BOGOTA, Colombia—The Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that last year’s agreement giving the U.S. military access to more Colombian bases is unconstitutional because it wasn’t approved by legislators.
The court’s 6-3 decision said, however, that the ruling does not affect U.S. military personnel and contractors working from Colombian bases covered by earlier accords.
This means any U.S. personnel at the seven bases included in the 2009 pact could shift to bases permitted by previous agreements while the government decides whether to put the latest accord before Congress, where new President Juan Manuel Santos has a big majority.
Last year’s agreement with Washington intensified frictions with neighboring Venezuela, with President Hugo Chavez, a strong critic of U.S. influence in Latin America, calling it a threat to his country. Brazil and Bolivia also criticized the deal, saying it would unsettle the balance of forces in the region.
Santos, who was defense minister from 2006 to early 2009 before running for president, has consistently defended the agreement on the grounds it “improve our ability to combat drug trafficking and terrorism.”
But since taking office Aug. 7, Santos has been working to improve relations with Chavez and there was no immediate comment from the government on whether it would ask Congress to ratify the base deal.
Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera read a statement to reporters saying only that the government would study the ruling. He added that the government “reiterates the fundamental importance of cooperation between Colombia and the United States that has developed over decades in security and defense issues.”
The accord was aimed at boosting U.S. help for Colombia’s operations against leftist rebels and to improve counter-drug campaigns.
The increase in bases available for use by the U.S. military did not call for any expansion of U.S. forces in Colombia. Officials said the deal kept the maximum number of military personnel and contractors at 1,400, as specified by U.S. law.
Rivera did not say how many of those U.S. personnel are at the seven bases covered by the accord overturned by the court.
The court ruled in a lawsuit filed last November by a lawyers group that argued the agreement signed the previous month should have been approved by Congress. The government of previous President Alvaro Uribe argued that wasn’t necessary, saying it was just an extension and revision of earlier bases accords.
The justices rejected the government’s position, saying the agreement was a new treaty that needs congressional approval.
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