Latin America, the southern military command of the United States openly claims the lithium, oil, gas and gold of Spanish-speaking countries

ROME – From the site of TeleSUR we learn that Laura Richardson, general and head of the southern military command of the United States, has in fact formalized, with some of her statements, what is the policy of the US government with respect to Latin America and its natural resources. “If these countries only produced radishes or turnips, nothing would happen to them,” she said. In short, what the Republicans did not dare to say openly in 2001, now becomes the government policy of the Democrats. And this only increases the concerns of the numerous humanitarian organizations engaged in development and emergency programs in many countries of the Latin American sub-continent.

The choice (never abandoned) of the “Monroe Doctrine”. In essence, therefore, from the words of the US general – underline several humanitarian operators – the intent is an application of the “Monroe Doctrine”, the ideological James Monroe, who in 1823 in his speech on the state of the Union, delivered before the Congress, expressed the idea of ​​US supremacy over the entire American continent. “America for Americans”. But the question that Latin America is asking today, after the unusual cynical performance is: what do the Pentagon and General Laura Richardson have to do with the natural resources of Latin America?

The four strategic tasks. A first document containing Washington’s hegemonic intentions over South America was published in 1980, written by Ronald Reagan’s far-right foreign policy advisers. the “Santa Fe II” arrived in 1989 and expressed great concern about political and military developments in El Salvador and Colombia, where it had warned of “growing communist guerrilla warfare”. “Santa Fe IV,” originally written in December 2000, but first published in August 2001, following George Bush’s election victory in Florida, briefly addresses the following four strategic tasks (direct quotes from the document):

1. Control of the Atlantic Strait.

2. Using the Panama Canal.

3. A safe southern route around Cape Horn.

4. All of these are within the naval strategic scenario. Assurance that countries in the hemisphere are not hostile to US national security concerns. Also, that the hemisphere’s natural resources are available to meet our national priorities.

The “lithium triangle”: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile. Fernando Rossi, writer, leftist Argentine intellectual, summed it all up like this: “Reaffirming the principles of the ‘Monroe Doctrine’, this document (‘Santa Fe IV’) simply means that there is a plan to annex Latin America and the Caribbean. According to this annexation programme, strategies are elaborated and enemies are defined”. But who are General Laura Richardson’s “enemies”? Why is this region important?” Here is a brief first why: the rich resources and rare earth elements, in the so-called “lithium triangle”, indispensable for technology today. In that “triangle”, which includes Argentina, Bolivia and Chile holds 60% of the world’s lithium But Mexico also has huge deposits and has passed legislation to set up a public mining company, causing protests in the United States and the political right in Mexico.

But that is not all. There are other riches to list: large oil reserves outside Guyana, a country on the northern Atlantic coast of South America, characterized by a dense rainforest. And then the gold and copper resources of Venezuela, the lungs of the Amazon and 31% of the world’s fresh water reserves. The Amazon contains the largest amount of oxygen and fresh water on the planet, is made up of seven million square kilometers and makes up one-third of the area of ​​South America. Most are in Brazil, with the rest in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The entire area is crossed by the “Re”, the Amazon River. It is one of the longest rivers in the world and the largest volume of water, but above all where there is a gigantic amount of iron, oil, precious stones and wood. 20 million people live there, 300,000 are indigenous. In short, a part of the world that arouses attention and strong interests, for the “national security” of the United States.

All the questions that arise. Among the former right-wing regimes, totally subordinate to the USA – various observers and humanitarian workers record – in principle only Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay and now also Peru remain, after the coup against President Pedro Castillo. And the question that arises is: does the coup in Peru have any geostrategic background? And does the coup attempt in Brasilia last January have any connection to Richardson’s concerns about South America’s natural resources? Again: do the right-wing offensive against the president of Colombia or the revolt in Bolivia have anything in common with the countries mentioned? It is a fact, however, that these are countries which, together, form an immense market space, a potential industrial force and ground for important financial speculation.

Remember Colin Powell? In 2001 in Wall Street Jourlal said. United States Secretary of State, General Colin Powell (the one who showed the test tube to prove the existence of weapons of mass destruction, which did not exist, and thus justify the invasion and destruction of Iraq) on Wall Street Journal of October 16, 2001 said: “Our goal with the FTAA (the free trade area of ​​the Americas) is to guarantee to American companies the control of a territory that goes from the Arctic Pole to Antarctica, free access, without any obstacle or difficulty, to our products, services, technologies and capital throughout the hemisphere”.