Ecuador announced it will build fifteen army bases on the border with
Colombia. The measure is to enforce security in a region where both
left wing guerrillas and right wing paramilitary factions are known to
operate.
Ecuador cut all diplomatic ties with its northern neighbor in March 2008 after Colombia attacked a FARC camp on Ecuadorean territory. Ecuador now says right wing paramilitary groups are crossing the border frequently and the Uribe Government is refusing to secure the border.
“We are taking very drastic measures now, because the situation is tremendously drastic,” Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Saturday in his weekly nationally televised broadcast.
“Now more than ever, we have serious infiltration problems with the AUC [the demobilized Self Defense Forces of Colombia] and the Águilas Negras (Black Eagles), deserters of the AUC, in the Esmeralda region,” Correa added.
The fifteen bases will be built in the three departments bordering Colombia, Esmeraldas, Carchi and Orellana.