Colombian bases could accept more US planes: official

[Judi Lynn]

Colombian bases could accept more US planes: official

10 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Colombia may allow more US aircraft on its air bases as part of a new military cooperation agreement being negotiated, according to visiting Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos.

The move could allow the United States to make up for the potential loss of Ecuador's Manta air force base, key to counternarcotics operations in the region, should a bilateral agreement not be renewed, as Quito has threatened.

"We're expanding cooperation in every sense, including access to our bases and that is what we're negotiating," Santos told reporters alongside Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez during a visit to Washington, where they met with US officials and lawmakers.

The deal being negotiated provides expanded access to Colombia's bases for US military planes, the defense chief said, adding that "instead of one type of airplanes, let's have this other type."

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