By Laura Bécquer Paseiro
Revelations made by former CIA
analyst Edward Snowden have opened a Pandora’s box
and created an international scandal which could
easily continue for some time. The United States
government’s vast espionage network has not only
focused on U.S. citizens, but various countries
around the world as well, including many in Latin
America and the Caribbean.
The Brazilian daily O Globo
recently published documents describing in detail
the U.S. surveillance program in the region, which
apparently was not only devoted to gathering
military information, but commercial secrets as well.
The newspaper reported that U.S.
espionage targeted the oil and energy industries in
Venezuela and Mexico, and that the most spied-upon
country in Latin America was Brazil. The documents
indicated that another priority target was Colombia,
where surveillance focused on the Colombian
Revolutionary Armed Forces-Army of the People
(FARC-EP). Other countries which were continually
monitored, albeit to a lesser degree, were
Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua,
Honduras, Paraguay, Chile, Peru and El Salvador.
According to the documents obtained
by O Globo, between January and March this
year, U.S. National Security Agency personnel
monitored the region using at least two programs:
Prism - which allows access to e-mail, online
conversations and internet voice communication
provided by companies such as Facebook, Google,
Microsoft and YouTube - and X-Keyscore which can
identify the presence of a foreign visitor in the
country based on the language used in e-mail
messages.
Demands made by Latin American
countries that the Obama administration provide an
explanation of its participation in the incident
with Bolivian President Evo Morales’ airplane,
reflect regional indignation. Statements from a
variety of leaders described the events as
unacceptable violations of international law.
SNOWDEN’S REQUESTS FOR ASYLUM
Speaking with Granma, Cuban
professor Alzugaray commented on offers of asylum
made to Snowden by Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia,
saying that no other region in the world is in a
better position to take such a stance vis-à-vis the
United States. Latin America and the Caribbean, he
emphasized, have been a primary target of U.S.
intelligence operations and have suffered first hand
the consequences of this policy for some time.
Although Snowden’s revelations surprised no one,
denouncing such espionage is a way of letting the
U.S. know that it cannot act with impunity in the
region.
The professor pointed out that the
Snowden case has brought attention to the expansion
of ‘national security’ operations both within the
U.S. and internationally, and to the practically
unlimited power intelligence organizations have
acquired. Some sectors within the U.S. government
have reacted with panic, concerned with what more
Snowden could reveal, while others have attempted to
distance themselves from the phenomenon, he said.
The 29-year-old technician who
leaked details of the government’s secret
surveillance of telephone calls and internet
messages is for Dr. Alzugaray "a time bomb that
could explode at any moment and oblige the
administration and Congress to review and reduce the
autonomy of these intelligence organizations, from
Homeland Security to the NSA, the CIA, the FBI and
others.
Snowden is not, however, the only
concern. The list includes Bradley Manning, the
soldier who sent Wikileaks thousands of diplomatic
e-mails and other documents about the invasions of
Iraq and Afghanistan, who is currently being
prosecuted in military court.
U.S: spying around the world is
nothing new. The Spanish daily La voz de Galicia
recently summarized the numerous precedents, going
back to the Civil War (1861-1865) when Abraham
Lincoln authorized supervision of information
transmitted by telegraph. His Secretary of War Edwin
Stanton invaded the privacy of citizens, detained
journalists and decided what messages could be sent.
Professor Alzugaray recalled the
warnings issued by U.S. President Dwight D.
Eisenhower (1953-1961) about the power of the
military-industrial complex and the Church Committee
hearings after the Watergate case and the war in
Vietnam.
He commented that the Snowden case
appears very similar to that of Daniel Ellsberg who
revealed the Pentagon Papers in the 1970’s, "Ellsberg
himself commented to the Washington Post that
the U.S. is not the same as it was in his time and
that Snowden’s flight was totally legitimate. It is
no surprise that many governments and progressive
political forces are sympathetic to the young man
and are wiling to offer him asylum."
Given the situation, an unrepentant
U.S. government continues to keep an eye on its
southern neighbors, putting them in its line of fire.
July 23, 2013
