ECUADOR: Military Spending Up 240% Since 2009; Disturbing Latin American Trend.

MIAMI HERALD/ JIM WYSS/ 
Regarding the U.S.-backed Colombia as a potential threat, its neighbors have increased military spending at an alarming rate. Peru's President Alan García chided nations for the``war hypothesis'' that robbed social programs.``The cost of maintaining military bases in South America over the last five years has been $125 billion,''Garcia said. ``With just 35 billion, we could give 10 million Latin American families drinking water, education and healthcare for the next 20 years.'' Worldwide military spending is up 49% since 2000, but in the Americas it was up 79%.

BRASIL: Embraer's Super Tucano Airplane, LatAm's Anti-drug Surveillance Choice.

LATIMES/    Latin American nations are interested in buying the retro propeller-driven Super Tucano made by Embraer for anti-drug and counterinsurgency efforts. The $10 million dollar two-seater Super Tucano's top speed is only about 350 mph but it has a 620-mile combat radius and can stay aloft for six hours, carry two heavy machine guns and 2 tons of guided bombs and rockets.

Colombia's Peso Drops 2.56% Over Possible Control Measures.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Colombia's peso closed down 2.56 percent versus the dollar Tuesday on speculation Colombia would adopt capital control measures similar to the 2% investment levy announced this week by Brasil.
"Now Brasil has taken measures, that has a set a precedent to be more creative. This is about uncertainty over what the bank or the government could come out with," said Camilo Perez, chief economist at Banco de Bogota.
The peso weakened to 1,920.45 from Monday's close of 1.872.6 pesos against the greenback.

Over 27,000 Still Missing In Colombia.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Over the last three years the Prosecutor's Office received reports on the forced disappearances of 27,384 people, victims of armed rebel groups with most cases occurring between 1988 and 2002.
The majority of those missing were farmers, construction workers and the unemployed

Colombian Clash With FARC Leaves 18 Dead.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
At least 18 FARC rebels and soldiers were killed in the southwestern Colombia clashes.
Thirteen FARC members and five soldiers were killed in fighting in the mountainous region of Cauca, near Cali.

Colombian Poll Shows 66% Support For Uribe.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Sixty-six per cent of people polled said they favored a constitutional change allowing Alvaro Uribe to run for a third consecutive term in the next elections in 2010.

Expert Says Colombia's Nobel Peace Candidate Is "Too Close To Chavez."

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba's relation with Venezuela president Hugo Chavez may be the reason she didn't win this year's Nobel Peace Prize, opines Adam Isacson of the Center for International Policy.
"Poor Piedad. She has to wait for one year more. If she had won, the good thing would have been that it would have been a signal to president Uribe to change his politics, he states, "but the closeness to Chávez was a bad thing."
Also See = GLOBAL POST: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/colombia/091009/angel-or-farc-ally-disguise

El Nino Weather System Is Drying Up Colombia's Water.

COLOMBIA REPORT/
Ricardo Lozano, Director of Colombia's Environtmental Institute (IDEAM), reported that September's rainfall deficit was close to 50%.
Authorities predict the expected rainfall for October and November in Colombia will be reduced by 30% by the El Niño system.

Medellin's Recent Rise In Violence Gets Uribe's Attention.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe is concerned about Medellin's high crime rate and announced that he will introduce a weekly evaluation of the situation.
In October the homicide rate rose in Medellin - in the first four days, 53 murders were recorded.

Families Flee Medellin Neighborhood After Renewed Violence.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Violence forced some 117 people to flee their homes in the Popular 1 district in the northwest of Medellin, the largest displacement within the city in recent years.
The exodus, which occured between Wednesday and Friday last week was comparable to one that occured in 2001 due to paramilitary conflict. However, last week's took place over a shorter space of time.
The newspaper El Tiempo claimed that around 23 families fled the area to escape revenge attacks. Gangs held the families responsible for the arrest of a prominent gang leader.

Colombia's Mines And Oil Draw Most Foreign Investment.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Colombia's mines and oil get 85.6% of foreign investment in the country, while foreign money avoids other sectors of the economy.
Foreign investment in mining and oil increased 16.4% so far in 2009, compared to the same period in 2008. Foreign investment in other sectors of the Colombian economy has decreased, from 35.4% of total foreign investment in Colombia in 2007, to only 13% in September 2009.
Total foreign investment DROPPED from US$5.41 billion in the first half of 2008 to US$4.89 billion this year.

Eco-Tourism Grows In Colombia.

BBC/
This year has been the busiest in La Macarena, Colombia since the FARC guerrillas left, with around 200 tourists from Colombia, North America and Europe flying in on tiny aircraft.
"I've wanted to come for years, but the trips were always cancelled for security reasons," says one visitor from Bogota.
The region's main attraction is Cano Cristales, a river famed for its pink plants.

Colombian Coffee Production Drops Sharply.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Production of coffee in Colombia fell 32 percent between January and August 2009 compared with 2008, while coffee exports dropped 26 percent.

Colombia Suffering Longest Recession Since 1999.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Colombia, the fifth-largest economy in Latin America, has seen key exports of oil, coffee and coal fall due to lower demand caused by the world financial crisis. The decrease has suppressed manufacturing, cut tax revenues and contributed to a rise in unemployment.
Also taking a toll is the clampdown on commerce by No. 2 trade partner Venezuela to protest Colombia's deepening military ties with the United States.

Colombia To Sell 10% Of Ecopetrol To Finance $5.2 Billion Road Building.

BLOOMBERG/
Colombia may sell as much as 10 percent of its stake in Ecopetrol SA, the nation’s biggest oil company, to fund 10 trillion pesos ($5.2 billion) of road spending. It is likely to sell the stake “gradually” between 2011 and 2014. Construction of roads in central and northern Colombia will create 43,000 jobs and boost the nation’s gross domestic product by as much as 1.8 percent.
“These works are a very big bet for the country’s competitiveness,” Finance Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga said. “They will significantly reduce logistical costs and raise the country’s productivity, helping develop the internal and external markets.” Colombia owns 90 percent of Ecopetrol.

Colombia Builds A New Dam. But For Who's Benefit?

GLOBAL POST/
The Colombian government and a division of Spanish energy giant Endesa plan to flood more than 21,000 acres of land to produce 2,216 gigawatt-hours annually with the El Quimbo dam.
To be built on the Magdalena river, El Quimbo would create a reservoir 34 miles in length, displacing some 1,500 inhabitants to produce power that it may sell to other countries since Colombia is energy self-sufficient.
“El Quimbo is an environmental and social catastrophe,” said a professor.

Peru Battling Growing Cocaine Trade.

WSJOURNAL/
Growing coca and manufacturing cocaine from it has been increasing in Peru, while its neighbor Colombia has been cracking down. Peru's cocaine exports may have overtaken Colombia's, even as Colombia remains the world's leader in cocaine production.

Is An Arms Race Brewing In South America?

GLOBALPOST.COM/
South America is on arms buying spree with major purchases by Venezuela and Brasil.
South American countries increased military spending by 30 percent from 2007 to total of more than $51 billion in 2008. Venezuela, Brasil and Colombia especially are showing new weapons strength and defending their military buildups.

Colombia's Spy Agency To Be Dismantled.

BLOOMBERG/
With a scandal brewing over illegal spying on government critics, Colombia’s domestic intelligence agency (DAS) will be dismantled and a new agency will be set up.

No Slowing Of Cocaine Production In Colombia.

COLOMBIA REPORTS/
Colombia's exportation of cocaine is booming, with a potential international market value of up to USD $13 billon , despite efforts to curtail it.