Colombia has offered to host US military operations currently run out of Ecuador, once the lease for the base there expires in two years, according to a senior Pentagon official who spoke to reporters in July. Such a change would consolidate Colombia's position as the Latin American country most militarized by the United States.

From the Arizona Star, July 25:

Two ex-Army men receive 4+ years in drug sting
A crack-addicted Army National Guard sergeant who corrupted his underlings and a Tucson Army recruiter who corrupted his soldier brother were sentenced to federal prison terms in Tucson on Tuesday.

From Nancy Pelosi's blog, The Gavel, July 24:

House Votes to Ban Permanent Bases in Iraq

"The Democratic Congress will go on record – every day if necessary – to register a judgment in opposition to the course of action that the President is taking in Iraq. The Democratic Congress will go on record – every day if necessary – to fight for a redeployment of our forces as the central element of a New Direction strategy for Iraq." —Speaker Pelosi, 7/25/07

It's a beautiful time to be alive—if you're a Halliburton shareholder. From Reuters, July 23:

Halliburton Co., the world's second-largest oil services company, said on Monday second-quarter profit from continuing operations rose 19 percent, topping Wall Street views, helped by new international contracts and stronger demand from its customers.

Human bones, organs and tissues will be considered commodities if the pending Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is ratified, Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Ministry has acknowledged. The admission came in a statement released from Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz to Dr. Rodrigo Cabezas, a Costa Rican surgeon, who had inquired about Item 30019010 of Appendix 3.3 of the treaty. Ruiz said that under the agreement, human organs would be marketed just like any other product in international trade. "For this given product, Costa Rica agreed to remove the import tariff under the free trade agreement," Ruiz stated. (Prensa Latina, July 13)

The Wayuu indigenous people of Venezuela sent a message saluting the "Encuentro of the Pueblos Zapatistas with the Peoples of the World," which has just opened at the village of Oventic in Chiapas, Mexico. The message was harshly critical of the Hugo Chávez government, which it accused of "continuing the neoliberal policies" under the guise of a "double discourse," indicating a "lack of respect for the [indigenous] communities, a manipulation, and in the final accounting, a genocide." It said the Venezuelan state "has blocked with the transnational imperialists to enter indigenous territories throughout the country to exploit mineral, hydrocarbon, gas and petroleum resources, against the wishes and the decisions of the indigenous communities of Venezuela." (La Jornada, July 20)

Labor unrest, infrastructure problems and charges of corruption at Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA have reached the point of a "significant operational emergency," PDVSA vice president for exploration and production Luis Vierma told the National Assembly's comptroller committee July 18. The warnings of crisis come just as PDVSA is embarking on an ambitious course of taking greater control over Venezuela's oil industry from foreign companies.

A front-page New York Times story July 24 reveals details of a classified plan calling for achieving "localized security" in Baghdad by the summer of 2008—and "sustainable security" throughout Iraq by the summer of 2009. The document, known as the Joint Campaign Plan, anticipates a decline in US forces as the "surge" runs its course later this year or in early 2008, but it assumes continued US involvement to train and cooperate with Iraq forces. Drawn up by Gen. David H. Petraeus, the senior US commander in Iraq, and Ryan C. Crocker, the US ambassador, the plan has been briefed to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. William J. Fallon, the head of the Central Command. It is expected to be formally issued to officials in Washington this week. "The coalition, in partnership with the government of Iraq, employs integrated political, security, economic and diplomatic means, to help the people of Iraq achieve sustainable security by the summer of 2009," a summary of the campaign plan states.