U.S. can prevent Bolivia's Czech aircraft purchase needed to monitor drug trafficking!

This is the google translation of an article appearing in the current edition of Inka Kola news taken from a link posted by subsuelo:

Confirm Bolivia brake U.S. in combating drug trafficking
By boliviasol

La Paz, 15 ago (PL) The Minister of Defense of Bolivia, Walker San Miguel, confirmed that United States is opposed to the acquisition by the Andean nation of Czech manufacturing aircraft for the fight against drug trafficking.

According to San Miguel, quoted today by the newspaper Cambio, the representative of the aircraft factory in the European country sent a note in which it explicitly regretted not being able to handle sales to the State at the request of the Bolivian northern power.

The confirmation of the minister replied to a note issued by a local environment that realizes that United States is still considering the request of Bolivia.

"We have not received any communication from the U.S. government in the sense that they were still thinking about the Czech manufacturer to authorize the sale of aircraft Alca for the fight against drug trafficking," said San Miguel.

He noted that part of the technology used in ships manufactured in the Czech Republic is in its U.S. and thus require authorization from the authorities there for sale ....

Original, in Spanish:
http://boliviasol.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/confirman-en-bolivia-freno-de-ee-uu-en-lucha-contra-narcotrafico/
http://incakolanews.blogspot.com/

to use in its OWN drug interdiction.

That was the plan. Then the US stepped in to quash the sale because it has the right to authorize or deny authorization due to the fact the technology used in building these aircraft belongs to the United States! As long as that feature remains the US can tell whatever country buys products with American technology whether or not they can sell those products to someone else!

I've only heard the US does this concerning products other countries have attempted to sell to CUBA, as an extraterritorial feature of the Helms-Burton Act the whole world has deemed to be illegal internationally.

So this actually looks like a mini-blockade of Bolivia, conducted completely secretly, unacknowledged by US corporate media.

Russia Heads South
Moves Into Markets Formerly U.S. Controlled
By NABI ABDULLAEV
Published: 13 April 2009 Print | Email

Moscow - Russia is advancing into the Latin American arms arena, staking claims in a market once dominated by the United States. Russian analysts chalk up the progress to a better marketing strategy and political changes in the region.

"The main reason for expansion of military and technical cooperation with Latin America is that Russia offers its partners not only competitive weapons and military equipment, but also attractive terms to buy them," Viktor Komardin, deputy general director of state arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, replied in written answers to questions.


Russia's Clients


Russia's latest advances on the Latin American arms market, which the senior Russian officials sometimes describe as a "breakthrough," have been aided by restrictions the United States attaches to its own military and technical cooperation with the Latin American countries, said Ruslan Pukhov, the director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a think tank here.

"Americans effectively pushed Chavez and Morales into Russia's arms," he said.

The analyst referred to the 2006 arms embargo announced by Washington against Chavez, whom it accuses of supporting terrorist regimes and extremist groups, and the enforcement of the 1992 law allowing the United States to veto other countries' sale of military hardware built with U.S.-made components. The law effectively banned NATO countries from selling arms to Venezuela. Only Spain continued selling arms and military equipment to Chavez.

In another example, Pukhov said, the United States is blocking the sale of seven L-159 combat aircraft made by the Czech Republic to Bolivia. The news of the budding $58 million deal was reported internationally in January.

"Morales then will buy Russian, cheap and no strings attached," Pukhov said.

(Even Chile is interested in Russian weaponry.)

Most recently, during the four-day visit of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to Russia in early April, the Russian Interfax news agency cited a source in the arms export industry who said Chile has shown interest in new versions of the Russian Mi-35 and Mi-17 helicopters, the Ka-31 long-range surveillance helicopter, Buk-M1 and Buk-M2 air defense missile systems, Igla man-portable air defense systems, firearms and naval craft.

More, including what armaments Russia has been selling in the region.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4035343