The Pentagon signed $444 million in non-fuel contracts for purchases and services in Latin America and the Caribbean during the 2012 fiscal year, an overall decrease of nearly 15% from the previous year. But US military spending in the region is still considerably higher than during the George W. Bush administration, when the equivalent Pentagon spending in Latin America averaged $301 million a year.
The Costa Rican legislature on December 20 approved another deployment of dozens of U.S. ships to its territory for the next six months, but denied permission for warships to deploy to the country until a full debate occurs after the New Year.
The decision came at a moment when the country’s relationship with neighboring Nicaragua remains tense. Congress granted permission for the deployment of 46 U.S. Coast Guard ships, 42 armed helicopters, and up to 4,000 sailors to combat drug trafficking.
President Obama was forced to address the growing clamor in South America in opposition to plans for U.S. military use of at least seven bases in Colombia. The base agreement proposes to carry out regional…
The Pentagon budget submitted to Congress on May 7 includes $46 million for development of a new U.S. military base in Palanquero, Colombia. The official justification states that the Defense Department seeks "an array of…
Absent in the discussion of the conflict brewing in the Andes over a Colombian military incursion into Ecuador to kill a guerrilla leader is the role of U.S. military in the conflict. It goes well…
p o l i c y b r i e f U.S. Military Bases in Latin America and the Caribbean by John Lindsay-Poland | October 2001 This brief was commissioned and originally distributed by the…
