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Col. Lucio Gutierrez: I oppose the so-called Plan Colombia for several reasons. First, in Colombia itself, it is an unnecessary and futile war, a massacre of innocent human lives, of women, children and old people. It will also lead to an irreversible deterioration of the environment. Plan Colombia is environmental terrorism that threatens the health of the Amazon, the lungs of the world. And it will not succeed in what the US says it hopes to achieve, which is to diminish or eliminate the drug traffic. There are other, more efficient ways to resolve the Colombian conflict. There must always be dialogue, and there must always be respect for the principles of the sovereignty of nations and national self-determination. A problem like the narcotics trade cannot be solved by military action, but only by addressing the underlying social and economic factors instead.

WOL: What about the spillover effect on Ecuador?

Gutierrez: The heightened fighting because of Plan Colombia affects my country in a terrible way. Border tourism has been reduced to zero, and commerce across the border is almost at a standstill. As a result, unemployment is increasing in our provinces that border Colombia, which only heightens the social and economic crisis in which my country already lives. Crime -- assaults, robberies, rapes, kidnapping -- are all out of control, and sabotage attacks against the oil pipelines only continue. And with the arrival of Colombian refugees on our territory, all of the social problems grow worse; the corruption, the social injustice become even more entrenched. This situation obliges my people to leave the country by the hundreds of thousands to find work and security. The situation on the Colombian border has insecurity increasing like a snowball rolling downhill.

WOL: How does the Ecuadoran military react before the turmoil on the border as a result of Plan Colombia?

Gutierrez: Our soldiers have no psychological motivation to participate in Plan Colombia. It is not as if we were defending the country from an external aggression. Ecuadoran soldiers would be dying to defend the interests of another nation, the United States. Do not be mistaken: I am not anti-American. I like the American people. Nor am I against Colombia. I am only a patriotic Ecuadoran defending the interests of my country. Imagine what the US military and people would say if Ecuador had a military base in the US and was going to use it for a Plan Canada, which would affect the US in a negative way, but we did not even consult with the US government. The US military and citizens would defend US interests like I defend those of Ecuador.

WOL: You say you are a patriotic military officer. What does that mean in this geopolitical context, and do others currently in the Ecuadoran military share your views?

Gutierrez: In Ecuador, yes. The majority of military officers are nationalist and patriotic, because we come 100% from the people, from the middle class and below. We are in contact with out people, we know the critical situation, the extreme poverty in which they live. But the political class is corrupt and is so blinded by the foreign aid dollars that it can't see the suffering of the people. For the military, the first mission must be to defend the national sovereignty, that is, the people. The soldiers must never stray from the people. They must not try to repress the people when they express their legitimate demands for social justice, as they did on January 21, 2000. But under the current military leadership, the armed forces are confused, they are lost. They think all protesters -- indigenous people, workers, students -- are enemies of the state, when the real enemies are the corrupt politicians who maintain the degradation of our people. Those are the ones we have to fight. The Ecuadoran people fight only for justice and authentic participatory democracy.