Download: Audio (mp3)
Bases of stability or the basis for conflict?
2 February 2010, 6.30pm
Speakers: Mauricio Rodríguez Múnera (Colombian Ambassador in the U.K.), Grace Livingstone (Author and Journalist) Liam Craig-Best (Director, Justice For Colombia), Spencer Wood (Partner at O.H. Parsons, Trade Union solicitors)
Chair: Dr Tanya Harmer
The recent decision by the Colombian government to allow U.S. forces to use seven military bases on Colombian territory has provoked widespread interest and concern within Colombia, among it neighbours, and further afield in the region. In particular, questions have been raised regarding the motivations behind the U.S.-Colombian agreement, the implications this might have for the United States' relationship with Latin America and Colombia's place within the inter-American system. As a means of addressing these questions, the LSE IDEAS Latin America Roundtable on US bases in Colombia will bring together the Colombian Ambassador and leading commentators on Colombia in the U.K. to discuss the effect of the U.S. bases on Colombia’s internal situation and upon regional stability.