ALBA rejects US military presence in Colombia: Chavez

The Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez announced Sunday that members of Lat Am’s Bolivarian Alliance rejected U.S. military use of Colombia airbases.

At a meeting Sunday for the Bolivarian Alliance (ALBA) in Havana, Cuba, Chavez declared that ALBA members rejected the presence of United States troops on Colombian territory and stated that “the whole of Colombia has been turned into a military base.”

The Venezuelan president also addressed the recent military coup in Honduras, claiming that ALBA members would not acknowledge the recent elections in the country as legitimate, reported news station Terra on Monday.

“We confirm that we do not recognise those elections nor the government who have installed themselves there … the [rightful] president of Honduras is Manuel Zelaya,” stressed Chavez.

Chavez went on to insist that “the empire (referring to the United States) is attempting to recover what it calls its backyard, starting with Central America.”

The ALBA meetings are due to continue throughout Monday.

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