Western Hemisphere
Marco Aurelio García, the foreign policy adviser of Brazilian President Luis Inácio "Lula" da Silva, suggested Venezuela and Colombia to sign a non-aggression pact, in an interview published by Spanish newspaper El País.

He further proposed the two South American countries to agree on "a joint surveillance system of their common border." García added that Brazil would be willing to provide assistance through "technical means."

"It would be interesting for Venezuela and Colombia to agree on a joint surveillance system of their common border. I would not exclude a non-aggression pact," García told the newspaper published in Madrid.

He noted that "in order to implement the joint surveillance system, we would be willing to provide with technical means such as surveillance aircraft," AFP reported.

The most influential adviser of the Brazilian president "and one of the architects of Brazil's surge in foreign policy," as described by the newspaper, visited Madrid for a short time, invited by the Marcelino Botín Foundation.

García criticized again a military agreement between Washington and Bogotá under which US troops are allowed to use military bases in Colombia.

"We do not think that it is right. We can not prevent Colombia from taking its decisions, but we need assurances that there will be no imbalance in the region," he stressed.

In this sense, he considered that "(President Barack) Obama's diplomacy is still contradictory." He cited his attitude toward Cuba and Honduras.

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas