Western Hemisphere
A military agreement executed on October 30th by and between Colombia and the United States is "a shame for the history of our continent" and "nobody knows it," said on Monday Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicolás Maduro.

"The Colombian Congress does not know it; the public opinion or the whole Colombian government does not know it; the US Congress does not know it; nobody knows it," said Maduro, acting as leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Efe reported.

"There are just media speculations saying that in this agreement there is assignment of territory; absolute immunity for any crime committed in Colombia by US troops, and that there is not assurance that the Colombian territory can be used against other countries in or out of the hemisphere," Maduro added.

The PSUV leader termed "very serious" that Bogotá "insisted on making the historical mistake of ignoring the clamor in the hemisphere for our territory free from US bases."

Last October 30th, Colombia and the United States signed a military cooperation agreement which will enable US troops and advisors to use at least seven bases of the Colombian armed forces.