Indigenous people in Ecuador are wary of deals with the US to avoid a repeat of Plan Colombia

Quito, January 23 (EFE).- The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONA) has asked the country's president, Daniel Noboa, to make transparent the agreements that could be reached with the United States within the “internal armed conflict.” He announced the fight against organized crime, to avoid repeating the “failure” of Plan Colombia in the neighboring country.

Konai's statement comes due to the visit made by a delegation from the Washington government to the country these days, which seeks to support Ecuador in combating crime and violence unleashed by organized crime organizations linked to international drug trafficking gangs. To the authorities.

The US delegation consists of Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas Christopher Dodd, Head of Southern Command Laura Richardson, and representatives of the US Office of International Drug Assistance and Law Enforcement.

“We urge President Noboa and his government to make transparent the signed agreements,” as well as “the scope of American interference in Ecuadorian state decisions,” the board of directors of CONAE, the largest social organization, said in a statement. Important statement from Ecuador.

Konai warned against this program, which has been implemented since 1999 to try to end the internal armed conflict in Colombian territory, but he was criticized by social groups, politicians and defenders, saying that “the failure of Plan Colombia is an experience that we cannot repeat.” human rights.

Regarding this program, Konai listed the alleged abuses reported as “cases of human rights violations, false positives, peasant massacres, illegal exploitation of natural resources, and promotion of paramilitary groups.”

Conai added in her letter, in which she also recalled recent statements by the commander of Southern Command about the American vision regarding natural resources in South America, that these problems “are situations that we must avoid in our country.”

The American military commander highlighted, according to Kunai, the so-called lithium triangle between Chile, Argentina and Bolivia, the oil reserves in Venezuela and Guyana, and the riches of the Amazon forests, which are considered “the lungs of the world” or that the region contains 31% of the fresh water on the planet.

For Kony, Richardson's statement, made in January 2023, warns of US interest in the region's resources and that, according to his statements, the matter is “a matter of national security” for the United States and with it, given the need of the North American country, it must ” enhance its game in the region.

For the indigenous movement, “Ecuador needs truth and justice with unlimited respect for national sovereignty,” as well as the protection of national interests against potential pressures from North American power. Evie

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