A draft defense cooperation agreement between the US and Uruguay, which could allow the establishment of American bases on Uruguayan territory, according to experts, is being analyzed once again in the Uruguayan Parliament. Its ambiguous content seems to predict a long discussion and controversy.
Analyst Julian González Guyer, a doctor in Political Science, specializing in international security, defense and civil-military relations, warned, in a dialogue with Sputnik, that this project raises the possibility of building American bases in Uruguay, which would mean a ” damage to the country’s sovereignty”.
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But the senator of the ruling National Party (of the center-right) Gustavo Penadés denied it, in a conversation with this medium, and said that the project only involves “some kind of investment in construction”, but not the permanent presence of US forces in Uruguay . the territory.
Meanwhile, the president of the opposition Broad Front Defense Commission (center-left), León Lev, admitted in a dialogue with Sputnik that the project is “unclear” on that point, for which he foresees a “deep discussion ” in Parliament. .
The text of the Agreement for the purchase of supplies and the provision of reciprocal services between the Ministry of National Defense of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay and the Department of Defense of the United States of America is in the Committee on International Affairs of the Senate.
Sputnik requested comments from the Ministry of Defense of Uruguay to know the content of the draft agreement, but the portfolio said that no statements would be given and that the minister, Javier García, will make the relevant explanations only when he has to report. in Parliament.
The project is defined as “a complementary agreement” for the “reciprocal provision” of “logistical support, supplies and services”. The letter shows that Uruguay and the US express their “desire to improve the interoperability, preparation and efficiency of their respective military forces through greater logistical cooperation.”
It is argued that the purpose of the agreement is to “facilitate logistical support” between the two countries during “combined exercises, training, deployments, stops, operations or other cooperative activities”.
Its second article provides for an agreement to “provide food, water, accommodation, transportation (including air transportation), petroleum, oils, lubricants, clothing, communications services, medical services, ammunition, support for base operations (and construction that corresponds to that support), storage services, use of facilities, training services, spare parts and elements, repair and maintenance services, calibration services and port services.”
SOVEREIGNTY THREATENED
González Guyer, a professor at the University of the Republic and a researcher, warned that although the project is a bilateral agreement, it is “very clear” that it will actually enable US action more than anything else.
“When one reads the project, one must understand that even though it is a bilateral agreement, that means things are valuable for both Uruguay and the United States – for example, in terms of providing services that can offer each other -, it is very clear that these are things that Uruguay will allow the US, because the Latin American country does not have the capacity to do things in the US. In addition, the initiative is from the USA and it was drafted in the terms it proposed. Most striking of all is the reference to the foundations and ultimately building the foundations for service delivery,” he said.
The expert recalled that the project was first discussed in 2012, during the administration of the then Minister of Defense, Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro, under the Government of José Pepe Mujica (2010-2015), but that at that time it did not have the support. of Parliament.
“The project was shelved,” said González Guyer, citing the coincidence that it was restarted a few weeks after the XV Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, held in August in Brasilia.
“The agreement allows the US to build a base or help build a base that is used by the US.” The text, as it stands, is too vague to be approved by a Parliament in which Uruguay is engaged with another. country”, he said.
The expert warned that “if the Parliament authorizes it, which is the body responsible for approving Uruguay’s international agreements, this means a loss of sovereignty over a part of the territory”.
STANDARD AGREEMENT
For his part, Senator Penadés assured that “there is no” possibility of installing American bases in Uruguay and considered this interpretation “barbaric” (meaningless).
The lawmaker emphasized that it is a “standard agreement” like those signed for defense cooperation with the US and other countries.
“I want to remember that it was signed in 2012, during the government of [José] Mujica; it was not ratified but [current] the government of [Luis] Lacalle Pou understood that it is necessary for the bill to be ratified by the parliament. It is a bill that does not add any relevant data regarding the military cooperation between Uruguay and the United States”, he assured.
The senator said that the cooperation between the US and Uruguay is “important”, since “throughout history, donations of all kinds have been achieved and there has been cooperation in the field of teaching that requires better training of our troops”.
“What the project does is to set things that have been done in the past. In the past, the US helped build an important polyclinic in the Santa Catalina area [in Montevideo] during the Broad Front government,” he said.
When asked what the project refers to when it refers to “baseline operations [and the construction corresponding to that support],” he claimed refers to the “infrastructure” that has been built on “cooperation issues”. He gave as an example the construction of a “salon, premises, hospital”.
“This leaves the infrastructure to Uruguay, because they are investments that serve our Armed Forces. This does not mean that this implies any kind of loss of sovereignty, but it is a cooperation that is important to maintain because it allows us to get closer in technology. For example, the US donated night vision goggles to the Armed Forces so that helicopters could move at night,” he argued.
‘Unclear’
For his part, Lev claimed that the project is “ambiguous” so it will generate a “very deep discussion” in Parliament.
“Since it is ambiguous, it will cause at least a very deep discussion, I have no doubt. This will not be voted on at the tables and this discussion will take many months, if not years. But it can never be predicted. There are two main laws for the Government, such as the organic law of the Armed Forces and the pension law. “Parliament is not able to study this project quickly,” he said.
He emphasized that in general agreements with foreign countries take months or years to be approved.
“An issue of this nature, with the ambiguities, especially with this potential basis, will provoke a deep debate. The Uruguayan government does not propose the agreement, it makes a scheme with the US and proposes what Washington aspires to. It is not what the government proposes, it is what the US proposes. But in politics, one should never rush. The actions of the political system must be carefully analyzed and seen,” he added.
With information from Sputnik (Lucía Barrios)
