On 3 January, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa revealed that his government had uncovered a conspiracy to launch a coup. He said it had “intelligence reports that support with data and figures that conspirators have being receiving help not just from the US government, but from US right-wing organisations.” The plotters had sent e-mails round army barracks, the President said.
The USA is active in Latin America: waging secret operations by Special Forces, supporting death squads and selling huge quantities of arms, all under cover of fighting a war on drugs. In Colombia, American Special Forces and other personnel are fighting the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The USA has sent military aid worth $6 billion. The British government has sent undisclosed amounts of military aid, and the SAS trains the High Mountain Battalions, which have a record of atrocities.
Last October, Colombia’s government agreed to let the USA use seven new military bases, some on the borders of Venezuela and Ecuador. The USA is also training Colombian forces for more attacks inside Ecuador and Venezuela.