Elbridge Colby Says Greater Military Investment Is Needed to Combat Organized Crime.

On Wednesday, Elbridge Colby, the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, urged Latin American countries to increase their defense and security spending to combat organized crime.

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“It is essential that our neighbors invest more in their own defense and security. There is no reason why any country, especially those facing significant narco-terrorist threats, should devote so little to defense,” he wrote in Americas Quarterly magazine.

The senior Pentagon official described it as “absurd” that some Latin American countries “spend less than 1% of their GDP on national defense,” although he did not specify which ones.

Colby noted that European allies “are significantly increasing their spending,” reaching 3.5% of GDP in military expenditures and an additional 1.5% on security-related matters.

In early July, the U.S. Undersecretary participated in the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, held in Cusco, Peru, where he also defended the new U.S. policy toward Latin America.

Colby said there is currently “a historic opportunity for the United States and its regional neighbors to work together” in combating drug trafficking and other threats.

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Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump authorized the “Shield of the Americas,” a military alliance against organized crime made up of right-wing Latin American countries, which does not include either Brazil or Mexico.

Colby said the U.S. security strategy is an update of the Monroe Doctrine, a 19th-century foreign policy principle that established that Latin America should remain within Washington’s sphere of influence.

“Of course, we recognize that the Monroe Doctrine is controversial in many circles. But it is also often misunderstood,” he said while attempting to justify its contents.

Colby argued that the objective of the United States “is not exploitation, subordination or dependence,” but rather for Latin American nations to achieve “greater prosperity, security and stability.”

He recalled that the United States, which has been affected by drug trafficking and migration flows, will mobilize its armed forces and all of its resources to confront those threats.

In that regard, he cited as an example the dozens of U.S. attacks in the Caribbean against boats allegedly carrying drugs, an operation that has been criticized for involving extrajudicial executions in international waters.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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