While the presidential candidates are immersed in debates on foreign policy ranging from the war on terror to NATO expansion, and the media is obsessed with the Clinton/Obama spat, there is real trouble brewing south of the border in Latin America.
And, in fact, some of the more troubling items show a pattern of deliberate destabilization being perpetrated by socialist nations and their Marxist leaders, including:
• A vote on Sunday will decide if the eastern half of Bolivia declares virtual independence from the socialist government of Evo Morales. The vote is expected to be large and in favor of secession. This will most certainly result in civil war.
• Hugo Chavez and Morales recently conferred in Caracas, Venezuela. Cuba was there as well. What are the odds we will see Cuban and Venezuelan troops on the ground in Bolivia? And if that happens, what will a weakened U.S. do as we already fight a two front war?
• Peru reports that Bolivia, financed by Chavez, is operating hundreds of organizing cells in the southern part of their country. This is nothing less than subversion; Alan Garcia, President of Peru, has been a friend of the United States. Is this the beginning of an attack? ALG News thinks so. Recently there were “riots” in Cuzco that can be traced back to the Hard Left.
• In Nicaragua, Commandant Ortega has become bosom buddies with the most extreme anti-American elements, inviting both Chavez and Ahmadinejad to Minocqua for his inauguration.
• The U.S. Congress refuses to vote on a free trade deal with Columbia, one of our closest allies in the region. The only person to benefit from this is Chavez.
• Equador is a soft enemy of the US. Will it get bolder in its alliance with Chavez and Morales? If so, our friends in Peru will be surrounded.
• Brazil and Argentina are at best neutral. If they saw us or other democracies in the region in trouble, they would probably not be there to help.
• Chile may stay out of this conflict, but its current President is a socialist and cannot be counted on either.
The long and short of these developments is that Latin America is on the verge of becoming an extremely hostile place for its most vital North American neighbor. The Left in Congress is aiding this by failing to support our democratic friends in the region. Meanwhile, China and Cuba are neck deep in locking up vast stockpiles of important resources and denying them to the U.S.
Latin America could fall rapidly if the socialists are not countered. These are in truth very big trouble for the U.S. – and nobody is apparently paying any attention – focused instead on presidential politics, rising prices, the falling dollar, and the long-drawn war thousands of miles away.
ALG Perspective: Congress needs to pass the Columbia free trade deal, and thereby send a strong message to our adversaries in the region that we are not going to abandon our democratic allies in Latin America. Additionally, President Bush should strengthen the Millennium Challenge accounts, which promote democracy. Honduras for example is a strong democracy, and was the first Latin American nation to utilize such an account. El Salvador and Columbia also participate. Without the U.S. paying close attention to the growing socialist threat in the south, freedom in these lands could be in big trouble.
