.<br><br>"We've made a change ... like other countries in the region, Paraguay has made this decision and has communicated this to the U.S. government," Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez told reporters.<br><br>"With this move, we do not aim to eliminate military cooperation with the United States. We appreciate this cooperation but it is not possible to grant that kind of immunity," Ramirez said.<br><br>Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Asuncion declined to comment on the decision by the center-right government.<br><br>Last year's move set off media speculation of ulterior motives, among them the rumored establishment of a U.S. military base to monitor natural gas reserves in leftist-run Bolivia. Paraguayan and U.S. officials repeatedly denied such plans.<br><br>Paraguay gets thousands of dollars in direct assistance from U.S. troops along with special training, armed forces officials have said. <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061002/pl_nm/paraguay_usa_dc">news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061...uay_usa_dc</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=gouda@rigorousintuition>Gouda</A> at: 10/3/06 5:26 am<br></i>
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Re: Paraguay watch Part III: rebuff to US military

Postby Gouda » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:11 am

Paraguay must have had its confidence bolstered to some level of assurance that they could sucessfully pull a move like that. Is this confidence based on the (real or perceived) rising strength of the Mercosur bloc, or the waning strength of the US empire? Is Paraguay placing bets? <p></p><i></i>
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