Ecuador: The disappearance of sovereignty

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Stories of the forcible disappearance of political opponents and innocent victims of a hysterical repression shook Latin America in the years of military dictatorships. These acts were generally directed by accomplished graduates of the grim “School of the Americas,” which at the time was a laboratory for the intervention of the U.S. Southern Command, or SouthCom, in the contemptuously called “back yard” of the United States.

Today, in a period of pre-emptive wars, documents are signed that will lead to the disappearance of the sovereignty of nations. And if that’s the beginning, it is not hard to imagine – with horror and long-range accuracy – what the end might be.

In 1999, a foreign minister of Ecuador ceded the base of Mantua to the United States without the constitutional power to do so. In the turnover document, he established rights for its workers that no Ecuadorean citizen enjoys: total tax exemption; diplomatic immunity; the right to enter or leave the country without a visa, registration or control by immigration authorities; immunity from prosecution for any crime or damage they might cause on Ecuadorean soil. And a long list of benefits, which added up to a carte blanche for the Americans.

In 2003, another foreign minister, Patricio Zuquilanda, has signed an “accord” with a third-rate official at the U.S. Embassy that opens the door to civic and humanitarian aid from SouthCom, behind the backs of the Constitution and Congress, allowing SouthCom to enjoy the absolute power of the absolutists of old.

http://www.rprogreso.com/2003/12Dec/01week/Larrea.htm