Secretary of State Kerry's trip to Colombia and Brazil
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry took a quick trip to Brazil and Colombia from Sunday night until Tuesday. This was Secretary Kerry’s second trip to the region, following his attendance at the Organization of American States’ general assembly meeting in Guatemala in June.
The visit came after of President Obama’s trip to Mexico and Costa Rica in early May and Vice President Joe Biden’s six-day tour to Colombia, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago in late May.
The Obama Administration has been fairly engaged with the region, mostly with regards to trade. As the New York Times noted, the increased focus on strengthening ties comes at a time when the “United States’ influence has faded as China has surged as a crucial trading partner for an array of Latin American countries and as Brazil has sought to raise its economic and diplomatic profile.”
Secretary Kerry’s trip also came on the heels of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations that massive global surveillance programs had targeted several Latin American countries -- including several allies like Mexico, Colombia and Brazil – and that the agency had established a data collection center in Brasília, Brazil’s capital city. The leaked documents drew tremendous regional criticism and have roiled relations with several governments, particularly the Rousseff administration in Brazil.
Colombia
All reports of Secretary Kerry’s meetings in Colombia, the United States’ strongest ally in the region, indicate that the visit went fairly smoothly with no surprises. In his discussions with Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos and Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín, Kerry reportedly discussed the ongoing peace negotiations with the FARC rebels, trade, energy, counternarcotics, and briefly, the NSA leaks. (For a list of links to articles see Just the Facts' U.S. policy news section for Colombia)
Support for peace process
As expected, Kerry reiterated the United States’ support for the peace process, calling it “courageous,” “imaginative” and “necessary.” Although the Obama Administration has already voice its approval of the talks, Kerry’s words come at a time when, according to a recent Ipsos poll, 54 percent has criticized the process at every opportunity.
As was also expected, Secretary Kerry spoke about the high-value the United States places on its relationship with Colombia and lauded its U.S.-backed efforts in the war on drugs, calling the country “one of the very few success stories anywhere.”
Issues surrounding NSA surveillance programs assuaged
Ahead of the meeting, there were concerns that the disclosures about NSA surveillance practices would tarnish the visit. Last Thursday President Santos called for further clarification from Washington about U.S. intelligence practices in Colombia. However, it seemed the Colombian government was satisfied with the explanation provided, as both parties downplayed the revelations following Secretary Kerry’s visit. Colombian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín said Colombia had “received the necessary assurances to continue work on this,” while Kerry noted the issue played only a “small part” in the overall discussion.
U.S. security assistance
Before heading to Brazil, Secretary Kerry went to the Colombian National Police Counter-Narcotics Directorate for a briefing on U.S.-Colombia collaboration in the drug war and an update on Colombia’s training of third party foreign forces. Between 2010 and 2012, Colombia trained 9,983 military and police personnel from 45 countries – the top recipients being Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Ecuador and Peru. (See here for more on Colombian training of foreign forces.)
As a recent Just the Facts podcast noted, Kerry spent 28 years as a United States senator and was a big supporter of U.S. military aid packages to Colombia, but did however condemn human rights abuses in the country, even calling for the U.S. not to certify Colombia to receive aid in 2005 over such concerns.
For a previous post on Secretary Kerry’s record on Colombia see here and to read about what topics Secretary Kerry should have touched on when discussing a lasting peace in Colombia, see here. These include ongoing assassinations of human rights defenders, impunity for military members alleged to have committed human rights abuses and the passage of a military justice system reform that will likely allow that impunity to continue.
Brazil
NSA revelations fallout
Secretary Kerry’s trip to Brazil was more contentious, with the NSA leaks eclipsing the rest of the visit. Brazil, an important ally with whom the United States has a warm relationship (albeit nowhere near as close as with Colombia), has been much more vocal in its condemnation of U.S. intelligence programs. As the New Yorker explained last month, Brazil was the regional center for the NSA spying programs as it is where “all transatlantic cables come ashore,” making it an important telecommunication hub linking South America to Europe and Africa.
Last week, Brazil’s Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota, along with the foreign ministers of Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela and Uruguay, met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last week to protest the NSA programs.
Minister Patriota continued his condemnation in a joint press conference with his U.S. counterpart following an hour-long meeting, sending a clear message: “We need to stop practices that violate sovereignty.” Minister Patriota was unsatisfied with the details Secretary Kerry had shared with him about NSA surveillance programs, which he said presented a “new type of challenge in our bilateral relationship … And if those challenges are not resolved in a satisfactory way, we run the risk of casting a shadow of distrust over our work."
Kerry responded with vague, appeasing remarks, saying, “Brazil is owed answers with respect to those questions, and they will get them.” He then defended the NSA surveillance program as something “we think we must do to provide security not just for Americans but for Brazilians and for people in the world.”
Boeing Contract
That “shadow of distrust” could have big financial implications for the United States. Ahead of the meeting, the Brazilian government took an anticipated discussion over a coveted $4 billion dollar deal (with expected increases) to purchase 36 fighter jets from the U.S. off the table. Before the NSA leaks, Boeing’s F/A-18 fighter jet had been favored over competing French and Swedish warplanes. However Reuters reported the NSA scandal has "set back" the United States' chances to land the deal, recording one Brazilian official as saying, “We cannot talk about the fighters now.… You cannot give such a contract to a country that you do not trust.”
Going forward
Aside from the NSA issue, the New York Times reported, “it was clear at the end of Mr. Kerry’s visit that solutions to certain problems remain unresolved, like Washington’s requirement that Brazilians traveling to the United States have visas, even though Brazilians rank among the highest-spending foreign tourists and Brazilian companies are increasingly investing in the United States.”
Reuters reported Brazilian officials were optimistic that the two countries will be able to move past the scandal, while the New York Times and Wall Street Journal pointed out that President Roussett’s state visit to Washington – the first from a Latin American leader since 2010 when then-Mexican President Calderón came – is still on for October.
The Obama Administration has been trying to deepen relations with Brazil, a key ally in the region for energy cooperation, security and environmental policy, and economic integration. Relations have improved under President Rousseff, after a chilling during former President Lula da Silva’s tenure.