Colombian Defense Minister Silva in Washington
Gabriel Silva just concluded his first official visit to Washington as the Colombian Minister of Defense, after assuming the post in August of this year. Defense Minister Silva replaced Juan Manuel Santos, who resigned in order to run for president in the 2010 elections if President Uribe does not run for reelection. During his two days in Washington, Silva met with various high ranking Obama administration officials, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, National Security Advisor James Jones, Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and interim Director of the DEA Michelle Leonhart. Cooperation between the United States and Colombia on counternarcotics and counterterrorism efforts was high on the agenda of the majority of Silva's meetings in Washington, though the details of his visit were not highly publicized. After his meeting with Defense Secretary Gates, Silva reported that during the meeting "we carried out an analysis of the evolution of narcotrafficking and terrorism, as the most relevant topics for a regional security agenda. We also discussed programs and initiatives that allow us to be more efficient in the fight against these criminal manifestations." After leaving Washington today, Defense Minister Silva will travel to Florida where he will visit the U.S. Special Operations Command, Southern Command, and the Interagency Working Group. While Silva was in Washington, Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaime Bermúdez announced that the U.S.-Colombian military deal, which has led to concerns throughout the region, could be signed without first passing through the Colombian Congress for approval. This announcement goes against the recommendation made last week by the Colombian Council of State, which concluded that the military base deal goes beyond a simple addition to preexisting agreements and therefore must be ratified by Congress and then passed by the Constitutional Court. However, the government came to the conclusion that the military deal is a simple agreement and therefore does not need to be ratified by Congress or the Constitutional Court. "We are convinced that it complies with all the requirements, and that there is no need to take it to Congress," said Bermúdez. This seemed to be confirmed in a press conference today in Washington, where Defense Minister Silva said the U.S. military deal could be signed in Bogotá on Friday. However, El Tiempo reports that President Uribe must ultimately decide if the agreement goes through Congress, a process which could take months, or not. On a side note, over the weekend, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said Defense Minister Silva must be "mentally retarded" after he accused Venezuela of failing to tackle the high traffic of drug flights taking off from Venezuelan territory.