Resource: US Contractors and Narcotics in South America

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) has been poking into the funding and function of contractors and sub-contractors in the many US foreign adventures currently under way. This includes the nearly 6 billion dollar adventure in counter narcotics in South and Central America. Documents with testimony, facts, figures, etc. are available HERE (scroll down a little bit to see the May 20th hearing documents). I am sure we are all releived to hear that the State Department's point person on counter narcotics is a guy with a BA from Emory whose last posting was in London. Bully. The department of defense point man is a guy with a masters from Columbia in, ahem, Public Administration and who worked as an "advisor" to an undisclosed financial services business. Good to know we have people who know the region well working on $5.9 billion dollar project that affects millions of people's lives.

Saab in Venezuela - Saab GUNS, that is.

Jane's Intelligence Weekly reports today that Venezuela is expanding its ability to buy weapons from the Russians. This comes on the heels of the discovery of Swedish guns in FARC camps in Colombia that were purchased initially (allegedly) by Venezuela. (see the UPI report here).

The Russia deal has the Colombian's spooked. An increase in weapons to the FARC at a time when the Colombian right-wing has them on the run signals to the world that the imminent death of the FARC has been greatly over-stated.

US guns and Russian guns battling it out in a Latin American nation as neighboring exporters of revolution or democracy fuel the fire: I think we've danced this dance before, and all we end up with at the end of the day are a lot of dead Latin Americans. Several months ago I made a comment on a blog to which the administrator snarkily (is that a word) replied that "all the historical factors" regarding Venezuela are different and that we will repeat no history there. Really? A mono-commodity populist exporting revolution as part of a proxy battle for global resources not part of a repeated past? Things may not repeat themselves, but I agree with Mr. Twain: We have some serious rhyming going on.

Interpol in Mexico: Busted / Great Exhibit on Colombian Art in Tampico

Milenio.com reports that the current and former directors of Interpol in Mexico have been busted for being on the narco pay roll. Figures. If there was one place the international organizations and cooperation might be half useful it would be in the control of narcotics, both in health treatment and in fighting production and distribution.

On another note, the Milenio Tampico daily is reporting the opening of what looks to be an interesting exhibit of art in that city by the well known artist Fernando Botero. Glad Tampico could get on the circulation of a show that I think has been pretty well all over the place.

Glad to see more than coca linking Colombia and Mexico.