US Building Bases, Neworks, Deploying to Paraguay

by **Starman** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 11:54 pm

JeeZus -- Is there no LIMIT to the duplicity, guile, intrigue, and deception our 'leaders' are capable of? Now there's news of another US military gambit, with troops, arms, training, equipment and no-doubt 'plans' to assist Paraguay in some scheme that is gonna wind up getting poor innocent civilians dead, for some political and resource benefit a la "US National Security' bullshit. --Effing Bastards ... Disgusted; Starman *** <a href="http://www.altpr.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=465">www.altpr.org/modules.php...le&sid=465</a> What is the U.S. Military Doing in Paraguay? By Benjamin Dangl, Upside Down World <<a href="http://www.upsidedownworld.org/US-in-Paraguay.htm>">www.upsidedownworld.org/U...aguay.htm></a> The U.S. military is conducting secretive operations in Paraguay and reportedly building a new base there. Human rights groups and military analysts in the region believe trouble is brewing. However, the U.S. embassy in Paraguay denies the base exists and describes the military activity as routine. According to an article in the Bolivian newspaper, El Deber, a U.S. base is being developed in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay, 200 kilometers from the border with Bolivia. The base will permit the landing of large aircraft and is capable of housing up to 16,000 troops. A contingent of 500 U.S. troops arrived in Paraguay on July 1st with planes, weapons, equipment and ammunition. (1) With Bolivia’s recent uprisings, their enormous gas reserves, and a presidential election on the way, this questionable activity could pave the way for a U.S. intervention. Rumors of Al Qaeda training grounds near Paraguay may also work to the Bush administration’s advantage as it makes a case for military operations in the region. On May 26, 2005 the Paraguayan senate approved the entrance of the troops, granting them total immunity, free from Paraguayan and International Criminal Court jurisdiction. The legislature is due to expire in December 2006, but is automatically extendable. Since December 2004, the U.S. has been pressuring Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Paraguay into signing a deal which would grant immunity to U.S. military. The Bush administration threatened to deny the countries up to $24.5 million in economic and military aid if they refused to sign the deal. Paraguay was the only country to accept the offer. (2) US Embassy Denies Base Claims, Rumsfeld Looks Forward to Military Cooperation A statement issued from the U.S. embassy in Paraguay explained that the military exercises in question involve humanitarian and medical assistance to poor communities as well as military training. The embassy maintained that the U.S. has “absolutely no intention of establishing a military base anywhere in Paraguay” and “has no intention to station soldiers for a lengthy period in Paraguay.” (3) The Pentagon used this same rhetoric when describing its actions in Manta, Ecuador, now the home of an $80 million U.S. military base. First they said the facility was an archaic “dirt strip” which would be used for weather monitoring and would not permanently house U.S. personnel. Days later, the Pentagon stated that Manta was to serve as a major military base tasked with a variety of security-related missions. Human rights groups have linked the U.S. base in Manta to the 2002 coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. (4) Before the arrival of U.S. troops in Paraguay, Luis Castiglioni, the Vice President of Paraguay, visited Washington D.C. where he met with Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. During the visit, they discussed defense and security in South America and the “international war on terrorism.” Rumsfeld said the U.S. would be sending experts to Paraguay from the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, (an institution similar to the infamous School of the Americas) in order to develop a “planning seminar on systems for national security.” Rumsfeld promised to visit the country and expressed his “full support for the coming exercises between the American and Paraguayan armed forces.” (5) If history is any lesson, Paraguayans are right to be wary. Servicio Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ), a human rights group in the country, warned that the terms of the deal struck between the U.S. and Paraguay are “very dangerous to us, especially taking into account that it was U.S. soldiers who taught torture and other forms of human rights violations in courses at the School of the Americas under the National Security Doctrine." (6) Orlando Castillo of SERPAJ stated, “The U.S. has strong aspirations to convert Paraguay into another Panama for their troops, and they’re not far from controlling the southern cone and extending the war in Colombia.” A U.S. military base operated in Panama for nearly 90 years. (7) Possible US Military Intervention in Bolivia If the new U.S. base does in fact exist, its location makes sense. It will put U.S. troops within easy striking distance of the Bolivian provinces of Santa Cruz and Tarija, home to the second largest gas reserves in South America. Bolivian business leaders interested in privatizing and exporting the country’s gas have spearheaded a move in these resource rich provinces for a secessionist referendum, which will take place on August 12th. If the region votes for autonomy, it’s likely the gas will be privatized, an unpopular plan that’s generated massive protests in the country since 2003. If new civil unrest occurs over the gas issue, the U.S. military will be in a strategic position to intervene, in part to protect the interests of U.S. energy corporations. The U.S. is currently working from within the Bolivian borders to create military networks. The U.S. State Department recently asked riot gear manufacturers to submit proposals for equipment it plans to send to the Bolivian government. The U.S. is asking for 3,700 upper body tactical padding suits, and 3,700 pairs of shin guards. On the same day as that request, the US Army issued a separate bid to build an emergency operations center in La Paz, which will consist of a "2-story building…with reinforced concrete floors, masonry walls and a reinforced concrete slab…Estimated cost range of the project is from $100,000 to $250,000." (<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/glasses.gif ALT="8)"> U.S. military operations and assistance are nothing new in the region. However, the timing of these activities appears to be more than a coincidence. Bolivia is scheduled to have presidential election in December 2005 and leftist coca grower leader and congressman, Evo Morales may have a strong chance at winning. If Morales, or another candidate unpopular with the Bush administration, is elected, then the U.S. could be poised to disrupt Bolivia’s democratic process, as they did during the 2002 Venezuelan coup and the 2004 ousting of Haitian president Bertram Aristide. Regarding U.S. military activity in Paraguay, Bolivian Chancellor Armando Loayza said, "There is no specific information. Between Bolivia and Paraguay there is perfect harmony and cooperation…” However, Bolivian author and military analyst, Juan Ramon Quintana, believes the US military’s activities in Paraguay are a subject that concerns the entire region. "We should be very worried. It is a most negative sign, dramatic in the fact that there exists the possibility of intervention in strategic areas linked to energy and a regional project." (9) “Terrorism Networks in Triple Border Region” The U.S. interest in Paraguay makes sense for other reasons as well; the triple border between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil has been long been rumored to be an “Islamic terrorist training ground.” According to New Yorker reporter, Jeffrey Goldberg, the area is “one of the most lawless places in the world…also the center of Middle Eastern terrorism in South America.” Goldberg reported that Hamas and Al Qaeda are associated with the terrorists in this region. (10) As the U.S. government was gearing up for a war in Iraq, Goldberg also wrote an article that purportedly linked Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. The article was gratefully used by the Bush administration to further their argument for war. Critics believe Goldberg often forms a hypothesis and then goes out to try and prove it. Veteran muckraker, Alexander Cockburn found various inaccuracies in the article linking Al Qaeda to Hussein and wrote that “Goldberg once served in Israel's armed forces, which may or may not be a guide to his political agenda.” (11) As we’ve seen in Iraq, the Bush administration understands that the “war on terror” can serve as a great excuse to claim natural resources. The U.S. military activity in Paraguay combined with the triple border terrorist theory and the gas reserves in a precarious Bolivia, sound like a recipe for another U.S. “democracy spreading” bonanza. Sources: (1)“Inquietud por una base de EEUU en zona fronteriza de Paraguay,” El Deber, 7-7-05 www.eldeber.com.bo/20050707/nacional_2.html <<a href="http://www.eldeber.com.bo/20050707/nacional_2.html>">www.eldeber.com.bo/200507...al_2.html></a> Mary Donohue and Melissa Nepomiachi, “Washington Secures Long Sought Hemispheric Outpost,” Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 7-20-2005 www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9541.htm <<a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9541.htm>">www.informationclearingho...e9541.htm></a> (2) Pablo Bachelet, “4 nations that won't sign deal with U.S. risk aid loss,” Miami Herald, 12-18-04 www.latinamericanstudies.org/us-relations/loss.htm <<a href="http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/us-relations/loss.htm>">www.latinamericanstudies..../loss.htm></a> (3) US Embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay, 7-7-05 www.asuncion.usembassy.gov/ <<a href="http://www.asuncion.usembassy.gov/>">www.asuncion.usembassy.gov/></a> (4) Donohue and Nepomiachi (5) Hugo Olázar “Paraguay concedió inmunidad a las tropas de Estados Unidos,” Clarin, 5-13-05 www.clarin.com/diario/2005/06/13/elmundo/i-02015.htm <<a href="http://www.clarin.com/diario/2005/06/13/elmundo/i-02015.htm>">www.clarin.com/diario/200...02015.htm></a> (6) “US Troops To Paraguay,” Weekly News Update on the Americas, 6-5-05 www.ww4report.com/node/587 <<a href="http://www.ww4report.com/node/587>">www.ww4report.com/node/587></a> (7) Olázar (<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/glasses.gif ALT="8)"> Stephen Peacock, “Bolivia To Get Riot Gear, Emergency Ops Center From U.S. -- More Trouble on the Horizon?” Narco News, 7-16-05 narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/7/16/14743/4150 <<a href="http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/7/16/14743/4150>">narcosphere.narconews.com...4743/4150></a> (9) “Inquietud por una base de EEUU en zona fronteriza de Paraguay,” El Deber 7-7-05 www.eldeber.com.bo/20050707/nacional_2.html <<a href="http://www.eldeber.com.bo/20050707/nacional_2.html>">www.eldeber.com.bo/200507...al_2.html></a> (10) Jeffrey Goldberg, “In the Party of God,” New Yorker 10-21-02 www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?021028fa_fact2 <<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?021028fa_fact2>">www.newyorker.com/fact/co...8fa_fact2></a> (11) Alexander Cockburn, Meet the New Yorker’s Jeffrey Goldberg,” CounterPunch 3-28-03 www.counterpunch.org/cockburn02282003.html <<a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/cockburn02282003.html>">www.counterpunch.org/cock...2003.html></a> *** Benjamin Dangl is the founder and editor of Upside Down World <<a href="http://www.upsidedownworld.org>">www.upsidedownworld.org></a> and has worked as a writer in Latin America, India, Europe and the United States. Ben also works as the editor of Toward Freedom <<a href="http://www.towardfreedom.com/home/>,">www.towardfreedom.com/home/>,</a> an online magazine which offers a progressive perspective on global events.

by **Dreams End** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:55 am

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>A statement issued from the U.S. embassy in Paraguay explained that the military exercises in question involve humanitarian and medical assistance to poor communities as well as military training.<hr></blockquote> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/roll.gif ALT=":rollin"> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/roll.gif ALT=":rollin"> <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/roll.gif ALT=":rollin"> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>According to New Yorker reporter, Jeffrey Goldberg, the area is “one of the most lawless places in the world…also the center of Middle Eastern terrorism in South America.<hr></blockquote> That has to be one of the most geographically fucked up sentences I've ever read. Some site I probably don't trust has the US going down there to protect some Moonie property. Wouldnt' rule it out, but this article sounds right to me.

by **smiths** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:18 am

That has to be one of the most geographically fucked up sentences I've ever read that really did make me laugh, thanks

by **Peachtree Pam** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:27 am

<a href="http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=3447">www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/...sp?ID=3447</a> Wayne Madsen – WayneMadsenReport.com August 9, 2005 With U.S. troops currently protecting Halliburton's oil operations in Iraq and the CentGas pipeline in Afghanistan, U.S. troops are now being sent to Paraguay, complete with immunity from criminal prosecution by Paraguay or the International Criminal Court, to protect the millions of acres of Paraguayan water and land resources bought over the years by religious cult leader Sun Myung Moon. It is not coincidential that Moon's Unification Church has many followers within the Bush administration. Last month, 500 U.S. troops arrived in Paraguay to expand the Mariscal Estigarriba air base to handle large U.S. military transport planes. Moon's land acquisitions in Chaco Province are just north of the huge Guarani aquifer, one of the world's largest sources of fresh water. In addition, Moon has acquired large tracts of land on the Brazilian side of the Paraguayan border. Local villagers in Paraguay and Brazil claim that most of Moon's land acquisitions were fraudulent and illegal. Moon's World Unification Church operates in Paraguay under a corporate contrivance called the Victoria Company. Paraguay has also announced that everyone entering and leaving Paraguay will be photographed and fingerprinted. Not coincidentally, the new border control system is being financed by South Korea. There is clearly a split within the Paraguayan government, with the Vice President and Pentagon neo-con ally Luis Castiglioni negotiating, along with a majority in the Paraguayan Congress, close bilateral military ties with the United States, apparently without the concurrence of President Nicanor Duarte. It is no coincidence that considering the oil-centric Bush administration, the Mariscal Estigarriba air base is close to large Bolivian natural gas reserves in the neighboring Bolivian provinces of Santa Cruz and Tarija. The U.S. move in Paraguay comes at the same time the U.S. is stepping up its "counter-narcotics" operations from its Manta, Ecuador base and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is accusing the United States of using Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) personnel in Latin America as espionage agents trying to destabilize his government. In addition, the Paraguayan military operations are seen as a Bush administration attempt to intimidate neighboring Bolivia, where MAS Socialist party and coca farmer (cocalero) leader Evo Morales is poised to become the next President in scheduled December elections after years of popular demonstrations which saw Bolivian workers and peasants deposing a series of pro-U.S. presidents. A Morales government would add another anti-U.S. and free trade government in South America, joining Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela. So soon, the mothers and fathers of U.S. military personnel will be able to take comfort in sacrificing the lives of their sons and daughters for a self-proclaimed Messiah, a non-English speaking Korean who claims to have saved the souls of Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Buddha, Stalin, and Hitler and communicates regularly with others in his departed flock of adherents, including all the deceased Presidents of the United States (who, Moon claims, appointed Richard Nixon as their spokesman from the "hereafter").

by **anonymouse** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:31 am

Maybe the US wants to take over the Unification Church's local interests in opiates and the "largest fresh water aquifer in the world"? <a href="http://www.iapprovethismessiah.com/2004/10/paraguayans-accuse-moon-of-carving-out.html">www.iapprovethismessiah.c...g-out.html</a> Paraguayans accuse Moon of carving out an empire of smack Senator Domingo Laino (above), a former presidential candidate, is charging the Unification Church with mischief. Moon's agenda in Paraguay: Ecological paradise without labor laws, or one-stop narcotics supershop twice the size of Luxembourg? The question is explored in today's article from the subscription-only Irish Times, by reporter Seamus Mirodan of the UK's Telegraph. Reverend Sun Myung Moon, spiritual leader of the Unification Church, self-proclaimed Messiah, multimillionaire and a generous contributor to the US Republican Party, has been showing a strong interest over the last five years in little-known Paraguay at the centre of the South American continent. Since 1999, Rev Moon has built his personal empire which begins on the marshy banks of the River Paraguay and stretches beyond the hazy, level horizon through 600,000 hectares of arid land - equivalent to more than two Luxembourgs - punctuated by solitary clusters of withered trees and sad bushes which struggle desperately for air. The scorching sun beats relentlessly on one of Latin America's most desolate zones. It is here in the northern province of Chaco, directly above the GuaranI aquifer, the largest resource of fresh drinking water in the world, where Moon's associates claim he wishes to build an ecological paradise. Nevertheless, national Senator Domingo Laino sees a different pattern in Moon's acquisitions. "There are two principal branches to Moon's interest in Paraguay," he said, "control of the largest fresh drinking water source in the world and control of the narcotics business", which is so prevalent in this area. "President Lula told me that Brazil took serious measures to curb Moon a few years back as it became evident that he was buying up the border between our two countries," said the senator. Allegations from local law enforcement officials support this claim. The so-called Dr Montiel, Paraguay's drugs tsar from 1976-89, said: "The fact that they came and bought in Chaco and on both sides of the Brazilian border is very telling. It is an enormously strategic point in both the narcotics and arms trades and indeed the available intelligence clearly shows that the Moon sect is involved in both these enterprises." Paraguay is the major drugs port through which virtually all the cocaine produced by Bolivia and Peru passes. In the world's second most corrupt country, "the ease of buying influence is second to none", said Montiel. "Corruption reaches dangerous levels and he who wants transparency in Paraguay is a dead man. Indeed the famous Iran contra affair was operated from Ciudad del Este" on the south-east Paraguayan border with Argentina and Brazil. Not content with expanses of potentially invaluable land, Rev Moon has also taken over entire towns, including factories and homes. In Puerto Casado, tensions between Moon disciples and locals led to violent confrontation over the last year following the closure of the only source of work, a lumber factory, and the dismissal of 19 workers who tried to form a union in order to demand an eight-hour day and the national minimum wage of GBP80 sterling per month. According to Senator Emilio Camacho: "The Moon sect is a mafia. They seek to subvert government control and are effectively building a state within a state. I believe they are hoping the local population will leave so they have unquestioned authority in the zone and are free to do whatever they want."

by **anonymouse** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:44 am

Just noticed that Jeff already posted something on the above moon/paraguay story, here: <a href="http://rigorousintuition.blogspot.com/2005/04/carrying-moons-water.html">rigorousintuition.blogspo...water.html</a> Here's some more info from IPS: ASUNCION, Aug 3 (IPS) - Despite the government's continued denials, analysts and activists have raised the alarm over the possible installation of a U.S. military base in Paraguay, especially after Congress granted permission for U.S. armed forces contingents to remain in the country for 18 months at a time. The joint military exercises authorised by Congress as of Jun. 1 will involve the arrival of over 150 U.S. troops in Paraguay. In May, Congress granted immunity from prosecution to the U.S. soldiers participating in the 13 operations approved so far, two of which are already underway. But as far as Paraguayan political analyst and historian Milda Rivarola is concerned, "in practice, there has already been a (U.S.) base operating in Paraguay for over 50 years." While the actual physical infrastructure of a military base does not exist, the U.S. armed forces have had a continued, ongoing presence in the country, she said in an interview with IPS. "In the past, they needed congressional authorisation every six months, but now they have been granted permission to be here for a year and a half," she commented. Rivarola said that the United States is keeping a particularly close eye on the tri-border area where Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil meet. The region is home to a large Arab community, which various intelligence services have identified as a source of financing and shelter for Islamic fundamentalist groups. There has yet to be any solid proof put forward of activities of this kind in the area, which is however well-known as a hotspot for arms trafficking and the smuggling of counterfeit goods that primarily end up in Brazil. Rivarola noted that the attention of international intelligence services is mainly focused on the Paraguayan side of the triple border, because Paraguay is considered "the most easily pressured country in Mercosur," or the Southern Common Market trade bloc, whose other full members are Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Through an agreement reached between the governments of Paraguay and the United States on joint military exercises and bilateral exchanges, Asuncion relinquished the right to subject the visiting troops to the jurisdiction of the local judicial system, international courts, or any other court outside the United States. Most significantly, this means the U.S. troops in Paraguay could not be taken before the International Criminal Court if they were accused of crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes. "These important developments occur in Paraguay without anyone finding out," complained political analyst, journalist and human rights activist Alfredo Boccia Paz, who told IPS that the legislators "approved a framework agreement with no debate and without any information on it being published in the press." He concurred with Rivarola that the lawmakers did not even know what they were voting on. Another aspect underlined by Boccia Paz is the shift of Paraguayan foreign policy in the direction of the United States. Traditionally, Paraguay has sought to maintain a balance in its relations with its two giant neighbours, Brazil and Argentina, giving special attention to one or the other depending on the circumstances, in order to obtain concessions. Examples of this policy focus were the construction of the Itaipu and Yacyreta dams, built jointly with Brazil and Argentina, respectively. But after the 2004 kidnapping and subsequent murder of Cecilia Cubas, the daughter of former president Raul Cubas (1998-1999), and the botched investigation of the crime, Vice President Luis Castiglioni began to forge closer ties with the U.S. government. According to diplomatic sources, that has not particularly pleased President Nicanor Duarte. Castiglioni officially announced this week that in late 2006, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI) will open an office in the U.S. Embassy in Asuncion. This was agreed in early July when Castiglioni visited the United States, where he was received by Vice President Dick Cheney and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega. "That's a big fuss to make over a vice president of Paraguay," said Boccia Paz, referring to the high-level delegation that met with Castiglioni, treatment that is not frequently seen in Washington towards small Latin American countries. Boccia Paz said he and other analysts see the expansion of the period that U.S. troops can stay in the country, the immunity from prosecution they were granted, and the announcement of 13 joint military exercises as the initial groundwork for the eventual installation of a U.S. base in Paraguay. "Once the United States arrives, it takes it a long time to leave, said (Argentine Nobel Peace laureate Adolfo) Perez Esquivel. And that really frightens me," remarked the journalist. He also said drug trafficking and social movements have been identified by the United States as sources of conflict in smaller, weaker countries like Paraguay. Both the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Embassy in Asuncin have released statements officially denying plans to set up a U.S. military base in this country of nearly 6.5 million people. "The national government has not reached any agreement with the United States for the establishment of a U.S. military base" in Paraguay, says a communique signed by Foreign Minister Leila Rachid. The statement issued by the U.S. Embassy said the same thing, and added that the U.S. government had "no intentions" of posting soldiers for long periods of time in Paraguay. The first joint military exercises include plans for humanitarian medical assistance for "hundreds or thousands" of peasant farmers and other people in need in the central and northern departments (provinces) of Canindeyu, Caazapa and Neembucu, stated the U.S. communique. The statement also denied that the United States had any interest in the Guaran aquifer except that this resource may serve to increase the prosperity and well-being of people in this region. The Guarani aquifer is one of the world's largest reserves of fresh water, covering an area of 1.2 million square kilometres in South America. An estimated 70 percent of it is located in Brazil, 19 percent in Argentina, six percent in Paraguay and five percent in Uruguay. The aquifer has attracted the interest of several international organisations, and according to civil society groups it holds a special interest for the United States, as a source of what will soon be a scarce resource. The first two joint military operations have already begun. The first consists of providing counterterrorism training to 65 Paraguayan air force officers, Colonel Jorge Ramrez, the army's assistant director of communications, told IPS. The second is a medical assistance programme (MEDRETE-1) involving 35 troops and physicians from Puerto Rico who have been providing health care to a daily average of 1,000 campesinos (peasant farmers) in the northern department of Canindeyu since Jul. 26, added Ramirez. "These missions are always disguised as humanitarian aid. It is true that assistance is being provided," said Boccia Paz. "But what Paraguay does not and cannot control is the total number of agents that enter the country." At a meeting in late July, foreign ministers Celso Amorim of Brazil and Reinaldo Gargano of Uruguay downplayed the significance of the U.S. military presence and talk of possible plans for a military base in Paraguay. Nevertheless, the Brazilian response was immediate. In late July, the Brazilian army also launched military manoeuvres along that country's border with Paraguay, parallel to the arrival of U.S. troops in Paraguay. In an unprecedented deployment, Brazilian paratroopers staged a mock occupation of the Furnas electrical substation, which distributes the energy generated by the Itaipu dam. Sources with the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry who spoke to IPS gave little importance to the Brazilian military manoeuvres and denied that the deployment of Brazilian troops near the border was a response to the joint Paraguayan-U.S. exercises. Civil society groups, meanwhile, are organising protests against the U.S. military presence. Since 2002, 46 U.S. military operations have been conducted in Paraguay, including visits, special exercises and humanitarian missions, especially in the northern departments of San Pedro and Concepcion, the eastern department of Alto Parana - whose capital is Ciudad del Este, in the tri-border region - and the western department of Boqueron. The latest joint exercise was a humanitarian mission carried out in 2003 in the department of Concepcion, where landless campesinos have been mobilising in favour of agrarian reform. At the start of the Duarte administration, in August 2003, a request by Washington for immunity from prosecution for U.S. troops was denied. In December, the United States cancelled 330 million dollars in economic aid to some 10 countries, including Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, because they refused to sign bilateral agreements that would ensure U.S. troops and other citizens immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court.

by **proldic** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:03 am

Wed, Aug. 10, 2005 Associated Press: TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Jeb Bush will accompany Florida business leaders on a trade development mission to Peru later this month, his office announced Wednesday... Bush is scheduled to meet in Lima with Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo during the trip, scheduled for Aug. 24 through Aug. 26... "Peru is among Florida's top 20 trade partners and offers a wealth of international business opportunities for companies in a variety of industries throughout the Sunshine State," Bush said in a statement. "Trade missions such as this one are a critical part of our efforts to expand our trade and investment relationships and further diversify Florida's economy." It will be Bush's first official visit to Peru...

by **need a name** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 1:03 pm

It seems to me that the rethug admins. all have something in common. Wars, wars in drug producing areas, and commodity control such as oil....and now water. My Dad, a WWII Vet. & POW, always said the next big war would be over water. Looks like he may be right. As far as Brazil goes... a Texas Border Patrol officer told me that between 8 to 12,000 Brazilians have come across the Texas border illegally in the past year! 8 to 12 THOUSAND!! Why??? I believe it is to set up a drug network, and after reading the previous posts, it sounds about right. They are required to give them a summons to appear (somewhere but I don't know where), and then they give them...believe it or not.... an ATM card w/ $800 on it! The US has to feed them,etc. or it wouldn't be humane. He wanted me to know what the official policies are, and who is making them. Bush admin., I suppose. This is not BS, and I have no reason to doubt the gentlman who told me. And frankly, it's scary just writing this. ok, so good luck to us all & have a nice day

by **Starman** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 6:41 pm

-- in the past year? For purpose of developing an extended drug-marketting network? Perhaps -- But that would clash with established mafia and 'other' drug-networks, including Mexican, Columbian, Israeli, Guatamalan, and asorted 'other' assets used by Intelligence/DEA networks. A related 'service' would likely be money-laundering, but possibly some other intrigue? Gun-running, establishing Terrorist networks, esp. for False Flag ops? This is very strange. Could they possibly be set-up as Chavez-Venezuelan agents, to provide pretext for a US strike on that nation which is a thorn in the side of America's aggressive Latin-American policy? Jeez, there's so MUCH people aren't being told anymore -- yet another sign that our political system is in collapse. We're living in a Corporate-feudal plutocracy. Also, Iwas extremely disturbed to read about the financial bribery, a hallmark of the repug-thugs: "In December, the United States cancelled 330 million dollars in economic aid to some 10 countries, including Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, because they refused to sign bilateral agreements that would ensure U.S. troops and other citizens immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court." WHO the effing-hell are these 'other citizens' who would be exempt from National and International Laws? I'd guess, some very unsavory characters who are payed via cutouts and false-fronts to engage in very criminal activities on behalf of what amusingly (in a tragic-cosmic sense) is held to be 'US National Security' interests -- ie, war, rapine, plunder, extortion, assassination, intrigue, espionage, smuggling, bribery, and 'other' acts that reflect American ideals of liberty, justice and peace. Good GaWd, but America ought to clean it's OWN effing house before it tries to clean-up others, eh? ANY nation that decides to allow US troops to operate on their territory exempt from domestic and International Laws is NOT a representative Democracy -- and that INCLUDES the US. IMHO: There ain't ONE HUNDRED Bush Admin. goons worth the life of ONE self-respecting South American peasant. This whole bullshit of 'indispensible' career politicians is part of what has caused our system to be betrayed and fail. It would be a joke if the consequences weren't so deadly-awful for thousands of people just trying to do the best they can and survive, while corporations have their interets served by US Military forces and mercenaries, paid-for by cocaine-guranteed US Taxpayer future-obligations our kid's kids are having their futures mortgaged for. What a GD ponzai scheme. I wish I didn't take these moral outrages and insults so personally -- it offends my sense of decency and honor. Christ's observations regarding 'blessed are the poor' seem right-on -- few people seem to have the character to avoid being corrupted by wealth and power. Starman

by **need a name** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 7:21 pm

A related 'service' would likely be money-laundering, but possibly some other intrigue? Gun-running, establishing Terrorist networks, esp. for False Flag ops? The later is what I was also thinking, but didn't want to say, Starman. But don't rule out Afganistans heroin that should be hitting here soon, if not already. Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I need a break from all this sh*t... we'll see I guess. What he told me was the absolute truth, I have NO DOUBT! I will try and do some research on it, maybe get some written info from somewhere, newspaper articles, etc. But it all fits. The borders are not controlled at all!! The men and women who work it are honorable, but they are understaffed (understatement) and have their hands tied by rules that incourage this sort of influx. The powers that be certainly seem to want them here for what ever reasons. Dear ole Homeland Security sure isn't doing anything about it. And then they cry: "terrorist may bring "nukes" over the Mexican border" "Be afraid, be very afraid" And my response is: "What are you a**holes doing about it? Nothing!!" I use to think it was to get a cheap labor force.... but it seems much more organized than that. And Brazil?? That freaked me out. But the people that live in the border towns know all about these folks. Maybe it is about an impending civil conflict there, or their economy. They had quite an influx from El Salvador in the 80's. When ever a Bush comes to your town, trouble is brewing. I don't know what it's all about, wish I did. But I'll try to find some hard #'s.

by **need a name** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 7:24 pm

Here's a great example from anonymouse's post, that ties it all together. Brazil, drugs, illegal immigration, and Iran Contra (Bush's connection!): Paraguay is the major drugs port through which virtually all the cocaine produced by Bolivia and Peru passes. In the world's second most corrupt country, "the ease of buying influence is second to none", said Montiel. "Corruption reaches dangerous levels and he who wants transparency in Paraguay is a dead man. Indeed the famous Iran contra affair was operated from Ciudad del Este" on the south-east Paraguayan border with Argentina and Brazil.

by **proldic** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 9:45 am

Friday, August 12 Peru President's Cabinet Chief Quits, Forcing Shake-Up of Ministers By Rick Vecchio Associated Press Writer Published: Aug 11, 2005 LIMA, Peru (AP) - Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero announced he was resigning, apparently to protest President Alejandro Toledo's decision to name as foreign minister a political ally who favors legalizing more production of coca, the raw material for cocaine. The resignation prompted Toledo to ask all of his ministers to submit resignations, as required by Peru's Constitution when the Cabinet chief quits. "The president will evaluate those who will continue on and those who will not," Toledo said in a nationally broadcast address in which he appeared tired and referred to himself in the third person. The latest crisis to hit Toledo's scandal-ridden government came minutes after the swearing-in of Fernando Olivera, Peru's ambassador to Spain, to replace Foreign Minister Manuel Rodriguez, a career diplomat who offered his resignation for "personal reasons." Ferrero almost immediately issued a one-sentence statement announcing his "irrevocable resignation." He offered no reason, but the decision was widely seen as a response to the appointment of Olivera, who last week clashed openly with several of Toledo's ministers over his support for legalizing expanded cultivation of coca - the raw material for cocaine. The choice of Olivera also angered members of Toledo's party and many officials in Peru's diplomatic service. "I know this is a political appointment, but this will only work if he has support, so I am asking foreign affairs officers for that," Toledo said of Olivera at his swearing-in ceremony. Changes in the Cabinet are frequent in Peru - Ferrero was Toledo's fourth Cabinet chief in four years - and the president is not obligated to accept all the resignations, said constitutional expert Abraham Siles. "But you can't minimize it," Siles said. "These ministerial changes constitute a difficult situation, an emergency, because undoubtedly they have to do with power struggles over what tendencies will predominate in the circles of high government from this point forward." Many of the ministers who form Toledo's 16-member Cabinet would have had to resign in a few weeks anyway if they wished to run in national elections next April, he said in his address... Olivera is leader of the Independent Moralizing Front party, which has provided key support to Toledo in Congress, where his political party lacks a majority. Fearing that Olivera might hold sway over Toledo, Housing Minister Carlos Bruce, one of the country's most popular political figures, threatened to quit last week if Toledo rescinded the government's legal challenge in Peru's highest court to regional ordinances legalizing expanded coca production... Olivera is best known for revealing the now-famous video in September 2000 that showed ex-spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos paying a newly elected opposition congressman US$15,000 to back the authoritarian government of former President Alberto Fujimori. The ensuing scandal ended Fujimori's 10-year government and drove him into exile in Japan, where he remains a fugitive.

by **chiggerbit** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 6:05 pm

Things may be heating up: <a href="http://www.iapprovethismessiah.com/">www.iapprovethismessiah.com/</a> 8/15/2005 Moon clashes with Paraguay From a pay-only story in The Economist: ONE day in 2000 the people of Puerto Casado, a small town in Paraguay's inhospitable Chaco region, were shocked to learn that the ground had been sold under their feet—and that their new lord and master was the Rev Sun Myung Moon, the self-proclaimed messiah who leads the Unification cult, better known as the Moonies. Mr Moon's acolytes soothed locals' fears by promising all sorts of grand projects to make the town rich, from a meat-packing plant to an eco-tourism resort. … Wire sources report that the Paraguayan government is seizing some of Moon's holdings after accusing the church of unchecked authority over the locals and ties to the drug trade. Twice the size of Luxembourg, Moon's land sits next to the Guarani Aquifer, a huge fresh water reserve that South Americans are accusing the Bush Administration of trying to control. Now this.

by **chiggerbit** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 6:09 pm

<a href="http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/68462/">www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/68462/</a> Alert Community radio station bombed Español: Atentado con bombas contra radio comunitaria Country/Topic: Paraguay Date: 09 August 2005 Source: World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) Person(s): Target(s): radio station(s) Type(s) of violation(s): attacked Urgency: Flash (AMARC/IFEX) - Puerto Casado-based radio station Quebracho Poty was almost completely burned down after several bombs exploded in its studios at dawn on 2 August 2005. According to information provided to AMARC, unidentified individuals entered the San Ramón Nonato parish church where the radio station's studios are located, broke the security lock on the back door and planted some homemade bombs. The station is the only media outlet in the area. "The assailants have damaged almost the entire station, and right now it cannot broadcast and the population is therefore incommunicado. We are dismayed by this event and ask for members of Paraguay's Journalists' Union to take an interest in the problem, given that it is an attack on freedom of expression," Nélida Otazú, a journalist with Radio Paí Puku, in El Chaco, told FM Trinidad, a community radio station based in Asunción, the capital. Some sources consulted by the Jakueke news agency (Agencia Jakueke) are holding the World Unification Church, a sect founded by Korean businessman Sun Myung Moon, responsible for the bombing, saying that the sect was retaliating for the radio station's active support for the community's request that the government expropriate 52,000 hectares of land currently controlled by the Moon sect and return it to its owners. AMARC's Latin America and Caribbean section (AMARC-ALC) repudiated the bombing, and demanded that the government make every effort to guarantee that the right to communication can be freely exercised. In a communiqué sent to the Paraguayan authorities, AMARC-ALC coordinator Ernesto Lamas said "community radios are legitimate media outlets and spaces for the community to express itself. Attacks such as this impact not only on Radio Quebracho Poty, but on the community as a whole, and constitute direct attacks on the right to communication and freedom of expression."

by **Starman** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 6:23 pm

It seems likely an anonymous peasant earned himself a neat tidy sum for a coupla-hours late-night special delivery 'work', on instructions by a Yanqui preppie-type -- that is, if the peasant himself wasn't just dissapeared into a shallow ditch somewhere. Now WHO would stand to gain by destroying a vital community communication and information system? Hmmm ... Starman

US Building Bases, Neworks, Deploying to Paraguay

US Building Bases, Neworks, Deploying to Paraguay

Re: US Building Bases, Neworks, Deploying to Paraguay

ha ha ha

Water another reason?

Paraguayans accuse Moon of carving out an empire of smack

Whoops

Jeb Bush heading to Peru on "trade mission"

oh sh*t!

re: 8-12 thousand Brazilians crossing border illegally ...

exactly

anonymouse post

Jeb's Visit = Peru's Cabinet Chief Quits, Forcing Shake-Up

Re: Jeb's Visit = Peru's Cabinet Chief Quits, Forcing Shake-

Re: Moon over Paraguay

re: Radio Staion Bombed

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