Foreign Policy
Adam reviews recent arms sales from Brazil, Europe, Israel and the United States to several countries throughout the region.
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Cancun, Mexico is always regarded as a conference and summit hotspot, but this week it was overtaken by 32 representatives of Latin American and Caribbean countries - 24 of which were heads of state.
Abigail and Adam discuss Colombia-Ecuador relations, arms sales to the FARC, the Haiti rebuilding cost, the Falklands dispute, press freedom, citizen security in Mexico, and upcoming congressional hearings.
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Yesterday, Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez and Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Fander Falconí held their first official meeting since diplomatic ties between the two countries were cut in 2008 after a Colombian attack on a FARC camp in Ecuadorian territory. The meeting between the two counterparts took place in the New York offices of the Council of Americas and lasted four hours.
According to press reports, a three-page document issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry alleges that Bolivia and Venezuela have sold uranium to Iran for use in that country's nuclear program. The document is to be presented by Israeli Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Dani Ayalon at the 39th Regular Session of the OAS which will be held the first week of June in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Yesterday, at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing "To receive testimony on the United States Southern Command, United States Northern Command, United States Africa Command, and United States Transportation Command," U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis, the commander of Southcom, brought up concerns regarding the increased Iranian and Hezbollah activities in Latin America. His comments appear to serve to expand upon U.S.
Recently, the growing presence of Russia and Iran in Latin America - especially in left-wing governments such as Venezuela, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia - has elicited some concern in the United States. Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave his opinion on Russia and Iran's role in Latin America at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on challenges the Defense Department faces.
Over the past month, the U.S. and regional press has been paying closer attention to Russia's relations with such Latin American countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba and even Colombia. In September, Russian Vice-Prime Minister Igor Sechin traveled to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba to meet with his counterparts in each country to discuss the potential increase in economic, military, and political cooperation between each country and Russia.
The feud between Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos continues after Santos returned from a five day visit to Washington.
Here is how the Bolivian government's press agency (Agencia Boliviana de Información, ABI) portrayed yesterday's visit to La Paz of Thomas Shannon, the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemishere Affairs.