Washington Seeks Stronger Ties with Latin American Militaries

by Cyril Mychalejko

President Bush, concerned by Washington's waning influence in Latin America as well as the current leftist shift in many of the region's capitals, signed a waiver on Oct. 2 that authorizes the U.S. military to resume certain types of training to a number of militaries in the region. This will affect eleven countries in Latin America and the Caribbean who were barred from receiving International Military and Education Training (IMET) and other types of military aid as a result of the "American Service-Members Protection Act" (APSA). The bill, passed in Congress in 2002, was intended to punish countries not signing bilateral agreements that would prohibit the prosecution of U.S. citizens at the International Criminal Court -- an institution that the Bush Administration is opposed to. The Act had critics in Congress, the State Department and Defense Department, not because it was perceived as a bullying tactic, but because it diminished U.S. influence in the region.....

(full article)