Brazil sees no threat from U.S. military bases in Colombia

U.S. military bases in Colombia pose no threat to Brazil’s sovereignty, a senior Brazilian government adviser said on Tuesday.

“I do not think that (the Brazilian sovereignty) is threatened,” Foreign Policy Adviser to Brazilian President Marco Aurelio Garcia said in response to media questions after an hour-long meeting with U.S. National Security Adviser, General James Jones.

However, Garcia also told the press that the objective of installing U.S. military bases in Colombia was unclear and he worried that some bases’ locations were close to the border, which might jeopardize Brazil’s interests.

Garcia added that the Brazilian government considers the installation of American military bases in the region “as a glimpse of the Cold War.”

The United States and Colombia are negotiating to create seven military bases on Colombian territory to combat narco-trafficking and support humanitarian actions.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will visit Brasilia on Thursday to meet his Brazilian counterpart Lula da Silva and they are likely to discuss the military base agreement.