Senator Robledo denounced the privatization of Colombian military bases as another hidden agenda in the Plan for Development

Press Office of Senator Jorge Enrique Robledo

Bogotá, February 28, 2011

(Translated by Richard Henighan, CSN Volunteer Translator. Edited by Teresa Welsh,

CSN Volunteer Editor)

Foreign mercenary businesses will be able to stay. A brazen violation of national

sovereignty. Santos is worse than Uribe. We're overrun with plutocrats.

Senator Jorge Enrique Robledo described Article 112 as a hidden rider among the

170 articles in the "Plan for Development." This rule will permit the government "to

relinquish the administration of strategic military and police infrastructure," a process

that will privatize law making. Thus, explained the legislator, they will turn over to private

businesses, national or foreign, nothing less than the administration of "the strategic

military and police infrastructure."

This road leads to many military operations becoming large private businesses which

operate with mercenaries, like in the United States. This has been denounced by the

United Nations itself.

According to the Senator, who belongs to the Democratic Alternative Pole, the

Colombian situation is complicated because of the inexorable tendency for the

"

military and police infrastructure" to remain under the control of foreign businesses,

such as DynCorp. These actors already operate in Colombia under the pretext of "Plan

Colombia," and monopolize the mercenary trade on a global scale, violating our national

sovereignty. Robledo added that the amount of power on military and police bases that

will be awarded to these private businesses is obvious.

As would be expected in the government of Juan Manuel Santos, this "dirty trick"

produced the CONPES 3615 of 2009, approved by the Government of Alvaro Uribe

(CONPES is the Social and Economic Political Council).

"How far will the unaudited abuses committed by our native plutocrats go, while they

misgovern Colombia for their own benefit?" Jorge Enrique Robledo wondered.

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