United States military bases in Latin America and the Caribbean
The United States Armed Forces currently (2009) maintain military bases in ten states and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean .
Aruba
The Queen Beatrix International Airport on Aruba , together with the Hato International Airport in nearby Curaçao, is based on a ten-year contract concluded in March 2000 between the governments of the USA and the Netherlands as a forward operating location (in English : forward command post) utilized. In 2009 the contract was extended.
It is a smaller base that was initially equipped with two medium-sized and three small aircraft, a crew of fifteen permanently and twenty to twenty-five temporarily stationed people for operations and maintenance work. The declared purpose of the base is to monitor and act against drug smugglers in the Caribbean. Since 2006, the military presence on the base has been increased.
- Coordinates: 12 ° 30 ′ 5 ″ N , 70 ° 0 ′ 55 ″ W.
Costa Rica
Liberia
The base at Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport in Liberia ( Costa Rica ) serves as the operations center in Central America.
- Coordinates: 10 ° 35 ′ 35 ″ N , 85 ° 32 ′ 39 ″ W.
Curacao
The Hato International Airport in Curaçao ( Netherlands Antilles ), together with the Queen Beatrix International Airport in nearby Aruba because of a closed in March 2000 period of ten years contract between the governments of the United States and the Netherlands as a Forward Operating Location utilized. In 2009 the contract was extended.
- Coordinates: 12 ° 11 ′ 15 ″ N , 68 ° 58 ′ 4 ″ W.
Ecuador
manta
The Manta Air Base in Ecuador was closed in September 2009 and returned to the Ecuadorian government, because the lease period expired at the end of the year and Ecuador did not extend it. The constitution of Ecuador, which was reformed the year before, prohibits the permanent stationing of foreign troops in the country.
The base in Manta was one of the Forward Operating Locations of the United States Southern Command and the main center of the United States Department of Defense for satellite-based electronic espionage in South America.
Ecuador had signed a ten-year treaty with the United States in 1999 that allowed the United States to use the Manta military airfield to launch anti-drug planes from there. The base was expanded into one of the most modern high-tech landing sites in South America for 80 million US dollars. The AWACS scouts started from here , ostensibly to “monitor drug trafficking in the region”. Even high-ranking Ecuadorian military officials admitted that it was only superficially about an anti-drug fight.
After the base in Manta is closed, the USA intends to use seven military bases in the neighboring state of Colombia.
- Coordinates 0 ° 56 ′ 45 ″ S , 80 ° 40 ′ 43 ″ W.
El Salvador
Comalapa
Comalapa Air Base in El Salvador , about 50 km from San Salvador , is one of the Forward Operating Locations that were established after the withdrawal of US forces from Panama. It is a small military base that is used for satellite monitoring and to support the larger military bases like Manta .
There are no upper limits on deployments , neither for US personnel nor for equipment that is flown into the country. The base is only suitable for medium and small aircraft.
A ten-year user agreement was signed with the government of El Salvador, which expired in 2010. It was signed by the governments without the National Assembly in San Salvador knowing about it. In 2001 the opposition party, Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional , sued the treaty for violating the country's sovereignty, but the Salvadoran courts dismissed the suit. In 2009 the contract was extended.
- Coordinates: 13 ° 26 '33 " N , 89 ° 3' 23" W.
Honduras
Soto Cano
Coronel Enrique Soto Cano Air Base (also known as Palmerola Air Base ) in Honduras is a US-Honduras shared military base near Comayagua . This is where the Honduran Air Force Academy and the headquarters of the US military's Joint Task Force Bravo ( JTF-B ) are located.
The area assigned to the JTF-B includes the states of Belize , Guatemala , Honduras , El Salvador , Nicaragua , Costa Rica and Panama .
Soto Cano serves, among other things, as a radar and weather station, as well as a training camp for the Honduran military. After the US evacuated its military base in Panama, Soto Cano has become a key position for military operations in the region.
It is estimated that 1,200 US soldiers were stationed there in 1983 in support of the Contras in Nicaragua.
Soto Cano is one of the most important military bases in Central America and allows rapid deployment throughout the region.
- Coordinates: 14 ° 23 ′ 0 ″ N , 87 ° 37 ′ 0 ″ W.
Gracias a Dios
The naval base in the Caratasca lagoon in the Gracias a Dios department was opened on April 8, 2010. According to the US ambassador in Tegucigalpa , Hugo Llorens, two million US dollars and four ships were made available to build the naval base . Officially, the base remains under the control of the Honduran naval forces, advised by officers of the United States Southern Command .
- Coordinates: 15 ° 23 ′ N , 83 ° 51 ′ W
Colombia
After the base in Manta was dissolved , the USA signed a military agreement with the neighboring state of Colombia, which allows them, apart from the three military bases Arauca , Larandia and Tres Esquinas already taken over as part of the Plan Colombia , and the more than a dozen radar stations , there to use seven military bases in the long term. In addition, the contract allows the use of any civil or military facility in Colombia that is required for the fulfillment of US operations and missions in South America. In the agreement, the activities of the US military are not restricted to the territory of Colombia, nor to drug and counter-terrorism operations, and can be used for any kind of military operation against any target in South America. An official document from the United States Air Force indicated that US forces would be operating from Colombia "... combating the constant threat from anti-American governments in the region." “In addition, it is about the activities that the US calls protection of internal security abroad. This includes the training of armed troops in Colombia, special operations units, special forces, the Colombian federal police, which are trained and placed under US command and control ”.
The neighboring countries feel threatened by the American military bases and are arming accordingly.
Former Colombian President Ernesto Samper commented on the military agreement: “We are making our country available as an aircraft carrier so that surveillance operations for all of South America can be carried out from there. [...] It's like making your balcony available to someone who doesn't even live in the house but installs mirrors and video cameras there to monitor the neighbors. "
Arauca
The Arauca base in Colombia is located in an oil production area not far from the border with Venezuela . It is officially a body to combat drug trafficking, but it is also a strategic point for monitoring this oil-producing area in both Colombia and Venezuela.
This base is closely linked to Plan Colombia .
- Coordinates: 7 ° 4 ′ 3 ″ N , 70 ° 43 ′ 55 ″ W.
Larandia
Larandia in the Caquetá department in Colombia is used for anti-drug missions according to the Colombia plan . The base has a runway oversized for Colombian needs, which is suitable for B-52 bombers .
- Coordinates: 1 ° 28 ′ 44 " N , 75 ° 29 ′ 12" W.
Tres Esquinas
Tres Esquinas (German: "three corners") in the Caquetá department near Solano in southern Colombia is a base for ground and river operations. The base has a concrete runway (1896 × 24 meters) and is 178 m above sea level.
- Coordinates: 0 ° 44 ′ 45 ″ N , 75 ° 14 ′ 2 ″ W.
Cartagena
Cartagena naval base in Bolívar department
- Coordinates: 10 ° 27 ′ 0 ″ N , 75 ° 30 ′ 55 ″ W.
Bahía Málaga
Naval base of Bahía Málaga in the department of Valle del Cauca
- Coordinates: 3 ° 58 ′ 1 ″ N , 77 ° 18 ′ 0 ″ W.
Malambo
Malambo Air Force Base ( Barranquilla Airport ) in the Atlántico Department
- Height: 30 m
- Runway: 3000 × 45 m (concrete)
- Coordinates: 10 ° 53 ′ 23 " N , 74 ° 46 ′ 50" W.
Palanquero
The Palanquero Air Force Base in Puerto Salgar in the Cundinamarca Department is the largest base in Colombia that was ceded to the United States by the military agreement signed with Colombia in 2009. To finance the retrofitting of the base, the US Air Force applied for 46 million US dollars for 2010. A Pentagon document related to the military agreement emphasizes that the base is "essential to support the US mission in Colombia and everywhere in the area of responsibility of the US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)," which includes all of Latin America. The base offers "the opportunity to carry out extensive operations in South America". Palanquero is to be used jointly by the US Army, Air Force and Navy. Palanquero, "provides access to the airspace of the entire southern continent, an access for huge military transport aircraft of the type C17 , which was previously not available".
- Height: 173 m
- Runway: 3044 × 50 m (asphalt)
- Coordinates: 5 ° 29 ′ 1 ″ N , 74 ° 39 ′ 27 ″ W.
Apiay
Air Force Base Captain Luis Fernando Gómez Niño in Apiay near Villavicencio in the Meta department .
- Height: 374 meters
- Runway: 2501 × 50 m (asphalt)
Reconnaissance aircraft and AWACS (airborne radar systems) are to operate from the Apiay base .
- Coordinates: 4 ° 4 ′ 34 " N , 73 ° 33 ′ 46" W.
Tolemaida
Tolemaida Air Force Base in Melgar in Tolima Department .
- Height: 493 m
- Runways: 2829 × 29 m (asphalt) and 436 × 20 m (concrete)
- Coordinates: 4 ° 14 ′ 41 ″ N , 74 ° 39 ′ 0 ″ W.
Cuba
Guantánamo Bay
- Main article: Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
- Coordinates: 19 ° 56 '8 " N , 75 ° 9' 48" W.
Paraguay
Mariscal Estigarribia
The Mariscal Estigarribia military airfield in Paraguay is designed to accommodate a large number of soldiers, has an extraordinary radar system, large hangars and a runway 3800 m long and 80 m wide. Large C-5 Galaxy and B-52 bomber aircraft can take off and land there, and up to 16,000 soldiers can be quartered.
A treaty between the USA and Paraguay signed in 2005 guarantees American soldiers complete impunity for crimes they have committed before Paraguayan courts.
The strategic importance of the military base results from its proximity to Bolivia with its natural gas and oil reserves, its proximity to the Acuífero Guaraní , one of the three largest drinking water reservoirs in the whole world and its proximity to the border triangle Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina .
- Coordinates: 22 ° 2 ′ 44 ″ S , 60 ° 37 ′ 10 ″ W
Peru
Iquitos and Nanay
The Iquitos (Air Force) and Nanay ( River Navy ) bases in the Amazon region in Peru belong to the armed forces of Peru , but were built by US soldiers and are also used by them. They are not officially considered US military bases.
The Defense Minister of Peru approved the stay of American marines on Peruvian territory for an official visit to the Peruvian Navy and to participate in special operations in 2003. These military bases are used for the training and education of American soldiers and soldiers in the region.
- Iquitos: 3 ° 47 ′ 5 ″ S , 73 ° 18 ′ 31 ″ W.
- Nanay: 3 ° 44 ′ 19 ″ S , 73 ° 18 ′ 6 ″ W.
Puerto Rico
Roosevelt Roads
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The Roosevelt Roads Naval Station near the city of Ceiba , Puerto Rico was closed in March 2004, but remains the property of the US federal authorities. The regional headquarters of the Army , the Navy and Special Forces were moved from Puerto Rico to Texas and Florida, the headquarters of the United States Southern Command to Miami, but many of the previous activities continue.
Opened in 1938, by forcibly expropriating landowners since 1941, the United States Navy was able to gradually expand its territory to 75% of the island of Vieques , which is a few nautical miles southeast of Puerto Rico and is part of the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station . However, further attempts at expropriation could no longer be politically implemented.
Vast sea areas around Puerto Rico and Vieques were used by various navies as a training area for guided missile shooting. The island was mainly used as a practice area for live ammunition and as a storage area for bombs. As a result, the soil is highly with cadmium , lead , mercury , uranium and other toxins contaminated , resulting in an increased number of diseases among the inhabitants of the island. Studies by the Puerto Rico Department of Health showed that between 1985 and 1989, the cancer rate among islanders was 26% higher than in Puerto Rico. On April 19, 1999, a civilian employee of the US Navy was killed when a Mark 82 was dropped by an F / A-18 "Hornet" . This incident and residents' protests ultimately led to the base closing on March 31, 2004.
- Coordinates
References
See also
Web links
- "With limited liability" . Article by Sheila Mysorekar in the weekly " Freitag " on July 26, 2002
- El acuerdo Colombia-Estados Unidos para instalar 7 bases militares (span.)
- Héctor Vega: BASES MILITARES EN LA REGIÓN ANDINA . Article in Fortín Mapocho (span.)
swell
- ^ A b c Eva Golinger: Washington Plans New Military Bases in Brazil and Peru to Contain Venezuela. In: pravda. April 8, 2010, accessed September 3, 2011 .
- ^ A b Eva Golinger: Massive US military presence in Costa Rica. In: amerika21. July 9, 2010, accessed July 10, 2010 .
- ↑ a b "Anti-terror war in the backyard" - article from Latin America news
- ↑ Inaugurada nueva base militar estadounidense en Honduras. (No longer available online.) In: Radio Mundial / ABN. April 8, 2010, formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 28, 2012 (Spanish). ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Garry Leech: South America has plenty of cause for concern. In: amerika21. November 6, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2009 .
- ↑ a b Eva Golinger: Interview with Noam Chomsky: "To speak of a sovereignty of Colombia is a joke". In: Quetzal. August 24, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2009 .
- ^ Gerhard Dilger: Military agreement against left-wing governments. In: New Germany. November 2, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2009 .
- ↑ a b Maurice Lemoine: Advance deployment points. (No longer available online.) In: Le Monde diplomatique. February 12, 2010, formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 10, 2010 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ TRES ESQUINAS AB. In: WORLD AERO DATA. Retrieved November 8, 2009 .
- ↑ ERNESTO CORTISSOZ. In: WORLD AERO DATA. Retrieved November 8, 2009 .
- ↑ GERMAN OLANO AB. In: WORLD AERO DATA. Retrieved November 8, 2009 .
- ↑ GOMEZ NINO APIAY AB. In: WORLD AERO DATA. Retrieved November 8, 2009 .
- ↑ TOLEMAIDA AB. In: WORLD AERO DATA. Retrieved November 8, 2009 .
