Colombians Protest U.S. Military Presence http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2010/july/22/latinamerica10072202.htm

Some 10,000 Colombians marched on Wednesday in Bogota to protest a military agreement allowing U.S. troops to be stationed in Colombia.Protestors rejected the Colombia-U.S. military cooperation agreement signed on Oct. 30, 2009, which allowed the U.S. military to be quartered in at least seven Colombian bases.

Colombia's neighboring countries Ecuador and Venezuela also opposed this agreement, which was allegedly aimed to fight drug trafficking and guerrillas. Protestors marched from the Public University of Bogota toward Simon Bolivar Square, one day after national celebrations of the country's independence from Spain."We are neither autonomous nor completely free, and our rights are violated," said Luis Calambas, a leader of the protest.