[CORRECTION/RETRACTION: While some of Calloni’s information and conclusions about US interests in the region are accurate, it has been brought to our attention that the ‘textbook’ she cites, in sections we have indicated in bold, is a hoax and does not exist, which calls into question the rest of the Celso Santos article Calloni is working from. We apologize for this error.]
Buenos Aires, 6 January. Humanitarian groups and social and political observers are on alert after the Dec. 30th decision of the Paraguayan Senate to approve the entry of US forces in January to ‘œcarry out training programs and joint special operations with the national navy.’
The subject is of concern not only in Paraguay, where troops will enter after next Saturday, but also in Argentina and Brazil, and more especially in the Triple Frontier, the border zone of the three countries, which is in the eye of U.S. strategic plans for regional militarization. The Paraguayan ministry has confirmed that the soldiers will carry out ‘œregular training exercises in the fight against drugs and terrorism.’ The Paraguayan Senator Carlos Filizzola specifically asked that in the final vote his ‘œnay’ be recorded to the entry of the troops owing to ‘œthe recent U.S. actions in the world, which signify a violation of fundamental rights.’
At the same time, various Brazilian groups have registered their indignation after finding out about a report by Celso Santos, of the Brazilian magazine Casa Claudia that asked his country to be aware of U.S. plans for the Amazon. Santos explains how last May the Felix Varela Center for Latin American Studies, in Germany, received a report of a young Brazilian living in the United States.
Her U.S. geography book, according to the report, shows an ‘œamputated’ Brazil ‘œin which figure neither the Amazon region nor the rich zone of El Pantana.’
The letter from the youngster, whose name has not been revealed, received scant notice in the Brazilian media, but Santos rescued the subject, maintaining that through scholarly texts and teachings ‘œU.S. public opinion is being prepared for what would be an appropriation of the Amazonian territories.’ Santos began a campaign via Internet and other media, with a call to pay attention to this situation, annexing a copy of the texts where the Amazonian region is said to be ‘œunder the responsibility of the United States and the United Nations.’
The book being referred to is Introduction to Geography, by David Norman, and is used in elementary schools. The text referred to says that the Amazon is ‘œan extension of lands with more than 3,000 square miles’ that is considered prime international reserve.
‘œFrom the mid-‘˜80s, the most important forest of the world became the responsibility of the United States and of the United Nations. It is called PRINFA (Primera Reserva Internacional de la Floresta Amazonica),’ continues the text, which explains that this is due to the fact that ‘œthe Amazon is located in South America, one of the poorest regions of the world and surrounded by cruel, irresponsible and authoritarian countries.’
It goes on to state that ‘œthe creation of the PRINFA was supported by all the nations of the G-23 and was really a special mission for our country and a present for the whole world, for to leave these valuable lands in the hands of such primitive peoples and countries would condemn the lungs of the world to disappearance and total destruction in just a few years.’
Another part of the text states that ‘œthis area has the best biodiversity of the planet, with a great number of specimens of all types of animals and plants. The worth of this area is incalculable, but the planet can be sure that the U.S. will not permit the destruction of this true property of humanity.’
Local analysts think that this also explains the Plan Colombia, with the presence of U.S. armed forces on Colombian territory; the thousands that are in Surinam, the constant pressure of the U.S. to utilize the Brazilian Air Force rocket-launching base of Alcantara, and its constant attempt to militarize the Triple Frontier with the excuse that there are Islamic terrorists there.
The Triple Frontier includes the important guaranà aquifer system, the most important fresh water reserve in the world.
Celso Santos also refers to the ‘œintention’ of the U.S. to install at least two military bases in Argentina, ‘œone in Patagonia and another near Buenos Aires,’ and warns that the Amazon is already surrounded by U.S. soldiers who ‘œwill guarantee the possession of the region at any moment.’
What Santos in Brazil is pointing out accords with the analysis of Alberto Pinzón Sanchez, doctor and anthropologist, who participated in the Commission of Notables at the recent Colombian peace negotiations. In his essay on the intent to recolonize Latin America, Pinzón Sanchez cites basic documents, such as the Santa Fe Text in which the contemporary validity of the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 is alluded to: ‘œAmerica for the Americans’ (read ‘œUnited-Statesians’), as well as the Plan Colombia and the Puebla-Panama, among others.
On the subject of the Amazon, Pinzón Sanchez maintains that Washington is proposing to ‘œguarantee preferential access of U.S. investors to the strategic resources of the hemisphere, especially in the andino-amazonian region (oil, gas, minerals and woods) and in the resources of life (genetic biodiversity, water, oxygen) as one more type of commodity. For the andino-amazonian region the following specific objectives are proposed: An alternate to the Panama Canal in El Chocó of Colombia (Atrato-Truandó); a South American river network (SARS-IFSA) which will unite the Orinoco River with the Rivers Negro, Amazonas, Madeira, Mamore-Guapore, Paraguay, Tiete, Parana and De La Plata, and will permit transport from Venezuela to Buenos Aires.’
In this way, Washington seeks dominion over the ‘œ Five Borders’ zone, (Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Brazil and Venezuela), which possesses a gigantic pocket of shared oil which currently is exploited by those five countries, and which is sent by trans-Andean pipelines to the ports of Tumaco and Esmeraldas.
‘œAnd last, the control of the Great Amazon region which gives birth to the great rivers from which originate the most important water reserve of the planet: the rivers Caqueta, Putumayo, Apaporis y Vaupes, in Colombia; Napo, in Ecuador, and Marañón and Ucayalli, in Perú.’ And from there to the plans drawn for the Triple Frontier, as the latest declarations of U.S. antiterrorist spokesmen concerning this zone leads one to expect that, with soldiers in Paraguay, the pressures on that country, Brazil and Argentina to support U.S. occupation of that region will grow in the future.
Translation by John Blank
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