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This agreement grants U.S. soldiers complete legal immunity from some of their actions while they are in the country, affording them the same privileges as diplomats as well as leaving them free from prosecution for any damages inflicted on the public health, the environment or the country’s resources.

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As one would expect, South Americans are asking questions.

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Suspicion of the U.S. military in Latin America is nothing new. The U.S. Army already has four Cooperative Security Locations (CSL), or permanent military bases (formerly called Forward Operating Locations (FOL), the Pentagon recently changed the terminology to imply a more “cooperative” effort), located in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; Aruba-Curaçao; Manta, Ecuador; and Comalapa, El Salvador. Rumors have started that the Paraguayan base at Mariscal Estigarribia could become the next U.S. CSL.

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