WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress’ top Republican called yesterday for deeper economic engagement with Latin America as a bulwark against Iran’s attempt to gain influence in the region and the destabilizing effects of international drug cartels.
“The best defense against an expansion of Iranian influence in Latin America – and against the destructive aspirations of international criminals in the region – is for the United States to double down on a policy of direct engagement,” U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said at the State Department.
“We must be clear that we will be there, with our friends and partners in the region, committed to fighting and winning the war for a free, stable, and prosperous hemisphere,” Boehner said in a speech to the Council of Americas, which represents companies that do business in Latin America.
Boehner said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visits to Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Ecuador this year “underscored the designs Iran has for expanding its influence in Latin America, and its eagerness to forge bonds with governments in the Western Hemisphere that have demonstrated a lesser interest in freedom and democracy.”
Iran’s attempt to gain influence was one of three “major threats” facing Latin America, Boehner said, along with the violence caused by drug trafficking and the possibility of the United States losing interest in the region.
“The threat of U.S. disengagement is the most serious of the three threats I have identified because if it occurs, the other two threats will multiply exponentially,” he said.
Boehner called for a re-energized “Plan Colombia” programme, referring to the billions of dollars in military aid the United States has poured into the country.
“Colombia still has the second largest insurgency in the world, and we need to take seriously the threat it still poses to the people of Colombia and to the region,” he said.
Boehner received an award from the group for his work last year on winning congressional approval of free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
