Four-Star General John Craddock, commander of the United States
Southern Command, visited Uruguay on June 22 to know more
about the Uruguayan government and to meet with military leaders
in charge of Uruguay's defense. General Craddock assumed command
of the USSOUTHCOM on November 9, 2004. During his one-day
visit to Uruguay, he met with Uruguayan Minister of Defense
Azucena Berrutti, Army commander LTG Bertolotti, Navy commander
VADM Daners, and Air Force commander LTG Bonelli.
At a press conference with local print media,
General Craddock answered questions on Article 98 agreement
with the United States, the investigations regarding human
rights in Uruguay, Cuban and Venezuelan influence in Latin
America, the role of Southern Command in the region, the
dividing line between security and defense, and the weapons
purchase by Venezuela.
Regarding Article 98 of the Rome Statute
and military aid to Uruguay, General Craddock pointed out
that the American
Service-Members' Protection Act is a law in the United
States which "states that countries who have not entered
into an Article 98 agreement with the United States will
forfeit certain types of military and economic funding.
So the fact is that is our law and we will follow our law,
and we will hope to continue working with, talking with
and negotiating with nations to gain Article 98 bilateral
agreements in the future". He added that Article 98
"is not an immunity document, and the very fact that
the Rome Treaty provides it means that they acknowledge
that nations could have agreements on a bilateral basis
which would preclude those who agree to do so from extradition
to the International Criminal Court. We view it as an issue
of jurisdiction, not immunity".
In reference to the investigations of human
rights violations in Uruguay, General Craddock stated, "democracies
will do what they have to do based on their conditions and
circumstances, and I am confident that those processes will
work here and the outcomes will be satisfactory to all concerned."
He further stated that "the human rights issues are
complex, not only here, but in the countries of the region,
and they have their own unique situations and characteristics,
and I think that the nations of the region, Uruguay included,
will in a mature, responsible way, decide how they want
to address those problems, much as the way, to my judgment,
that Uruguay has approached supporting peace throughout
the world. So I believe that good people will make sound
judgments and do the right thing".
With regard to Cuba and Venezuela, General
Craddock stated "I do not see Cuba as a military threat
to the United States, I do not see Venezuela as a military
threat to the United States, what I do see is an influence
in Latin America that creates, potentially creates instability
and uncertainty, because in Cuba, obviously it is a totalitarian
state, a communist state, and in Venezuela it appears that
democratic processes and institutions are at risk. That
has great opportunity to create, again, instability and
uncertainty throughout the region if those processes are
exported. So we are concerned, and we believe the neighbors
in the region should also be concerned." About the
military role of the United States in the region, General
Craddock added "when we stand back and look at the
entire region, the challenges, the threats to the region,
by and large don't have military solutions. The military
aspect is to create conditions to allow other solutions
to work, economic, political, social, so we look at the
security, stability of the nations of the sub regions in
the area, the Andean Ridge, Southern Cone, and we ask our
partners how we can we be helpful so that you can enforce
your sovereignty and secure your country".
General Craddock praised Uruguay's peace
keeping efforts around the world, saying "what you
do in peace keeping around the world is in my judgment incredible,
the greatest contribution in peace keeping per capita, I
believe in the world, very professional, very well trained,
and we want to be able to be helpful and supportive in that
effort, and that's why we want to continue to meet, have
contact and discuss the issues and the challenges ahead".
In reference to the dividing line between
security -or law enforcement- and defense, General Craddock
stated, "The dividing line between security and defense
is now blurring in the 21st century. The 20th century views
of defense as being conventional forces lined up on a country's
borders are now over. Today's threats are not of a conventional
nature, they are transnational, they are to a certain extent
criminal in some areas and terrorist in other areas, they
feed on each other in terms of drug traffickers, the opportunity
for terrorists to hijack that activity and then move in,
they look for ungoverned areas where a state's control is
minimal or not present, so given all that is up to each
country to decide where they draw the line between defense
and security. Depending on the magnitude and the nature
of those threats there may be times when countries will
have their military assisting police or law enforcement
elements in security operations in a country. So I don't
think there is a one size fits all, and each nation has
to make its own judgment. Based upon that decision by the
nations and the laws of the United States, those two factors
determine how much U.S. Southern Command works with countries
with regard to security or defense. I have very, very little
authority to work with police or law enforcement elements
of a nation".
About Venezuela's weapons purchase, General
Craddock said that "when the purchase of individual
weapons, the AK47s, is far in excess of the number needed
to equip the military, one might ask why, it might lead
you to wonder what happens to those extra weapons, if the
displaced, the ordered weapons, move out of control to other
parts of the region could cause significant problems. The
purchase of helicopters I understand is now on the table,
if the helicopters are purchased and used to increase control
of the borders then we think that would be a good thing,
because we know the insurgents of Colombia use the borders
back and forth for safe havens, but we don't know that's
going to happen where there is no transparency if you will
in terms of the arms, the rational, and the applications.
So that's what concerns the United States, that's what concerns
the U.S. Southern Command and we believe should and will
concern the neighbors of Venezuela".
GENERAL CRADDOCK'S OPENING REMARKS AT PRESS
CONFERENCE
Sheraton Hotel Montevideo
June 22, 2005 
AUDIO
(includes introduction by U.S. Embassy's PAO Linda Gonzalez)
Good morning. I have been in command of
Southern Command since early November, and this is my first
opportunity to visit your beautiful country, so it is indeed
a pleasure to be here.
My purpose for coming, is to, first of all,
get to know the Uruguayan government, to meet those in the,
that lead the defense area, the military leaders, and as
much as I can in the short time here, to meet and see the
Uruguayan people, and last but not least, to meet with my
SOUTHCOM personnel here, COL Cordero and her folks, that
do such good work at our mission here in Uruguay. (And)
if I may, to the family of Cpl. Leandro Acosta, who was
killed in Haiti, and Cpl. Tinquer Trindade, who was killed
in the Congo just two weeks ago, we express our deepest
sympathy and condolences. Their selfless dedication to duty
serves as inspiration to all of our men and women in uniform,
and their sacrifice exemplifies the commitment that Uruguay
has made promoting peace throughout the world.
PHOTO GALLERY
PRESS
CONFERENCE
