For the first time in more than 30 years, Brazil and the United States are going to sign a military agreement on Monday. This will be the major bilateral military cooperation agreement between the two countries since 1977, when Brazil was still a military dictatorship. Earlier this week, a senior U.S. government official told The Associated Press that the agreement provides a broad framework for military cooperation but differs from military pacts Washington has with Colombia and its NATO partners. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.”It deals with military exchanges, everything from comparing military equipment to the exchange of students and instructors at military academies,” the official said. “There will be provisions for U.S. Navy ship visits and sharing lessons in peacekeeping.” According to Brazilian press reports, the agreement would create a “multinational, multifunction” base in Rio de Janeiro to monitor drug trafficking. O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, which broke the story, did not specify what role the US military would play, but the article says that foreigners cannot command operations in Brazil.
